Wakefield Council seeks Artists for development of a Mural.

Wakefield Council are seeking an arts organisation, artist collective and/or individual to develop an approach for the introduction of murals, street art or other decorative 2D interventions across a diverse range of sites in the Wakefield district including the city centre.

This will be a 2-stage process with the first stage expected to commence in April 2022 with consultation and research for the report completed by July 2022. There would then be a second stage to develop and deliver the selected commissions and supporting engagement programme, this phase to be completed by March 2023.

The deadline for applications is 5pm Friday 11th March 2020. Please send your submission and any questions to creativewakefield@wakefield.gov.uk

Development of a mural and decorative design public art strategy for Wakefield city centre and for the district (Stage 1)

Summary

Wakefield Council are seeking an arts organisation, artist collective and/or individual to develop an approach for the introduction of murals, street art or other decorative 2D interventions across a diverse range of sites in the Wakefield district including the city centre.

This will be a 2-stage process with the first stage expected to commence by April 2022 with consultation and research for the report completed by July 2022. We would then undertake Stage 2 to develop and deliver the selected commissions, this phase to be completed by March 2023.

Background

Wakefield district has strong heritage of public art and the recent development of a Public Art Framework (PAF) for the district and establishment of a multi-partner Public Art Steering Group has provided real impetus for a more coordinated and proactive approach to ensure that public art plays a key role in placemaking across the district.

We have recently secured investment to facilitate the introduction of 3D physical interventions located at key sites across the city centre during 2022. The aim is to create important landmark interventions that will help encourage visitors to navigate across the city centre whilst contributing to improving the quality and experience of the high street.

To complement this programme, we now wish to commission the following:

• A practical strategy for a long-term approach to the introduction of murals and decorative interventions in the towns, villages and communities across the district including the delivery of a commissioning programme during 2022/23.

• A number or 2D/decorative art interventions across the city centre to complement and enhance the 3D works taking place during 2022/23.

By decorative design concepts, murals and street art we are taking a board and open-ended approach by which we mean any artist led intervention that will inject colour, decoration, surprise and fun into the surfaces and fabric of our public realm, this might include, but is not limited to, buildings, hoardings, bridges, pedestrian areas, shop windows, roads and street furniture. The work can range from being figurative to the decorative and could cover subjects as diverse as depictions of local sporting heroes to co-produced works that emerge through working closely with communities or targeted groups e.g. young people, heritage groups etc.

We want local and nationally based artists to create semi-permanent and permanent installations with our diverse communities and in locations that could range from heritage sites and residential estates to landmark regeneration schemes and commercial developments.

Wider impacts to be considered

Wakefield city centre is benefiting from the development of a Masterplan, with the final stages of consultation currently taking place. The Masterplan will provide a strategic overview for development across the city centre, with public art identified as one of several components which will contribute to the wider transformation of the high street.

Wider investment through the Towns Fund and Levelling Up fund provide further opportunities to ensure that public art is considered in a range of potential locations to revitalise the health of our high streets and support our communities. Such developments are already underway in places such as Castleford with developing masterplans for areas including Pontefract and Ferrybridge. Although these funding streams and the various town plans may not have a primary focus on public art, they nevertheless provide the opportunity to integrate public art into wider regeneration projects.

We would also be interested in how the commissions can reflect or be inspired by our 2022 festival theme of Science, Innovation and Industry.

Scope of work

Stage 1 includes two strands

Strand 1: To provide a review of costed options for introducing murals and other forms of street art in Wakefield city centre with a view to delivering at least three commissions during 2022/23.

Key outputs for this strand include:
o Identification of a maximum of 10 priority sites for murals and other forms of decorative art or street art interventions across the city centre and that will connect with the installation of the sculpture programme in 2022/23
o Identification of estimated costs associated with the introduction of these works
o Identify a range of artists – local as well as national – to be considered for the work and/or a process for recruiting the artists
o Consultation with the Public Art Steering Group and with the Wakefield BID as well as relevant Council departments such as Arts, Culture and Leisure, Regeneration and Planning
o Following consultation identify priority sites for the delivery of 3 commissions at Stage 2 to a set budget and timescale.
o Identification of opportunities to engage local communities on the introduction of the 3 commissions as part of the wider engagement programme taking place around the introduction of the sculpture programme.
o Ensure that the work contributes to the aspirations of the Public Art Framework.

Strand 2: To provide a wider district review of costed options for the integration of public art across town centres and communities in the district; and to identify at least three opportunities for introducing murals in towns or communities during 2022/23.
.
• Key outputs for this strand include:
o Consultation with key stakeholders across our communities, such as elected members, civic societies and heritage groups, town centre partnerships, Public Art Steering Group and appropriate Council officers (e.g. Arts, Culture and Leisure and Regeneration services)
o Review and audit of all current public murals captured into a searchable database which includes key information about each work
o Review of potential mural and street art sites (up to 10), captured into a searchable database which includes key information about each site such as ownership, location, size of space and indication of appropriate type of artwork to be considered
o An outline of recommended approaches for the commissioning of murals and street art, including best practice considerations.
o Identification of estimated costs associated with the introduction of these works
o Identify a range of artists – local as well as national – to be considered for the work and/or a process for recruiting the artist
o Following consultation to identify up to three sites for the delivery of agreed commissions to a budget and timescale to be implemented during 2022/23
o Identification of opportunities to engage local communities on the introduction of the murals and street art as part of the wider engagement programme taking place around public art
o Ensure that the work contributes to the aspirations of the Public Art Framework.

Mentoring of local artists

We are also interested in establishing a programme of support for local artists to have the opportunity of working alongside lead artists to design and create murals or decorative designs. At Stage 1 we would welcome a proposal for how this could be developed and implemented alongside the delivery of the work.

Budget for Stage 1

The maximum budget available for this work is up to £15k, which will cover –
• research and consultation of locations and artists
• the production of the report and database
• scoping the artist mentoring scheme
• scoping of the community engagement programme

Once the two strands of Stage One are complete there will then be a delivery phase (Stage Two) for the realisation of at least 6 murals or decorative interventions in the city centre and across the district’s towns and communities as identified in this brief.

The budget for the delivery of the murals along with the project management fee associated with these commissions and the delivery of the engagement and mentoring programmes will be based on the information supplied by the successful applicant.

Submission deadline

If you are interested in responding to this brief please supply the following information, by 5.00pm Friday 11th March 2022:

- Quote, including daily pay rates of team members and an itemized breakdown of the different elements required in delivering strands 1 & 2 (Stage 1).
- Examples of previous relevant work and experience including details of the team (e.g., CV’s) who will be undertaking the work.
- Brief overview of how you will approach the development of the strategy.
- How and who you will consult with during the period of development.
- Confirmation of ability to meet the timescale below.

Send your submission and any questions to: creativewakefield@wakefield.gov.uk

Delivery timetable

Brief published Friday 11th February 2022
Deadline for applications 5.00pm Friday 11th March 2022
Successful bidder notified Week commencing 14th March 2022
Contract commencement date Week commencing 28th March 2022
R&D, consultation, first draft and presentation Week commencing – 16 May 2022

Framework completed and final presentation Week commencing – Monday 4th July 2022

For more information visit https://creativewakefield.net/news/