Creative Playground is looking for visual artists or groups of creatives working in a range of visual art disciplines to design and deliver public art murals across Crawley that have lasting impact, brighten up dark spaces and celebrate the town and its residents.

Credit Ian Greenland. Des, Creative Playground presents Mimbre at Broadfield Arts Festival June 23

Overview

Creative Playground is inviting up to 3 artists to design and deliver public art murals in at least 4 different neighbourhoods in Crawley, West Sussex. We are aiming to produce up to 5 different murals in 4 different locations to be decided. It might be that one artist delivers all the murals but more likely that we work with a range of different artists. The deadline to apply is Tuesday 10th October. This project is for the people of Crawley (see below) and made in partnership with local residents.

About Creative Playground

Creative Playground is a long term arts project led by and for local people in Crawley. It aims to encourage those not currently engaged in creative activities to take part in high quality arts and culture across the town. Led by Manor Royal Business Improvement District and a consortium of local organisations: Crawley LGBT+, The Hawth and Crawley Town Community Foundation, the project champions everyday creativity and encourages connection through shared experiences. It is funded as part of Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places Programme and managed by Creative Crawley.

A key part of the project are the Playmakers, local volunteers who’ve taken an interest in and want to shape and decide the programme of work. They might have participated in activities or have a particular community they’re interested in representing, anyone based in Crawley can be a Playmaker. Through Playmaker involvement, Creative Playground’s programme places residents at the centre of decision making.

About Crawley People

Crawley is a new town of 14 neighbourhoods with a growing, increasingly diverse population and thriving business district. It has a rich network of community groups and a lively grassroots and amateur scene but limited cultural infrastructure.

Creative Playground worked with our first set of Playmakers to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by the town and agree on a set of values for the project. Local people told us about the uninspiring townscape that is colourless and lacking in character, fragmented transport systems across the different areas and a drain of young people who seek opportunity and a better life elsewhere. The values identified for the project to improve the lives of local people are:

● Pride of Place

● Inclusivity

● Opportunity

● Boundlessness

● Joyful Togetherness

In Crawley, the population size has increased by 11.2%, from around 106,600 in 2011 to 118,500 in 2021. Crawley is the 10th most densely populated of the South East's 64 local authority areas, with around 19 people living on each football pitch-sized area of land.

There has been an increase of 16.6% in people aged 65 years and over, an increase of 9.5% in people aged 15 to 64 years, and an increase of 13.0% in children aged under 15 years.

Approximately 64.5% of the population is aged below 45, compared to 55% of the population of West Sussex. White British account for 84.5% of the population and 15.5% of people are from other ethnic backgrounds. People of Indian and Pakistani origin account for 4.5% and 3% of the population respectively. Many inhabitants of Crawley work locally at Gatwick Airport as either air or ground crew.

Many Chagossians expelled from the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean were sent to Mauritius. In the early 2000’s the UK government allowed islanders born between 1969 and 1982 to apply for British citizenship. It was reported in 2016 that the town's Chagossian community numbered approximately 3,000 people.

The borough has a population density of around 22 persons per hectare (9 persons per acre), making it the second most densely populated district in West Sussex, after Worthing. The social mix is similar to the national norm: around 50% are in the ABC1 social category, although this varies by ward, with just 44% in Broadfield North compared to 75% in Maidenbower.

The proportion of people in the borough with higher education qualifications is lower than the national average. Around 14% have a qualification at level 4 or above, compared to 20% nationally.

The Brief

This brief has been developed with the Creative Playground Playmakers.

Working in partnership with the Mural Playmakers group, the artist(s) will create a series of ideas in response to the brief that will then be developed with the Playmakers and shared with the general public before the final design is approved and installation commences.

The themes for the commissions have been developed by Playmakers. We want the murals to celebrate:

● every day Crawley people and the diverse communities of the town

● the future of the town whilst respecting history

● the resilience of Crawley people What we want the murals to do:

● brighten up dark corners

● draw people to a new place

● celebrate the people of the town

There are a range of other ideas developing such as built in QR codes with info about the local area and a sound trail that accompanies the murals. These ideas will be additional and would require further funds.

What kinds of people do we want to work with?

Visual artists or groups of artists and creatives who:

● might work in a range of all visual art disciplines including digital media

● have experience of delivering high quality engagement as well as high quality artistic outputs

● love working collaboratively with local people and have experience of making work in the public realm

● have a clear reason for wanting to make work in Crawley (but are not necessarily locals)

● Are open and flexible and will response well to feedback from local people

● Maybe at the beginning of their careers or be incredibly experienced, we are interested in a range of approaches.

● Make high quality work (see below for more on what we mean by quality)

Who is the team?

The Creative Playground project team that will support the artists to deliver the murals includes Lana, a freelance public art Producer working specifically on this project, Erin Beesley (Community Engagement Manager), Sam Evans (Head of Production and Learning) and Louise Blackwell (Co-Director). The rest of the Creative Playground team will also feed in.

There is a group of volunteer Playmakers who meet once a month to help develop the project and ensure that it is rooted in the values of Creative Playground. This group consists of between 10 and 15 people.

Support and guidance will be provided by the producer and wider Creative Playground team at each stage of the process however it is imperative that each artist has the ability to work with a variety of key stakeholders regardless of their previous experience.

What kinds of materials are we interested in?

We have no fixed ideas on what materials will be used. The format for the murals is to be decided and could be painting, projection, vinyl, 3D or 2D, photograph or mosaic.

Works will remain in-situ for at least 2 years in neighburhoods and 10 years in the town centre so particular consideration will be given to fire / weather / vandal-resistant artwork. The Creative Playground team will manage the maintenance of the murals, however guidance on the minimal upkeep required will need to be provided in a maintenance plan that the team will help to develop, including materials used and cleaning processes. Particular consideration will be given to fire / weather / vandal-resistant artwork due to the duration they will be in-situ.

What kinds of locations will the murals be in?

We will create murals in at least 4 neighbourhoods in Crawley; our target neighbourhoods are West Green, Broadfield, Langley Green, Bewbush and the Town Centre. The Playmakers will work with the Producer to identify potential spaces.

The murals will differ in size depending on the locations. We are hoping for a range of sizes from 1m x 1m up to 10m x 10m. They might be on walls but they could, for example, also be on floors.

Who are the partners?

The project is funded by Arts Council England’s Creative People and Place programme and Crawley Borough Council. The core consortium of Creative Playground will also be involved in the project.

What is the artist responsible for?

● Designing a high quality and unique mural or series of murals that adheres to the brief, responding to two rounds of feedback and presenting the ideas in development to a range of stakeholders

● Meeting with the Playmakers at least twice and undertaking at least 2 site visits to the locations of the murals.

● Responding to the ideas of the Playmakers and using them as inspiration for the work

● Working collaboratively and closely with the Creative Playground team and being responsive and communicative throughout the process

● Understanding the importance of co-creation and adhere to the Creative Playground values

● Installing the mural (or series of murals) on time and within budget

What does 'quality' mean to us?

By high quality we mean work that involves care, skill, effort, passion, is heartfelt and meaningful. It will be properly thought-out, and bold in its intentions, responding to the specific context of the commission in order to impact those that experience it. The work will be well made in terms of the process of development and final execution of the idea to an international standard and those involved will work together in a friendly and supportive way.

Budget

There is a fee of £5,000 per artist and a materials/installation budget of up to £2500 per mural plus VAT.

Shortlisted artists will be paid £250 to develop their ideas and present them to the Playmakers.

Travel expenses (within reason) will be paid in addition to the fee.

We have a separate budget for marketing and communications.

We expect the artists to manage their own time and deliver the brief within the agreed fee. We imagine the fee will equate to around 20 days work. However, we understand everyone has different processes and ways of working so this is just a guide.

How to Apply

Please submit all answers via the CuratorSpace form.

If you have additional access needs and would prefer to respond in an alternative way, you can submit an audio application in MP3 or WAV format or a video application in mp4 format via our website.

You can access the pre-application demographic monitoring form here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqqynxozCjFffGOT7vlglF18ZXzppKEwx77z3GS8uHgOqL g/viewform

We collect this demographic information anonymously from applicants so we can see who is / isn’t applying for our commissions, and do more to ensure our recruitment process fosters our principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion. If you have any questions about this, please get in touch.

Selection Process

We involve communities in our decision making. Applications will be assessed by a panel of community representatives (Playmakers) working with the Creative Playground team. They will be young and older people, people from a range of diverse backgrounds and identities. They may not have any formal training in the arts. Please keep your language simple, don’t use jargon. Good quality pictures or videos of your work will go down well. We recommend sending pictures of your artworks (outputs) rather than process (workshops).

Depending on the number of proposals received, the Creative Playground team and key stakeholders (such as Crawley Borough Council) may undertake the initial shortlisting.

Up to 8 artists will be shortlisted and up to five final artists will be decided upon by the Playmakers. The artists who make it through to the final shortlisting will be paid £250 to work up their proposals and then present their ideas (online) to the Playmakers panel.

We hope the final three successful artists will be in place by the beginning of November 2023.

Proposals will be assessed by the following criteria:

1. The quality, originality and ambition of the creative idea at the heart of the proposal

2. Its relevance to the themes and audiences for the project

3. The capacity to deliver the project on time and to budget

4. Previous experience of delivering similar projects (or demonstrating potential)

5. Ability to engage with the community who will support the development and promotion of the programme

Timeline

2023

8th September: Artist call out goes live

10th October: Deadline for applications

18th October: Playmakers meeting to discuss shortlist

By 3rd November: Shortlisted artists notified

By 17th November: Interviews with shortlisted artists have taken place

By 30th November: Commissioned artists notified 2024

31st March: Murals installed

By 12th April: Public launch takes place

2024

31st March: Murals installed

By 12th April: Public launch takes place

https://creativeplaygroundcrawley.com/jobs/creative-playground-public-murals-commission-brief/