Public Art Commission - North Street Lighting Column Banners. A public art commission for a bold design to be printed and installed on 16 street lighting banners along North Street, Leeds city centre.

Leeds City Council seeks to commission an artist/designer to design artwork that will be printed on 16 banners and then installed on street lighting columns along North Street. The purpose of the banners is to animate the North Street area and create a sense of place for North Street.

Background

North Street is an area north of the city centre that has a strong independent and creative scene, with a number of cafes, restaurants and bars such as The Reliance, The Brunswick and Brew Dog as well as home to Leeds College of Building with over 1000 students. Currently the look and feel of the street doesn’t represent the creative independent scene and the area lacks a sense of identity.

There is also the challenge of the busy highway junction over the inner ring road which is an uninviting physical barrier for pedestrians walking from the city centre to North Street. This project would look to introduce colour and animation to North Street to hopefully attract more footfall to the area.

The street is also a key route in-between Regent Street and Lovell Park, an attractive green space adjacent to Regent Street, and beyond up to Wade Lane and the Arena Village area.

The commission will see an artist work with the local community and businesses to design artwork to be printed on banners that will be displayed on up to 16 street lighting columns along North Street.

Key aims and objectives 

• To create an attractive design that will be displayed on street lighting column banners along North Street.

• To add colour and interest to the street scape.

• To attract customers/footfall to North Street.

• To provide an opportunity for local artists to display their work in a city centre location.

• To help to increase the variety and number of public artworks across Leeds city centre.

Key audiences

The key audiences for the artwork are: 

• Local businesses and organisations - there is a corridor of creative independent businesses including bars and restaurants along North Street as well as established organisations such as Leeds College of Building.

• Residents and the local community – there is an established local residential community living in city centre apartments around North Street and Lovell Park green space.

• Commuters -  North Street is a key connecting route into the city centre and is used by a number of commuters daily to access the city centre

• The artistic community/creative scene- the area is a creative hub with a number of independent arts organisations and charities based in the area. The banner designs will celebrate this creative scene and help to foster a sense of identity and pride.

Brief

The key deliverables from this brief are:

• To design artwork to be installed onto street ligating column banners that reflect the identity of North Street and helps to animate the area, celebrate the independent creative scene and creates a sense of place.

• The appointed artist(s) will be expected to undertake engagement and consultation with local businesses and residents as part of the design development process.

• In the first instance please submit your CV, previous examples of similar projects and examples of style and influence you wish to apply to this brief.

• The submitted information will then be judged and the successful artist(s) will be notified to further develop the art/design work.
  
  

Technical Details for the banners

• Any image used must be at 320ppi to scale within the template above

• Final artwork should be saved as a high-res .pdf with outlined fonts and must be at 50% scale.

• Please make sure that all of your elements are converted to CMYK profile.

• If necessary please specify CMYK/PANTONE colour or supply colour chip/CMYK split.

By 5pm on Friday 4th October 2019 please submit the following: 

1. Your CV

2. Examples of your previous, relevant work experiences

3. Your thoughts on how you would approach the commission with sketch designs if you wish
   
   

Your submissions will be judged by a panel during week beginning 7th October 2019.

The commission

If you are successful, a budget of £5000 will be provided. This price includes artist fees for designs, engagement and any materials required. Printing and installation of the banners will be funded by Leeds City Council who will also provide support for the project.  

Timescales 

• Deadline for submissions: Friday 4th October 2019

• Artists will be notified by: Friday 11th October 2019.

• Installation: Target for installation is by Monday 4th November 2019.

Further information 

For further information please contact Becci Erbillur-Gray on Becci.Erbillur-gray@leeds.gov.uk or 0113 3787721.