The East Leeds Project has been awarded funding from Leeds Inspired to commission an artist or artists to create a new piece of work for the Gipton Gala 2019, which will take place at Fearnville Fields on 14 July.

Introduction

The East Leeds Project has been awarded funding from Leeds Inspired to commission an artist or artists to create a new piece of work for the Gipton Gala 2019, which will take place at Fearnville Fields on 14 July.

The commission forms part of an extended period of R&D informing our ambition to create a Pavilion at Fearnville Fields, in partnership with Bauman Lyons Architects and utilising their innovative system MassBespoke. The Pavilion, which will be designed and built by, with and for the community, will provide a shared maker space for activity led by stakeholders. We know there are creative people all across east Leeds, but there are no specialist spaces for making in is broadest forms (no artists’ studios, co-working spaces, hack spaces, makers spaces, open-access facilities or workshops) where people can learn, network, share and showcase what they do. As a result, many people work in isolation from home, in their kitchens, garages and sheds, or commute in to the city centre. We know this from our research project East Leeds Makers, which is currently underway. Research findings can be shared with the successful artist/s.

This commission also forms a critical part of our R&D activity towards achieving the Pavilion itself in the future. The Pavilion will create a temporary, shared space for making together and will facilitate conversations which will help us understand what a permanent maker space might look like and how it might work for local stakeholders.

The Gipton Gala takes place annually at Fearnville Fields, adjacent to Fearnville Leisure Centre. The Gala is managed by Gipton Together, a registered charity which provides arts and sport activities for young people aged 6-18 years.

About the East Leeds Project [ELP]

The ELP was founded in 2017 and is now led by Kerry Harker (Founder and Artistic Director) and Claire Irving (Communities Director). Since early 2019 we have been a registered not-for-profit Community Interest Company. Our focus is on the corridor of green spaces that runs from north to south through east Leeds, along the Wyke Beck Valley, which includes Fearnville Fields in Gipton. We consider this green corridor as one space for artistic exploration. We embrace values of co-production and partnership working. Our work emerges from a visual arts tradition but we are keen to explore and rethink the role of art and artists in contemporary society and to examine the potential of ‘social practice’ in creating change at the local level.

Commission Details

We recognise that the Pavilion project is ambitious. It is essential that we work with the community to develop the project and we are therefore undertaking a period of R&D to support this longer-term ambition. As part of this, we want to know more about 'making' in east Leeds now - who makes what, where they make it, who with, and what skills they have. We use an inclusive definition of making that encompasses the arts, but also culture in a broader sense: growing, cooking and baking, traditional trades, manufacturing, crafts and so on. Although we already know a handful of artists and other creative people based in east Leeds, we are aware that there will be many more, and we are keen to connect with more ‘makers’ locally - whether they consider themselves a professional, amateur or hobbyist.

We made a successful bid to Leeds Inspired for support with a specific project within this R&D phase, with the working title ‘The Shed.’ The Leeds Inspired funding will allow us to commission an artist or artists to create a participatory project around the idea of ‘making’, working with local communities and culminating in the co-production of a new participatory art work. We have identified the use of a large garden shed as a basis for this commission, which will allow us to maintain a presence at the Gala and provide shelter in the event of bad weather. Following the Gala, the shed will become an asset for the East Leeds Project, allowing us to be mobile with our programming and responsive to other events in the cultural calendar such as Light Night. The shed will return to the Gipton Gala in July 2020, to continue the conversation with the community as another milestone on our journey towards the Pavilion.

Artist/s may propose to customise the shed itself, regarding it as a sculptural object, utilise the space inside, outside and around the shed, create a work to be housed within the shed, or curate a programme for the shed and invite others in to utilise the space – the brief is very flexible in this regard, provided the work meets the project aims listed below. We are completely open to the use of any media or art form that artists may wish to propose. We are looking for bold proposals that can achieve impact and scale.

The commission aims to:

• Create an accessible and inspirational participatory project

• Develop a conversation on making in east Leeds

• Conduct appropriate research with participants

• Enable and showcase creative expression in east Leeds

• Expand our networks and raise our visibility

• Grow capacity for collaborative working

• Embed artists in these conversations

• Impact on the development of our future R&D activities

This year’s Gala coincides with the inaugural Yorkshire Sculpture International (22 June - 29 September) and there may also be opportunities to stage an event such as an artist’s talk before or after the Gala that allows us to connect to this major new programme in the region.

Access

Proposals must take access into account – we want the work to be accessible to as many people as possible. Physical access to the site is good and there is ample parking at Fearnville Leisure Centre adjacent to the playing fields where the Gala takes place. Access by public transport is via the number 42 Bus (Fearnville) which stops at the junction directly opposite the driveway into the Leisure Centre. It is an approximately 2-3 minute walk from the bus stop to the Gala site. As this takes place on playing fields the surface is relatively flat and even.

We encourage artists with particular access requirements to contact us with any queries and we will be happy to discuss and help.

Budget

An artist’s fee of £2500 is available for this commission, equivalent to 10 days’ work at £250 per day. This includes set-up before the Gala and participation on the day, although the rest of the time can be spread across the production period as agreed with the successful artist/s. We have an additional production budget of £1000, plus £800 to purchase a large garden shed. We have a flexible approach and are happy to discuss creative use of the total production budget (£1800), provided the project aims are met. For example, artists may want to propose a bespoke ‘shed’ or equivalent as part of their project proposal. Applicants may submit an indicative budget for further discussion at short listing stage. There is an additional budget to cover travel, subsistence, co-production, marketing, audience development and documentation.

Timescale

29 March - Open call goes live            

26 April - Submissions deadline (midnight)      

w/c 6 May - Artist/s appointed                

May to July - Production period (approx 9 weeks)

Set up - Saturday 13 July                  

Gipton Gala - Sunday 14 July (public opening times 11am – 4pm)                    

Eligibility

Artists at any stage of their career and working in any media are eligible to apply. We are happy to receive submissions from individual artists as well as groups/collectives.

Submissions and enquiries

Applicants should provide:

• Outline proposal (max 500 words)

• Indicative budget

• Short statement on their practice (max 500 words)

• Supporting visuals

• Links to relevant online material (websites/social media)

Selection Process and Criteria

Submissions will be assessed by the ELP Directors, Kerry Harker and Claire Irving, against the following criteria:

• Fit with the commission aims

• Potential to excite and inspire participants

• Artistic quality

• Value for money

We will compile a shortlist of strong submissions and come back to applicants with questions in the first instance, before awarding the commission. The ELP will issue a contract to the successful artist/s, and this will outline a payment schedule for fees against agreed milestones in the project delivery. The successful artists will need to be responsible for their own tax and National Insurance arrangements, and will need to evidence that they have their own public liability insurance.* Artists without insurance may apply but we will need you to obtain insurance as a condition of taking on the commission – we are happy to help artists work through this. We work collaboratively and would envisage close working between the successful artist/s and the ELP team to develop and realise the commission.

*Affordable insurance for artists is offered by AN, Axisweb, CuratorSpace and Artists’ Union England. We strongly recommend all individual artists and artists’ groups/collectives carry public liability insurance as a matter of course.

Marketing

The ELP will undertake to document the commission throughout production and realisation. We will promote the commissioned artist/s and their work through our website, social media and e-mailers to our database. We also have a small budget to produce a printed postcard about the project. We will work with the artist/s to achieve any additional marketing and PR outcomes that are indentified. The successful artist/s agree to images of the work and its production being used for ELP marketing purposes.

Links

East Leeds Project www.eastleedsproject.org

Fearnville Leisure Centre www.active.leeds.gov.uk/findacentre/FearnvilleLeisureCentre

Gipton Together www.giptontogether.com

MassBespoke (Bauman Lyons Architects) www.massbespoke.com

Yorkshire Sculpture International www.yorkshire-sculpture.org

Images

Please see the attached map and aerial view of the Fearnville site. The Gala takes place on the playing fields on the right of the aerial shot.