Weymouth Town Council, working in partnership with We Are Weymouth, would like to commission a group of artists to produce a 10-location street art trail in Weymouth. This will attract and inspire a wide range of residents and visitors to explore and enjoy outdoor artworks inspired by the history and culture of the town. The trail will enhance the visual aesthetics of the existing buildings adding colour and excitement to blank spaces and increasing the footfall and economic benefit for local businesses following the pandemic.
Ten potential wall spaces have been identified around the town to be used as canvases for new colourful and inspiring painted artworks which will breathe new life and interest into all the chosen areas. The project will deliver a refreshed sense of excitement similarly seen in the Glasgow and Glastonbury mural trail projects. The project is being led and managed by Weymouth Town Council who have commissioned The Dorset Arts Development Company as a consultant to help deliver the project.
If you are a local artist and like the sound of getting involved in this exciting project,then please read the full artist brief which can be found on our website here to find out more.
Application deadline is 12pm on Thursday 16th September 2021
Artist Brief
Weymouth Mural Trail – Artist Brief
Project Title: Weymouth Mural Trail
Introduction
Weymouth Town Council working in partnership with Weymouth BID would like to commission a group of artists to produce a 10-location street art trail in Weymouth. This will attract and inspire a wide range of residents and visitors to explore and enjoy outdoor artworks inspired by the history and culture of the town. The trail will enhance the visual aesthetics of the existing buildings adding colour and excitement to dead/blank spaces and increasing the footfall and economic benefit for local businesses following the Covid19 pandemic.
Ten wall spaces have been identified around the town to be used as canvases for new colourful and inspiring painted artworks which will breathe new life and interest into all the chosen areas. The project will deliver a refreshed sense of excitement similarly seen in the Glasgow and Glastonbury mural trail projects. The project is being led and managed by Weymouth Town Council who have commissioned The Dorset Arts Development Company as a consultant to help deliver the project.
Aims & Objectives:• To commission up to 10 experienced artists to research design and paint 10 street art murals of various sizes) on pre-selected and agreed spaces around the Weymouth town centre to enhance the visual aesthetics of the chosen locations.• The 10 completed artworks can be viewed individually but will collectively form a mural trail that can be promoted to residents and visitors alike attracting people into the town.• To increase footfall in the town centre through people following the trail and viewing the artworks.• To expand and develop the cultural identity of Weymouth to a wide audience.
Roles and Responsibilities
The appointed artists will be responsible for:• The research, design and delivery of their mural, incorporating feedback from public engagement activities (run by the Council) providing stories and ideasconnected to Weymouth and the mural locations.• Presenting a breakdown of the final budget for each artwork to include artist’s time and materials.• Use materials that will ensure the paintings stay vibrant and fresh for as long as possible.• Some of the locations will require working at height, the artist will be responsible for following all HSE Working from Height safe working practices and for sourcing and funding all equipment required to work at height themselves. Previous experience of completing artworks when working at height should be included in your application to the project.
Artists will be required to hold and provide evidence of a valid Public Liability Insurance.
Artwork Design & Consultation
It is imperative that we get the subject matter and design of the murals right and deliver something that the public will appreciate, enjoy, and have a sense of pride over having in their town. To ensure we achieve this a public engagement activity will be conducted that will bring together ideas, stories and input from the public to inform the designs.
The mural designs need to have a link to Weymouth and be family friendly this could include Weymouth history and heritage, links to the sea and seaside, the environment and landscape, wildlife, etc. The murals should not contain advertising or have offensive or political material and be kept neutral in that respect. This is very important to ensure the trail is well received and regularly visited and appreciated.
Artists should design murals that will enhance the appearance of the environment by producing colourful and interesting artworks that will transform the walls and locations and be eye catching.
Completion of the Artwork Designs
Guided site visit & Design Phase • Each artist will be expected to attend a guided visit of the sites to understand the locations, discuss the theme/content and ask any questions. The locations are very different in terms of size, location and texture, and this will need to be understood when designing the artworks. • Artists will need to be available (mandatory) to attend the site visit on Thursday 30th September. As there will be a number of artists, we will run an appointment system and meet the artist at their location (We will confirm each artists location and meeting time following the application deadline). Each appointment will last up to 30 minutes. Once you have seen your site/s you are free to go.• Each artist will be required to submit 2 completed artwork designs per location. The final designs will then be selected by a project panel. The designs need to show enough information so the commissioners fully understand what you are envisaging, so that everyone is clear on what the final artwork will look like on the wall. This is also important as it will form part of the planning application for each location.• Artists will be given 3 ½ weeks after attending the site visit to submit their conceptdesigns for all locations (deadline 9am on 25/10/21).• Depending on how many artists apply there could be an opportunity for artists to be commissioned to complete more than one artwork. • All artworks will need to be completed between 1st March and 30th June 2022.
Artwork Design Budget:• Each artist will be paid £50 towards their expenses to attend the site visit –30/9/21 (mandatory).• Each artist will be paid £300 to submit 2 artwork concept designs per commissioned location (ie 2 locations = 4 designs = £600) (deadline 25/10/21) to allow a project panel to select the final artwork design for each location.• Artists will be paid after attending the guided artwork sites tour and on submissionof the required artwork designs. This must be submitted to the Council via an invoice with/after your designs have been submitted.• There is quite a time gap between submitting the designs and being able to start the artworks because we must gain planning permission for all locations. The planning application will include your designs and size information. The planning application will take an estimated 4 months which is why you will not be able to start on site before March 2022. We have tried to time this period over the winter when the weather is likely to be inclement.
Intellectual Property Rights• As the Council will be commissioning the artworks for the trail we will need the artist to sign a contract with the Council to allow the Council to have the intellectual property rights to be able to use the artworks/images produced to promote the trail and project in a wide variety of ways.
Completion of main artworks:• All artworks to be completed between 1st March – 30th June 2022.• Once an artwork has been started it must be completed in a short space of time,we do not want to have half-finished artworks being left for long periods of time.• The artists fee to complete each artwork is based on the individual locations, (see the attached artwork locations sheet below for guidance).• The artist’s fee is inclusive of all materials and equipment required (eg anyequipment needed for working at height needs to be sourced by the artist and paid for from the artists fee, there is not any additional money for this), travel and expenses required to complete the artwork being undertaken.• The artist fee will be paid on successful completion of the mural following a project panel member visiting the site and confirming the artwork is complete and matches the approved artwork design. • Any adaption of the final artwork design needs to be approved by a Council member of staff before being completed on the live wall locations.• Artists will be required to submit invoices for work completed. Money will be paid on completion of the artworks, on a mural-by-mural basis.
Target Audience: • Weymouth residents and visitors to the town. • We want the trail to bring people together and make people smile on a daily basisadding colour to their life, with the images creating talking points and a positive buzz about the town and on social media spreading its reach well beyond just Weymouth. • Artworks should be inspirational to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Promotion of the artworks and trail• The trail will be promoted online via websites, trip sites and social media and include the production of a map and information on the artworks and artists.• Each location will have a QR code present which will allow the audience to scan and find out more information about the artwork and artist.
Project Deadline: • All murals to be completed between 1st March and 30th June 2022.
Materials & Equipment:• The artwork needs to be created in a medium that is appropriate to location, security, maintenance, durability to give the artwork the maximum longevity.• All equipment required to produce the finished artwork is the responsibility of the artist to provide/hire. All equipment should be in a good working order and fit for purpose. The artist should be experienced in using the equipment and hold any required licences or training to operate safely.
Health & Safety Requirements• Working at height – Some of the wall spaces will involve working at various degrees of height, the artist must be happy and confident to work in this way. • Artists must follow the HSE guidance for working at height at all times. Weymouth Town Council will not be responsible for supervising the artist, the artist must be experienced in working at height and confident to do so.• Personal protective clothing – Whilst working on the sites the artist should follow all safety guidelines and wear the appropriate PPE – gloves, masks, etc. This equipment must be sourced by the artist, Weymouth Town Council will not be providing any equipment to the artist.• Environmental impact – Environmentally safe practices and products should be used to produce the murals and safe and responsible cleaning / disposal of any materials.
Selection procedure and criteria
If you are interested in working on this project, please submit:
• A current CV
• A minimum of five photos of your work, in particular any mural related work you have undertaken showcasing your experience in this discipline.
• Your website address if you have one.
• A short statement of how you would approach this brief and any ideas you might already have along with evidence of the ability to produce high quality outcomes.
• The type of materials you would use.
• Indicate if you are happy working at height and your previous experience of delivering artworks at height (not all sites require this).
• Indicate, in priority order (1 = highest priority and 10= lowest) which sites you would like to be considered for (see list/photos below).• Provide names of previous clients that could be approached for a reference.
• Copy of your public liability insurance.
We will select the candidate/s who appears to be most suitable and who demonstrates they can produce high quality outdoor artwork, our decision is final.
Your application should be submitted via email by 12pm on Thursday 16thSeptember 2021 to: [email protected]
If you would like to discuss the project in more detail, please feel free to contact Ben Heath on 01305 239302 / [email protected]
Artwork Locations
Theme Ideas: Weymouth History & Culture / Local Wildlife / Marine / Climate Change / Seaside
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