We invite submissions from artists, designers and technologists for projects culminating in November 2019 as part of Eyeview, Torbay’s Great Place Scheme Cultural Programme.

Wavelength: Open call for commissions

The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Thursday 18th July 2019. 

Shortlisted applications will be notified by 24th July 2019 and invited to interview during w/c 29th July 2019 (skype or face-to-face depending on applicant’s location). 

Experimental commissions with artists and technologists building on existing work or tested ideas that will culminate in a celebration of sound and light, illuminating the overlooked and unexpected. 

Wavelength provides an opportunity for established artists and creative technologists to realise existing tested ideas or to extend existing work to create a new experience that is particular to Torbay. The work will be presented to a wide audience from 8-10th November 2019. The focus of Wavelength is to connect people, communities and place – through actions, experiments and spectacle incorporating light and sound.

We are conscious of the debate surrounding energy use within creative lighting and sound and are keen to recognise this within the commissions and surrounding discussion. Proposals that minimise energy use and environmental impact will be supported.

Eyeview seeks to engage with existing and new audiences in and coming into Torbay, and to reach people who may not normally engage with the arts. Your project will spark curiosity and have the potential to reach a large audience. We are looking for high quality projects that engage audiences in seeing and experiencing Torbay anew. Your work will draw people in, surprise and delight, and will reflect on the relationships between people and place with curiosity and intelligence.

Larger Commissions

The value of commissions is expected to be between £3,000 and £18,000 inc vat depending on the scale of work proposed and the level of production required. Funding for Eyeview commissions is made possible through Torbay’s Great Place Scheme, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England. The Eyeview programme is also seeking additional funding to expand its reach and impact. 

Eyeview seeks three commissions each of a total value of up to £18,000 (inc. vat). This includes:

• Up to £15,000 (inc vat) per commission including costs for fees to artists, technologists and other collaborators, materials and travel.
• Up to £3,000 (inc vat) for production and presentation support, to be held by the Eyeview production team in the first instance.

Seed Commissions

Eyeview seeks two commissions each of a value of up to £6,000 (inc vat) for projects that use Eyeview commission support as leverage/part-funding:

• Up to £6,000 inc vat per commission, including costs for fees to artists, technologists and other collaborators, materials, travel, production and presentation –, 
• Eyeview funds provide between 15% and 30% of the total project value. 

Invitation Details

All commissions are to: 

• Engage with ‘communities of interest’ beyond the arts, e.g. reaching across science & technology, health & leisure, etc., to find common areas of interest.
• Provide opportunities for artists and technologists to collaborate.
• Bring people together through action, culminating in celebration or spectacle for audiences.
• Demonstrate clear engagement with a non-arts-sector partner or community of interest, exploring creative ways of using non-arts activities, resources and stimuli.
• Incorporate sound and/or light, and may also employ other artforms, for example: music, dance, theatre, visual arts, sculpture, installation, film and digital media. 
• Produce an experience of visual scale and impact that speaks to both committed and passing audiences through spectacle, curiosity and delight.
• Be publicly visible and accessible.

Our theme is ‘wavelength’ in its broadest understanding, through the use light and/or sound to connect people and place.

By way of example (and not exhaustive), phrases and words that resonate with our project are:

• Momentum to move: energy, motion, flow, potential
• Communication across distance: space, reach, connectivity, beacons, near & far, echoes, fading.
• Sea states: waves, tides, currents, peak & trough, lunar, mariner, storm/still.

The work is intended to be presented outside in a visually accessible public context.

Requirements

1. We encourage partnership working so please provide detail of confirmed or expected partners, collaborating artists, producers, co-funders etc. One lead applicant is required.
2. Work must be available for presentation during 8-10 November 2019 (and can extend beyond this).
3. Proposals should be for a bespoke new development of an existing piece or proven and resolved work arising from current research and development. We don’t require technical designs at this point only a description of your idea and setting.
4. Your work must be delivered on time and budget. Your budget should include provision for installation, production, technical support. As outlined, we anticipate that a number of commissioned projects will have existing match funding in place. Please provide details of match (confirmed/provisional and in kind support).
5. You will have public liability insurance in place.
6. Support the marketing/promotion of the work in advance of the presentation weekend

Key dates

Call out for submissions: Friday 21st June 2019

Deadline for submissions: 5pm, Thursday 18th July 2019

Panel shortlisting: By Tuesday 23rd July 2019

Shortlist Interviews: w/c 29th July 2019 (skype / in person)

Decision: Wednesday August 7th 2019 

Production meetings and site visits:August 2019 

Details finalised for marketing purposes: 30th August 2019

Pre-production period: 1st September - 7th November 2019

Programme: 8th-10th November 2019

Evaluation & feedback: November/December 2019

Support

As well as funding support for your project, Eyeview will provide curatorial support, production oversight, and practical advice to help you to realise your vision as part of the wider Eyeview programme, however it is expected that you will be responsible for the successful delivery of the work. Wavelength commissions will be expected to consider all production costs to culminate the work within the allocated production budget.  

All commissioned work will be promoted through marketing and PR, online and social media networks. Commissioned artists/collaborations will be expected to support this. 

Submit a proposal

If you would like to discuss your proposal before submitting it, please contact us. 

Your proposal should be no more than 5 sides A4 and include:

• Outline of your existing work / researched and tested idea and how it might be developed, your proposed activity, and why / how it responds to the Wavelength invitation. What would the audience/participant experience be? What would the collaboration across arts/technology look like and what are the perceived benefits? What is your project offering and what makes it interesting? In outlining the above, consider how your proposal is of high artistic quality and how it responds to our programme principles. 
• Details of key partners and communities of interest you would seek to engage with and how.
• Details of the context/location that you have in mind for presenting your work, and why this is important to your idea.
• Tell us about the form, approach, duration, frequency of the work you are proposing. Tell us about the technical or production requirements of the work and how you will approach these including details of any materials, equipment, specialist expertise etc you will be using.
• Budget breakdown to include all costs (fees, planning, delivery, evaluation, travel, materials, equipment, transportation etc). Please include any additional income (funding or in kind support) for your project and whether this is confirmed or expected.
• Confirmation of public liability insurance.
• Details of one or two relevant past works to demonstrate your experience producing high quality artistic work that responds to people and place.
• Full name, address, telephone number and email for the lead applicant.
• Biography and referees for lead artist/collaborators 
• Images or weblinks to support your proposal.