The East Riding Visual Arts Uplift is proud to announce yet another contemporary artistic commission in collaboration with Sewerby Hall and Gardens for the year 2021/2022. There is an all inclusive commission fee of £8,000 available to the shortlisted artist to create a piece of contemporary artwork that is site specific and fits the below artistic brief.

It is envisaged the piece will be installed on site at Sewerby Hall and Gardens in November 2021 in readiness for the venue spring reopening, for an agreed duration with the potential for an accompanying exhibition/workshops from the artist. 

This commission is a part of the East Riding Visual Arts Uplift’s commitment to showcasing and integrating contemporary art into the region.

Theme/Brief

We have decided not to set a restricting theme, we want artists to have free rein over the ideas they submit to us. However, we are keen that the artworks meet a brief and respond to the heritage and surroundings of Sewerby Hall and Gardens.

The work proposed and produced must be contemporary art, that is both challenging and of a high quality. We want artists to add their own style, create something that showcases what they do as an artist to intrigue the audience and bring a taste of contemporary visual art to the East Riding. 

The piece must work in the specified space (Images/Plans here). We do not have the option of flexibility to site the piece elsewhere and so you must show that you have responded to the allocated location. 

We would expect a piece to be in place for an extended duration (several months) to give our audience the opportunity to view and experience the offerings. 

As mentioned above there is scope for an accompanying exhibition to be staged alongside the main commissioned piece, this is not an expectation of the artist; merely an extended opportunity. We would be interested to work with artists who would be willing to commit to a workshop or talk relating their artistic practices. A key element of the Visual Arts Uplift Aims is to break down the barrier between the public and contemporary art, providing a barrier free interaction between the creator would prove an ideal route to achieve this.  

The commission has a fixed fee of £8,000 inc. all travel/accommodation expenses and materials. Sewerby Hall and Gardens expects to loan the finished piece in for the duration of the exhibition, but not to own the finished work. We would expect to use images of the work in promotional material for the exhibition and during the display itself. We would expect the artist to come to the opening of the exhibition. 

Additional fees have been retained for site logistics and installation/display needs of the piece.

We have provided an ‘inspiration board’ below to get your ideas flowing and are happy to talk through any ideas you may have in advance of submitting.  These are not images of the space available, solely inspiration for artistic content. 

Please Note: Your idea must be feasible, both in terms of budget and practicality.

How the commission will work

Below is an outline of how the commission will run:

April 

• Open Call is released
  
  

June

• Selection to be staged 

• Artists to be informed of decision and successful applicant contracted 

• Successful applicant invited for a site visit with the venue to look at any logistics
   

June - October 

• Piece build

• Accompanying exhibition/workshop/talk logistics finalised 
  
  

November

• Piece installed on site

Criteria for submission

• Your work must be safely constructed for displaying to the public.

• The piece is to be installed in November, on dates agreed with the artist for a set duration of time.

• Temporary, high quality contemporary artwork that will excite, inspire and entertain a diverse audience of all ages.

• It is essential that you think through how your piece will be realised in terms of practicality and budget.

• The funding available for this commission is £8,000. This is an all inclusive fee that includes the artistic fee, travel, accommodation and materials.