INFRASTRUCTURE Fingal County Council’s Public Art Programme - Open Call
Fingal County Council’s Arts Office is delighted to announce a major new Open Call for artists to make artworks and art projects through Infrastructure, the County’s Per Cent for Art funded commission programme 2017 – 2021. Through Infrastructure, Fingal County Council will actively bring contemporary art directly into everyday life, and into the urban, coastal and rural communities in Fingal.
The public art programme’s title Infrastructure, alludes to the notion that society and our roles within it can only be improved and flourishes when supportive environments and networks are constituted, maintained and used. This is particularly true of the role of local government and its function with regard to creating real opportunities for living artists to make artwork in contemporary society both, within the traditional spaces in which we are accustomed to experiencing art, and in new, as yet unimagined and expanded contexts.
Infrastructure is a new and exciting series of opportunities open to all artists. Those who have been born, live or work in Fingal, as well as artists from across Ireland and from abroad are all encouraged to apply. It is open to all kinds of practising artists, of all age groups, from rappers to writers, visual artists to choreographers, theatre producers, musicians, poets, crafters and street artists and those working in new media. These artists and those who make other types of art, are strongly encouraged to participate in this major open invitation. The selection process is fair and transparent, and is in accordance with Government guidelines and with international best practice for the commissioning of artists. Full details on the members of the selection panel and how to submit an application can be found on www.fingalarts.ie/infrastructure
Infrastructure, devised by Fingal County Council’s Public Art Co-ordinator Caroline Cowley and curator Aisling Prior who each bring a wealth of experience to this exciting opportunity for artists, is hugely ambitious for the people of Fingal and for the country in general.
Throughout 2016, the curators engaged in extensive online consultation and held public information sessions to discuss what people in Fingal expect, and would like, in terms of public and socially based art. This feedback informed Infrastructure, which is exciting and open, and will see artists working in housing estates, heritage sites, amongst new and old communities from Balbriggan to Blanchardstown, on the streets and the beaches of Fingal, and in lots of other places and with lots of different people. A real slice of creative life and artistic activity happening in contemporary Ireland will be supported and funded through this great 4 year programme.
For further information on how to apply, for a copy of the full briefing document and the application form, please visit www.fingalarts.ie/infrastructure Deadline; Thursday 28th of September 2017
There are 4 main ways artists can get involved. They are broken into 4 Strands in order to meet the expectations across the county and across the artistic professions.
These are
Public Art Awards An opportunity for artists to produce particularly ambitious/flagship projects inspired by the people and places of Fingal.
Co- Productions This strand places artists at the heart of communities to co-produce or create works with communities or communities of interest which will focus on the power of exchange and collaboration
Buildings & Public Places Panel Artists will be appointed to work with architects to make artworks for new public buildings, housing schemes and for new public spaces.
People’s Purchase Artists can submit work which will be selected by local people and bought through Infrastructure to form a Community Collection. Communities can select an artwork that they would like to exhibit or house (if it is not a work of visual art) in their meeting /public places.
For all further information on the opportunities, briefing document and application form visit www.fingalarts.ie/infrastructure Deadline for Applications; Thursday 28th September 2017
Some background to Public Art in Fingal
Fingal County Council is acknowledged as a leader in the field of art commissioning in Ireland. Public Art is embedded in the very fabric of the organisation from Vivienne Roche’s “Flow”, a glass relief sculpture within the council’s chamber, to the recent work by Garrett Phelan – The Hide Sculpture, a 21st century functional monument open to the public and located at Balleally Landfill near Lusk.
Public Art played a significant role in Fingal’s commemorations of the 1916 Rising with a contemporary interpretation of the role of women played in the Easter Rising and of the ‘travelling secrets’ which were so important in the days leading up to the Rising. “Mobile Monuments” by artists Rhona Byrne & Yvonne McGuinness explored these themes, making a public art event with large scale colourful sculptures – vessels for all sorts of objects and tools - being cycled across the county on rickshaws. A programme of pop-up performances devised with school children and more senior citizens, travelled alongside the routes of these mobile sculptures.
Public art has also lived at the very heart of our communities through the Award-winning Resort Residency which takes place annually at Lynders Mobile Home Park in Portrane where many artists have lived on a short term basis, creating artworks in response to this beautiful coastal area.