Wakefield Arts Partnership (WAP) is seeking to appoint an Artist to undertake a community engagement project in the Wakefield District, West Yorkshire. The overall aim of the project is to creatively engage Wakefield communities in a dialogue about place - gathering and stimulating the sharing of information and stories that highlight local distinctiveness. WAP intend that the outputs of this commission will in the future inform the development of an independent/ alternative cultural guide to the Wakefield district (please note the development of the guide itself is beyond the scope of this brief and will be managed by WAP and is to be informed by this Artist project process and outcomes). The fee available for this commission is £12,000.00 (plus VAT if applicable). This is inclusive of artist fees and all associated fabrication materials and expenses.

Wakefield Arts Partnership (WAP) is seeking to appoint an Artist to undertake a community engagement project in the Wakefield District, West Yorkshire.

The overall aim of the project is to creatively engage Wakefield communities in a dialogue about place -gathering and stimulating the sharing of information and stories that highlight local distinctiveness.

WAP intend that the outputs of this commission will in the future inform the development of an independent/ alternative cultural guide to the Wakefield district (please note the development of the guide itself is beyond the scope of this brief and will be managed by WAP and is to be informed by this Artist project process and outcomes).

The commissioned artist will have a broad brief to explore Wakefield District’s people, places and stories. It is anticipated that the project will include a number of engagement sessions and a temporary intervention (or series of interventions) in public realm areas of Wakefield District, in order to catalyse dialogue with local communities about their place. The commission will be delivered over summer/ autumn 2016 and should involve a wide range of local artists, communities and businesses in the process. Partnership and collaborative applications are welcomed, as is experience of similar engagement models delivered locally/ nationally/ internationally which support the proposal of fresh ideas and approaches.

This commission will be led by WAP member Beam and advised by a project Working Group of WAP partners including representatives of Axis Web, Unity Works and Art House, who report back to the wider WAP Steering Group at key points. This Working Group and the wider WAP group will provide support, connections and advice to the appointed artist. The residency is supported by Arts Council England through Beam’s ‘Arts in Place’ programme. This will be the first major partnership project delivered by WAP and we are excited to explore and test how our collaborative approach can work through the delivery of this commission.

Who we are – Wakefield Arts Partnership (WAP)

WAP is an emerging partnership - a collective of Wakefield based organisations and individuals working in the arts, who are committed to working together. We have a shared interest in Wakefield District as a cultural destination and place, and in developing audiences and participants for its arts offer.

Wakefield Arts partnership is currently coordinated by Beam and managed by a voluntary steering group which presently consists of - Axis Web, Unity Works, Wakefield Jazz, Theatre Royal Wakefield, The Art House, Beam, The Hepworth Wakefield, Nostell, One to One Development Trust, National Coal Mining Museum and Faceless Arts. For more details please see: www.wakefieldartspartnership.org

Arts In Place Programme

This commission is a key part of Arts in Place II, an Arts Council Grants for the Arts supported programme, which continues Beam’s focus on the powerful combination of artists with place-making through three interconnected activity strands. These include artists commissioned to work with communities in non-arts contexts, continued development of Wakefield’s local cultural sector via the newly-formed Wakefield Arts Partnership, and further development of a national initiative promoting the role of the arts in place-making in the wake of the Farrell Review of Architecture - a ‘New Manifesto for Public Art’. The project emphasizes the importance of public participation, collaboration, and the linking of local, national and international contexts, knowledge and practice.

 Commission Aims & Objectives

 Aims

·      Creatively engage Wakefield District communities (including Residents, Visitors and Business representatives) in a dialogue about place to feed into the wider strategic work of WAP

Objectives

·      Deliver temporary intervention(s) and participatory arts opportunities at strategic sites in the Wakefield District which will engage with identified local communities or groups

·      Conduct research period within Wakefield District communities to gather information and stories about place, both historic and contemporary

Outcomes and Legacy

·      Increased community and cultural engagement for project audiences, participants and WAP members

·      WAP positioned well to take forward ‘Independent/ Alternative Wakefield Guide’ project

·      WAP collaborative project delivery model explored and tested

·      Methodology and framework for public engagement tested and explored to enable communities to feed into the development of the guide and other WAP projects in the future

Outputs

·      Collate and reflect back the research material gathered in an engaging, accessible and structured way

·      Documentation of the project in an engaging and accessible format

·      Delivery of 1/ series of public realm intervention/s

·      Minimum of 8 participatory sessions delivered with identified communities/ groups

·      The commission will be used as a case study to support the ‘New Manifesto for the Public Arts’ http://placealliance.org.uk/working-groups/arts-place/

Longer Term Aims:

·      The commission will feed into the development of an ‘independent/ alternative’ guide to Wakefield District. The concept of the guide is that it will be more than just a list of events, or things to see. It will tell the story of Wakefield District as a creative, dynamic and unique cultural destination, community and place

·      In turn this story will be used to promote the district to three target groups:

Residents – increasing pride in place; Tourists – bringing visitors to the district and making sure they see the best of Wakefield when here; Inward investment – changing perceptions about what Wakefield is and what it can be

Process

The Working Group informed by the wider WAP Steering Group will select a minimum of 4 Artists to attend for interview from the expressions of interest received. One Artist will be appointed and will develop a detailed proposal for project delivery for agreement by the project Working Group.

Commission Timeline

Deadline for Artist Submissions - Monday 23 May 2016, 12pm

Artist interviews (min. 4 artists) and selection - w/c 30 May tbc

Artist appointment and contracting - w/c 6 June

Initial Artist briefing meeting/ site visit - w/c 13 June

Artist develops proposal for project delivery - By w/c 11 July

Artist presentation of proposal to wider WAP group / approach agreed - w/c 18 July

Artist delivery – (min 8 participatory sessions and one public artistic intervention) - w/c 1 August – w/c 26 September

Project evaluation and case study development  - w/c 10 October

Fee

The fee available for this commission is £12,000.00 (plus VAT if applicable). This is inclusive of artist fees and all associated fabrication materials and expenses.

Additional Information

·      A base for the project can be provided for the selected artist at Beam’s offices at The Art House or hosted by other WAP members as agreed

·      The selected artist will be required to undertake a DBS check to undertake this project and to have appropriate insurances in place

·      Beam and the project working group (and wider WAP group) will support the selected artist to make local contacts and connections and to source relevant information as required to inform the project

 Expression of Interest Process

·      Expressions of interest should be submitted via Curatorspace

·      The deadline for expressions of interest is Monday 23 May 2016, 12pm 

Selection Process

·      Artist applications will be scored by the project working group using an assessment matrix, which will cover the following areas –

-   Overall suitability of previous work: innovative / engaging

-   Demonstrable experience of engagement, consultation and collaboration

-   Artistic / design quality of previous work: creativity / impact / good design practice

-   Quality of initial response to the artist brief

-   Technical quality of previous work: materials / fabrication / sustainability

·      We regret that due to limited capacity we will be unable to provide individual feedback to applicants who do not reach the shortlist stage.