Jewell Station Public Art Competition Open for Submissions

Arts & Events - by Open Journal

“The arts are internationally recognised as a catalyst for the regeneration of cities and have been identified as one of the key drivers of change and critical enablers of place making with both social and economic benefits.”

Moreland Arts and Culture Strategy 2011 – 2016

Public art can provide a symbol that expresses the ideas and values of a community. It can also create emotional connections to place and a sense of ownership among local residents. Public art has the ability to transform an open space into a focal point and meeting place.

Jewell Station will form a New Urban Village by Neometro in partnership with VicTrack. The project promotes the idea that well-designed apartments support wellbeing and connection in the community, an ethos that reflects their commitment to High Density Happiness. The apartments at Jewell Station are more than a place to spend the night – they will be home to likeminded people who value community, good design, urban living, sustainability and a balanced approach to life.

Neometro is now inviting Stage One expressions of interest from artists and creative teams to create a unique public artwork at Jewell Station that will reflect this ethos. It is intended that the artwork will operate as a key feature of the new development and should appeal to the common interests of the residents and local community.

Three artists will be selected from the Stage One applications to progress to Stage Two, where they will be able to further develop their proposal for the final selection of one major work.

The full artist brief is available for download here:

JEWELL STATION PUBLIC ART BRIEF

Applications that address the following considerations are currently being sought

Essential:

Has artistic integrity
Responds to the surrounding natural and urban environment
Evidences plans for community consultation
Considers public safety
Realistic to budget

Other considerations:

The work should be unique and site-specific. It should demonstrate innovation, materially or conceptually. If materially, this may be through the use of new technologies, or environmentally sustainable materials. For example, the work might be interactive or kinetic, or engage with sound, light or projection.

The work should also consider local identity. It might do this by engaging Moreland’s diverse communities, acknowledging Moreland’s Indigenous culture, or through relevance to the artists and practices within the municipality.

Occupational health and safety and public liability considerations should be made in the design and production of the work. This includes no pointy or sharp edges that could hurt people, especially children.

Consideration also needs to be given to maintenance and longevity. This includes difficulty to damage or graffiti the work, and ease to maintain.

Community consultation:

Artists responding to the Stage One brief need only state their plans for community consultation, and do not need to commence this work unless shortlisted to enter Stage Two. Shortlisted artists will receive assistance from the art consultant in the planning and execution of this aspect of the project.

Budget:

The project budget for the final artwork is up to $40,000 (ex GST). This includes the artist fee, production and installation.

The size and complexity of the artwork should be realistic to the budget. Allowances for power and footings are not required in the artist budget. The artwork location will have access to power and the installation of footings will be the responsibility of Neometro.

Timeline

Stage One artist invitations open: Thursday 3 November 2016

Stage One submission date: Monday 28 November 2016

Invitations to shortlisted Stage Two artists: Monday 5 December 2016

Stage Two submission date: Monday 6 February 2017

Winner announcement: Monday 13 February 2017

Judging Panel

Jeff Provan, Design Director, Neometro

Aoife Kealy, Development Manager, VicTrack

Simon Knott, Director, BKK Architects

Mark Gillingham, Director, Glas Urban

Dr Geoff Hogg, Lecturer and Director of CAST, RMIT