Art on the Tideway will reposition the tidal River Thames as a new cultural venue. A bold world- class art programme created with local communities and stakeholders will celebrate the achievements of the Thames Tideway Tunnel through the presentation of site responsive artworks and projects.
Open Until:
Posted: 03/09/2017
The Thames Tideway Tunnel
London has outgrown its sewerage system. The capacities
originally allowed for in the sewer network designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette
in the 1850s have been extended and now exceeded. The Thames Tideway Tunnel
(scheduled for completion in 2022) will upgrade Londons sewerage system to
cope with the demands of the city well into the 22nd century. (see http://www.tideway.london/)
Public Art Strategy
An ambitious commissioning programme is being developed to
identify opportunities for artists to respond to the project. The approach to
the Public Art Strategy is informed by the repositioning of the River Thames
and the overarching vision to reconnect London, and Londoners, with the River
Thames. In the early 19th century, as
industry grew along with the associated pollution, Londoners turned their backs
on the Thames, which until then was the citys focal point. Today we are
turning back to face the river.
The ambition is as follows:
Art on the Tideway will reposition the
tidal River Thames as a new cultural venue. A bold world- class art programme
created with local communities and stakeholders will celebrate the achievements
of the Thames Tideway Tunnel through the presentation of site responsive
artworks and projects. Exploring heritage and looking to the future, artists
will animate new public spaces and create neighbourhood interventions to
surprise, delight and inspire diverse audiences.
As part of this Strategy, would like to commission an
artist to collaborate on the design of the public realm and an associated
integrated commission or series of commissions for the site at Deptford Church
Street, London. The successful commission should express
the transformational importance of the Thames Tideway Tunnel for London and its
relationship with the river and to enhance the high quality public spaces and experience of
the river for Londoners and visitors.
The
commissions & role of the artist
The commissions
Deptford
Church Street is located in London Borough of Lewisham. The site is a public
open space in central Deptford. The site is located between Deptford High
Street and Deptford Church Street, next to St Pauls Church.
The project will enhance an existing
public open space adjacent to St Pauls Church in the centre of Deptford.
Key objectives of the public art
programme and central to this commission will be to:
> Enhance the high
quality public spaces and experience of the river for Londoners and visitors
>
Stimulate a new sense of pride in and new perception of the tidal River Thames
and the wealth of opportunities that it provides
Proposals and
designs are expected to engage audiences in different ways; creating pleasure,
celebrating people or places, being provocative, engaging audiences in new ways
of experiencing or thinking about a place. Specifically responding to Tideways
Heritage Interpretation Strategy.
We welcome applications from artists working in all
disciplines, though given the nature of commissions we require prior experience
of working at scale and in three dimensions. We especially encourage
applications from artists who are based in London Borough of Lewisham or with a
good knowledge of the Deptford area.
Role of the artist
The
successful artist will work collaboratively to develop integrated artworks for
the foreshore site, both with the design team and potentially the local
community. The commission/s will be developed by the artist working in
discussion and collaboration with the Main Works Contractor for the eastern
section of the Tunnel (CVB JV) and their design team, and Tideway (the client)
with support from Tideways Public Art Consultants as agreed.
The
artists brief is intended to create opportunities for genuine innovation and
dialogue between the artist and the design and engineering teams to achieve a
contemporary appearance and experience of the public realm, whilst drawing on
its past heritage and existing setting, as well as the general experience of
the river context.
The successful artist will work
collaboratively with the design and engineering teams to develop detailed proposals for the commissions and
oversee the fabrication and installation at a later date. The successful artists approach could be varied across the space and
focus on one area or across the whole space. It could include specific
sculptural interventions within the landscape and/or closer collaborations with
the design team on materials, finishes, pattern or text. Opportunities include
seating and other formal landscape elements; animating the open space or the
creation of sculptural elements.
It should be noted that the successful
artist will need to be available to start work as soon as possible and that
there will be two stages to the commission, the design development stage now,
followed by the fabrication and installation stage but at a much later date.
Artists fee
The successful artists fee for this commission is £47,000
+ VAT to cover all expenses, materials and costs, visualisation of the artwork,
preparation of any digital files and overseeing production, fabrication and
installation and all other artists expenses. Included within this fee the successful
artist is required to participate in one public engagement activity and a launch
event with associated press activity.
See document below for further details and how to apply.
DEADLINE: midday
on Sunday 02 April 2017:
