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By culturewa

Artist Callout: RLWC2021 Birds of Paradise Project

Warrington Borough Council are looking for five professional, freelance artists to produce five large scale public artwork to form a trail across the town centre. The trail will be part of Warrington’s cultural programme during the Rugby League World Cup tournament (RLWC21).

Background

Warrington is proud once again to be an official host town in the RLWC2021.  It is a chance for us to showcase the town, getting more local people involved in the sport and the events that surround it, further strengthening our local economy and helping to shape our sense of place. We want to celebrate our strong community focus, inclusive of all, by presenting opportunities for specific groups within our communities to get involved in.

The project

Successful artists will create human-sized public art wings which will be located across locations in the town centre, making the spaces more attractive and providing photo opportunities for the public.

We will use the silhouette of the wingspan of the Raggiana Bird of Paradise, which features on Papua New Guinea’s flag, to create the wings and will encourage the public to take a photo with the wings as their backdrop.

The successful artists will generate ideas for the artwork through workshops with one of our 5 identified groups from Warrington’s communities. The ideas will contribute to a final design which will become a large scale Bird of Paradise.

The RLWC21 strapline, ‘The Power of Together’ will underpin the whole project.

The Brief

Each of the 5 artworks will be a separate commission, but artists are welcome to apply for more than one.

The artist will be paid £800 for each commission which will include:

  • Planning and leading a 2 – 3 hour workshop (as appropriate) to develop ideas and designs, working with one of 5 community groups (listed below);
  • Materials for the workshop;
  • Design of large scale public art wings;
  • Production of high quality artwork in situ around the town centre. Locations and dimensions will be confirmed before the contract commences.

We will cover material costs for the large scale art work (budget to be agreed) and installation support.

The overall theme is ‘The Power of Together’ but each artwork should reflect the experiences of the group who contributed to it and what this phrase means to them.

How the work will be presented

The work will be displayed around the town centre to form a trail in windows and on walls. Exact locations are to be confirmed but work might be presented directly onto a window or wall or onto a board to be hung. There is also the opportunity to create something out of an alternative media, such as fabric. Locations will be confirmed before the contract starts.

Timescales

Workshops will be held during July / August and the artwork will be installed by mid-September.

The Groups

  1. Youth Group: 7 – 12 year olds who are eligible for free school meals, some of whom may come from vulnerable families.
  2. Homeless Group – Aged 18 – 60, male and female, people who are homeless or marginalised.
  3. Adults with Additional Learning Needs – Aged between 19 and 55. Varying needs including Autism, Downs Syndrome, non-verbal, additional learning needs.
  4. Men’s Mental Health Group – men aged 18 years old and over who have low to moderate mental health issues and are struggling with the challenges of life.
  5. Older age group – 50+ many who have been shielding and have suffered from feelings of isolation.

How to apply

Please send an expression of interest to: [email protected] including the following information:

  • Outline your ideas for engaging and creating the community-based wings art work.
  • Confirm that you are available during July or August for workshop delivery and design, and September for installation.
  • Describe any relevant experience of working on a visual art project with one or more of the above groups. Please state if there is a specific group / groups you would like to work with.
  • Show evidence of previous large-scale public artwork (e.g. Images / website).
  • Confirm that you have a valid DBS check (you will be asked to produce this before a contract is issued).
  • Confirm that you have public liability insurance (you will be asked to produce this before a contract is issued).

CLOSING DATE: MONDAY 6th JUNE