Art and Design in the Public
Realm
How to become Commission Ready
Public art and design
Crown Fountains Chigaco.
Artist Jaume Plensa
Listening Stones Cheltenham.
Artist Gordon Young
temporary
Knit hit commissioned by Milton Keynes
Council on
Elizabeth Frink scultpture
Promenade at Kedleston Hall, Derby.
Artist Susie Macmurray
Photograph Matthew Andrews
temporary
Plymouth college
photography students
temporary shop window
project commissioned by
Lisa Harty for
regeneration project
Plymouth City Council.
Lighting
Artist Jason Bruges Studio
Christmas Lights.
Artist David Batchelor
paving
Typeset paving Fakenham.
Artist Simon Watkinson
Butterfly Paving detail.
Artist Linda Schwab
Small interventions
Animal Kingdom Treehouses.
Artist London Fieldworks
Pocket Park Gloucestershire.
Artist Bews Gorvin
Small interventions
Carved waymarker.
Artist Peter Randall Paige
Pavement bosses Cambridge.
Artist Michael Fairfax
Street furniture
Granite, resin and lighting benches.
Artist Simon Hitchens
Bollards.
New Zealand
Artist Led
Nowhere Island Southwest England.
Cultural Olympiad Situations run project
Artist Alex Hartley
King Bladud’s pigs Bath.
Artist led over 100 artists pig prototype
designed by Artist Alan Dun
Preparing for Opportunities
– Sources of information
• Who knows What
• Understanding how
opportunities arise
• Developments and trends
Image: Dick Weiss window.
Are you set up to..
• Record ideas and
possibilities
• Develop opportunities
• Reflect on past projects
• Build relationships
• Keep records of useful
contacts
Image: One of postcard series to accompany weather
sensitive light works in paving at Canal Walk Swindon.
Artist Natalie Woolf
Analysing potential opportunities
•
•
•
•
What are the benefits?
Money?
Profile?
Collaboration?
Other?
Feasibility
• Is the commission
consistent with your
aims?
• Does it fit your work
schedule?
• Does it suit your way of
working?
• Any disadvantages?
Image. Whale bone seats at Scotland Natural History
Museum. Artist Walter Jack
You and Your Work
Images Bone Memory triptych and still from War Women Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. Artist Lou Hamilton
Analyse and rebalance.
Look at how your work balances out:
Making – Teaching –Studio group – Research – Recording
– Management and co-ordination
Types of commission
• Lead Artist
• Working with
design team
• Mentored artist
• Engagement or
community artist
• Working to a
developer
• Working to a
project manager
• Community led
• Working to a local
authority
Unpacking a Brief
Secret Classroom Dunnalley School Cheltenham. Artist Tracy Hager
Your response to a brief
• What do you instinctively respond to or reject and why?
• Fee
• Status and expectations of
commissioning body
• Selection process
• Timescale realistic
• Who is managing?
• What experience do
• you need/have?
What you should show
• You are confident and
capable
• A good communicator
• Good at planning and
time management
• Aware of any issues
• Have clarity of vision
• Have undertaken research
Image: weather responsive paving Canal walk Swindon.
Artist Natalie Woolf
The Practicalities
Insurance
Procurement issues – equal opps, sustainable policies
Evidence and track record
Approach to the commission
Initial sketch ideas
Maintenance info. Technical back up
Contract confidence
So you’ve got the commission
• Clarity on your and others roles and status
• Management and reporting/documenting
mechanisms
• Consultation and community engagement
• Presentations and launch
• Fitting in to the contract demands
• Relationships and collaborations
SWOT
• Short term aims
• Medium term aims
• Long term aims
• Rebalance strengths and
weaknesses
Image. Cycle path Cambridge.
Artist Katy Hallet
“Presentation
is of the utmost importance.
Many artists subscribe to the view that
the quality of the concept is paramount
and therefore it will shine through a
sketchy presentation. However a panel
will be prejudiced against an artist who
makes a shoddy presentation as an
indication of lack of care and
organisational skills.”
Deanna Petherbridge Art for Architecture