Art and Design in the Public Realm

How to become Commission Ready

Public art and designCrown Fountains Chigaco. Artist Jaume Plensa

Listening Stones Cheltenham.Artist Gordon Young

temporaryKnit hit commissioned by Milton Keynes Council onElizabeth Frink scultpture

Promenade at Kedleston Hall, Derby.Artist Susie MacmurrayPhotograph 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 StudioChristmas Lights.Artist David Batchelor

pavingTypeset paving Fakenham.Artist Simon Watkinson

Butterfly Paving detail.Artist Linda Schwab

Small interventionsAnimal Kingdom Treehouses.Artist London Fieldworks

Pocket Park Gloucestershire.Artist Bews Gorvin

Small interventionsCarved waymarker.Artist Peter Randall Paige

Pavement bosses Cambridge.Artist Michael Fairfax

Street furnitureGranite, resin and lighting benches.Artist Simon Hitchens

Bollards.New Zealand

Artist LedNowhere Island Southwest England.Cultural Olympiad Situations run projectArtist 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

InsuranceProcurement issues – equal opps, sustainable policiesEvidence and track recordApproach to the commissionInitial sketch ideasMaintenance info. Technical back upContract 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