Dublin City Council and Theater Forum public art development day

1. Public Art Briefs and proposals Developing Theatre Practices into Pubic Art The Lab April 2010 Sarah Searson and Cliodhna Shaffrey

3. Mossutställningar, Stockholm.

4. Aideen Barry

5. Martin Creed Work No. 850

7. artists context (place/people) commissioner artwork

10. Boom Times - significant available funding and opportunities for artists to the Recession – less funding, drying up of opportunities. State Policy - on public art national guidelines – 2004 and current review. Towards greater freedom and artistic expertise Local Arts Development Plans. Impacts and trends Public Art Specialists in local authorities (and their decline). Specialist Curators and the role of the artistic expert

11. PRACTICES EMERGING Flexibility for artists’ responses – site, functional socially engaged, process-research, event, social, decorative. Curated and programmatic approaches Off-site artistic programmes Growth in number of small-scale festivals and curated events Curated approach to commissioning Academicisation of artists practice and MA and PhD in Public Art / Contemporary Art Artists-led initiatives

12. Situation – the specifics of context Intention – the artists’ intention for the work / closeness to practice Awareness of audience and (people)/ different kinds of audiences; Making demands on the public Embedded in contemporary arts practice and artist’s ethos - emphasis on the relational and more temporary., time based artworks, change in the understanding of the product Collaborative practice and interdisciplinary approaches Process The some re-emergence of sculpture / permanent work (inside/ unmonumental/ subversive with new material and technology)

13. CRITICAL DEBATES RAISED you’re asked to do something on the margin: you don’t get the main space, you’re put in the corner. (Vito Acconci) Institutional pressures (political, social and other) (Miwon Kwon) Artist as Ethnographer (Hal Foster) Education and improvement over solidarity Grant Kestler Censorship and limitations (Clare Dorothy) More in Critical Section publicart.ie

14. Whose history is represented? How does public art confront darker or more painful complicated considerations and not miss opportunities to act in solidarity? (Grant Kester) The lure of the local (Lucy Lippard) nostalgic versions of place. Gentrification, displacement, cleaning up and the drive for marketing of place - (Malcolm Miles/ Roselyn Deutche/ Rebecca Solnit/ Ed Soja). Taste - whose tastes

15. Types of Practice & Levels of Engagement Artists who make work with little/no involvement of others except for technical expertise. Artists who invite participation Artists who embed themselves within the social fabric of a city or place. Artists who work from a collaborative basis – effecting a kind of social sculpture. Artists who act as investigators/ researchers/ anthropologists observing, mapping or tracking aspects of place or communities. From Clare Dorothy Curating in the wrong place, where have all the penguines gone?

16. RESEARCH AND RESPONDING

19. What do I need to do to realise this commission? Can I build Research Time in as part of the application? Do I need another’s input – a mentor or specialist? Are there ethical questions underpinning my approach? Am I up for a Challenge? Are there other projects, artists, or works that inspire me ? how does material work or change for this context?

20. TO KEEP IN MIND Develop and clear understanding of how you like to work and the potentials of this within your own practice development. What are the values of your existing practice, the intentions and ambitions and consequent responsibilities of developing a public Seek peer engagement, feedback and support in developing the workability of your ideas. (This maybe included as part of initial proposals )

22. RESPONDING TO A COMMISSION It is tempting to apply because there is money on offer, but..... Do not compromise your artistic practice when making proposals (especially for public art commissions..... Many public art commissions require a context specific element (reflecting the community of place and interest) The key is to find a connection between your work and practice to the context be it the people, geography, nature of the place, identity, fiction, etc Collaborative practise – working with other artists or across artform / or with communities can prove very fulfilling. These require specialist expertise and approaches to working. Consider working with other experts both artistic and others on the commission

23. Sean Taylor’s 100 Paces Collins Barracks Dublin – the artists turned the commission brief to suit him

28. Get someone else (a peer / another artist) to read your proposal, If you hate writing get someone else to write for you but check everything. New work and project development is a process, through process ideas develop – time-lines can often be very short, start early. Clarity emerges when you write and helps structure your thoughts, ideas occur. Check all requirements – what you have been asked for. Edit your material well, especially reference to your recent/past work – Keep the shit detector fully functioning. Do not submit much more than you are asked for. Do not submit too little to allow fair assessment Make it joyful, easy to move through, thoughtful and clear. Try and have the application reflect a little personality.

29. Writing a proposal – heading areas Title: Description: About your proposal/ concepts and thoughts behind it, research methodologies. what you want to do, what it will involve, theoretical underpinning of concepts. Context: The context for this work – social, physical, geographic, multi-sited, virtual etc. Research & Development People (this might be collaborators or other expertise) Audience/ Participants Costs: Materials/ Media – Location: Mediation Documentation Evaluation Networks/ future possibilities for the project. Maintenance (outlne as required) Technical details (specific as required). Timeframe Visuals might intersperse with your text in a way that makes it more lively and engaging.