The Kensington + Chelsea Art Week (KCAW) is inviting artists, creative organisations and curators to submit artworks for the 2022 Public Art Trail. Selected works will be displayed in a variety of public spaces for one month or longer during KCAW in Summer 2022.

KCAW is a festival celebrating the borough's artistic legacy and its abundant creative future.

Founded in 2018 and developed with community consultation, KCAW shines a spotlight on the area's unique and unexpected cultural variety. Bringing together a multitude of studios, museums, galleries, exhibition spaces and businesses, it attracts local and international audiences to hundreds of events and installations throughout the borough.

With 150+ venues and 200+ events, installations, exhibitions and digital projects, KCAW is all about people getting out into the borough, celebrating its diverse cultural heritage. Now in its 5th edition, since its inception the Art Trail has brought in over 900,000 visitors to see the installations.

We continue to build on the legacy of four successful editions for KCAW 2022.

KCAW brings fresh dynamism to the area through its vibrant public art trails that also include self-guided tours, designed to reveal hidden gems in the fields of food, music, theatre and history, as well as exhibitions by hundreds of local galleries, connecting eight culture zones in the borough.

KCAW22 will be an opportunity to once again enjoy the West London borough in greater depth, and allow the public to discover and be guided through the extraordinary cultural cross-section of this historic area.

The Public Art Trail

The KCAW Public Art Trail creates temporary landmarks across the borough, connecting Kensington and Chelsea through an evolving discovery trail, explored on foot, and through digital experiences.

Each year, KCAW features thought-provoking installations and murals, which in the past have included work by Zak Ové, Baker & Borowski, Terry O'Neill, Laura Ford, LR Vandy, James Capper, Richard Woods, Barnaby Barford, Liz West, Alex Chinneck, Linett Kamala, Azzarra Amoy and many more.

KCAW21 saw the expansion of its public art programme to new sites, including the Design Museum, Warwick Road at Earl's Court and the King's Road Curve, with installations both by invited artists and by artists who are selected through an Open Call, evaluated by an esteemed Art Commiteee. Every year the comittee changes and brings a new perspective to the selection.

In 2022 we will once again bring this exciting temporary Public Art Trail to the borough, extending the duration of all installations to a minimum of one month, and up to a year, increasing visibility and engagement with local residents and visitors.

The Public Art Trail will be featured across all KCAW platforms. Exclusive behind-the-scenes content about each work will be shared on the new KCAW Culture Map, providing unique insights into the installations and the artists who created them.

Call For Entries

In order to give greater visibility to locally based creative talent, the Open Call encourages applications from the area of Kensington and Chelsea, as well as from further afield,  to submit pre-existing artworks to be installed in a variety of public spaces during KCAW22.

The shortlisted proposals will be evaluated by an Art Committee made up of leading names from the visual arts, performance arts, literature and media. The Art Committee will verify that the proposals fit the selection criteria, including their viability for display in the public sphere and safety for public use; will assess how the projects reflect the KCAW22 curatorial theme; and will evaluate their suitability to the proposed site, allocating the final locations for the projects.

Shortlisted proposals will be featured in the festival’s core programme, as part of the printed KCAW Guide, the digital Culture Map, and as key features in the KCAW marketing campaign, benefiting from media coverage of the event.

The submissions deadline is 10 January 2022.

Theme

We are looking for projects that reflect the curatorial theme for 2022, "NOURISH".

Every living being is sustained by Nourishment of some kind, whether through consumption of food, photosynthesis or other means. Nourishment can also be intellectual, social and mystical.

Consider commensality as a social activity, which creates and cements relationships, but also sets boundaries. Think of Nourishment as a form of knowledge – food for the soul as well as food for the body.

In the form of food, it is fundamental to life. How it is grown, harvested, prepared, eaten, shared and wasted are essential questions when it comes to ecology and to sustainability.

Food is culture. It unites and divides us. It is sensual. It is gluttonous and indulgent. It is pleasure, spirituality and meditation, pain and boredom. It is fun!  

We hope that our theme will activate questions related to how Nourishment can be a vehicle for visual experimentation with form and the senses, cultural - in sharing and togetherness, with kindness, with teaching and learning, and Nourishment as a form of knowledge

THE PROJECT MAY ALSO FIT ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

+ Reflect on the history and legacy of the area where the work will be presented

+ Encourage audience engagement

+ Evoke the celebratory spirit of the festival

Applicant brief

+ Submissions are open to artists, curators, groups or collaborations without established commercial representation in the UK.

+ Artists with established representation or commercial galleries should contact info@ kcaw.co.uk to find out how to be involved in KCAW22 and the Public Art Trail.

+ The artworks exhibited are primarily 3D installations and sculpture. The works may be in a broad variety of materials and may be free-standing or may be shown suspended. Digital installations and projects are accepted.

+ Please submit pre-existing works or works which will be produced in time for the Festival.

+ The Festival will run from 23 June to 3 July 2022. Submitted artworks must be available for display during these dates.

+ Submitted artworks must be available on loan from at least 1 June 2022 and can be displayed outdoors for a minimum of 28 days.

+ The public art installations may be installed as early as May 2022 depending on availability, and may be on display for up to a year, depending on the project and its location.

+ The works are on loan at no fee for a period of minimum 5 weeks or longer, depending on the artwork and its final location. This will be agreed shortly after the shortlisted applicants are notified.

+ Artworks should be in good condition and suitable for display outdoors. A condition report may be requested as part of the Loan Agreement.

+ KCAW covers shipping within the UK, installation, insurance, maintenance costs, and any planning applications. Applicants will be responsible for producing their own work: we thus encourage submission of pre-existing works.

+ Following the shortlisting stage, artwork sites will be identified and KCAW will work closely with successful applicants throughout all delivery stages, including obtaining relevant documents (council permissions, insurance, etc.) and managing audience flow with the help of security staff and invigilators where needed.

+ Applicants are invited to suggest a location for their work; however, the final locations will be allocated by the Art Committee

+ Successful applicants will be invited for a site visit to identify which site(s) are most suitable for showcasing the particular work/project. If they have a site to propose, this will also be reviewed.

+ All selected participants will contribute to the promotion of their event and the festival overall when possible (e.g. on social media, newsletters).

+ Applicants are invited to the launch party in June, as well as to participate in any press opportunities that may arise.

+ Selected participants may be invited to collaborate on KCAW workshops and talks.

Locations

There are many potential sites in the borough of varying size and conditions.

The KCAW Public Art Trail aims to connect RBKC across eight zones: North Kensington, Notting Hill + Holland Park, High Street Kensington, Kensington Church Street, South Kensington, Earl's Court, Sloane Square + King's Road, and Old Chelsea + Worlds End, all connected by the new interactive Culture Map.

KCAW22 Public Art installations areas may include:

+ Sloane Square

+ Duke of York Square

+ The Design Museum, in High Street Kensington 

+ Pavilion Road

+ Holland Park

+ Avondale Park

+ King's Road Curve

+ Exhibition Road

+ Warwick Road

Applicants are encouraged to research the borough, its public spaces and institutions, to suggest new Public Art sites for their projects.

How to apply

Please send submissions by 10 January 2022, which must include:

+  Detailed artwork description

+  Artwork images

+  Artwork statement explaining the process and idea behind the artwork, including how the work is connected to the curatorial theme

+  Technical specifications, including dimensions, weight, and materials

+  Installation requirements

+  Current artwork location

+  Applicant’s CV/portfolio, including a short statement detailing any connection with Kensington and Chelsea

+  Link to applicant’s website/Instagram

+  Applicants can submit more than one artwork, but separate applications are required for each

TIMELINE

+  19 November – 10 January: call for entries

+  End-January 2022: Art Committee selects a shortlist of proposals

+  Mid-February 2022: successful applicants are contacted

+  March 2022: projects are announced

+  23 June – 3 July 2021: KCAW21

NOTIFICATION ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION

Once you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email. Should the application be incomplete we will ask for the missing information. However, if that is not provided by the 10 January deadline, the application will not be considered.

Due to the expected high number of applications, please be advised that only successful candidates will be notified.