The City of London, in partnership with the Arts Advisory Board and the curatorial team at Sculpture in the City, are pleased to extend a call for submissions to the 12th edition of Sculpture in the City, taking place from June 2023 to May 2024. Deadline for submissions: 5.00pm (GMT), Tuesday 1st November 2022.

WHAT IS SCULPTURE IN THE CITY?

Sculpture in the City (SITC) is an award-winning annual urban sculpture park, launching each year in June. It is a cultural initiative delivered by the City of London Corporation in partnership with 11 local businesses with a mission to present cultural projects in line with the Lord Mayor’s vision and support for London’s creative industries and artistic talent. SITC uses the Square Mile as an outdoor urban gallery space to show the best of contemporary art by established and emerging artists from the UK and the world. Open 24/7 with no admission charge, it is London’s largest free outdoor display of public art.

Each year the Arts Advisory Board selects artworks from an open call to realise a unique display of contemporary art in an urban setting. On average, SITC attracts 500,000 unique visitors each year.

SITE

SITC takes place in the EC3 area around the City’s historic buildings (Leadenhall Market, St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate Churchyard) and iconic contemporary architecture (30 St Mary Axe a.k.a. ‘The Gherkin’ , Leadenhall Building a.k.a. ‘The Cheesegrater’, Lloyds Building, 22 Bishopsgate). The project’s character is set by the dialogue between the contemporary artworks and their old and new architectural settings.

EXHIBITION

SITC is the largest free public art exhibition in London. To date, SITC has presented 141 contemporary artworks in the City of London’s public spaces over 11 editions (2010–2022).

The exhibition does not have a specific theme. Selection is based on each work’s artistic merit and its suitability to the urban context (e.g. materiality, scale and style).

The 11th edition (on view until spring 2023) showcased 20 contemporary artworks by established and emerging British and international artists, including Alice Channer, Shezad Dawood, Bram Ellen, Sarah Lucas, Jocelyn McGregor, Emma Louise Moore, and Ugo Rondinone. To view the full list of artists, exhibition plan, highlights video and for further information, visit https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/artwork/11th-edition/

To access the free audio guide by Bloomberg Connects, download app here: https://www.bloombergconnects.org

For previous editions: https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/artwork/11th-edition/?type=list

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR?

The 12th edition of Sculpture in the City offers a unique opportunity for sculptors, artists, designers and illustrators to submit artworks in five categories.

Submission categories: Sculpture, 2D Graphic Design, Audio & Visual, Hanging 3D Sculpture and Light & Sound.

This page is dedicated to submitting to the 3D Sculpture Category.

The call for submissions for the 12th edition of Sculpture in the City is now open for pre-existing artworks suitable for outdoor display from May 2023 to May 2024. Selected artworks will be on view for a year in one of London’s most iconic urban environments.

We encourage all artists, whose work meets the above criteria, to apply. SITC is an inclusive and diverse community; artists of all races, genders, disabilities and identities are invited to apply.

PREPARING AN APPLICATION

To support the application process, prospective applicants are invited to attend one of two site visits with Lacuna.

TOUR 1
Friday 7th October 2022, 3.00–5.00pm (GMT)
Led by Stella Ioannou, Artistic Director, SITC & Founding Director, Lacuna
Tour starts at Ugo Rondinone’s Summer Moon (2011), located at Undershaft, EC3A 8AH (next to St Helen’s Church).

TOUR 2
Monday 17th October 2022 4.00–6.00pm (GMT)
Led by Alice Sandon, Arts Producer, Lacuna
Tour starts at Ugo Rondinone’s Summer Moon (2011), located at Undershaft, EC3A 8AH (next to St Helen’s Church)

Please note, numbers are limited, and each artist is only able to attend one guided tour.

Tours are on a first come, first serve basis with a maximum capacity of 25 participants per tour.

Once you have registered you will receive a confirmation email. 

You will not be permitted to join a tour without a confirmation email.

If you are unable to attend and have booked onto a tour, please inform us.

If the tour is fully booked, you will be placed on a reserve list. We will be in touch by 4pm (GMT) the day before the tour should we receive any cancellations.

Lacuna is also hosting a webinar for artists, who are unable to take part in an in-person tour, including a Q&A. It will be recorded, shared online and open for all to attend.

WEBINAR
Monday 17th October 2022, 1.00–2.00pm (GMT)
Led by Stella Ioannou, Artistic Director, SITC & Founding Director, Lacuna and Alice Sandon, Arts Producer, Lacuna
Meeting link will be shared with registered participants

To register for a tour and/or webinar, please email: alice@lacuna-projects.com

Deadline for applications: 5.00pm (GMT), Tuesday 1st November 2022

Deadline for registering for the webinar: Friday 14th October 2022, 3.00pm (GMT)

Deadline for registering for each tour: 3pm (GMT) the day before the tour date

For more information: https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/call-for-submissions/

ABOUT LACUNA

Lacuna is a creative projects studio, spearheading cultural programmes that positively reflect the private sector's engagement with the public realm. Led by Founding Director, Stella Ioannou, it works with a core team of project associates, including Arts Producer, Alice Sandon and Jade Niklai, Associate Curator.  @lacunaprojects  / Linkedin / www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk

CONTACT

To find out more: www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/call-for-submissions/

For questions please contact: Alice Sandon, Arts Producer, Lacuna: alice@lacuna-projects.com

Applications must be submitted via curatorspace.com

PRESS COVERAGE

"None of the works in Sculpture in the City are here to stay, none are iconic statements; the pleasure is rather the unexpected interactions between works, places, people. [...] It is wholly different from the experience of rural sculpture parks, where monumental pieces stand proud and bold against open skies, yet nature always wins and remains the chief attraction. Here in the beleaguered post-pandemic city, sculpture transforms, cheers and heals." Jackie Wullschläger, The Financial Times, FT Weekend (Life & Arts), 19–20 June 2021

"Once a year, the City of London, that enclave of suits, power lunches and Peloton subscriptions plays host to some very non-smashing-Q3-type artworks. ‘Sculpture in the City’ invites artists to create striking public pieces that – crucially – sit outside the security-guard-defended lobbies of the venture capitalists. It’s a great chance to wander around the Square Mile and see it in a different light. Or just see it, full stop." Chris Waywell, Time Out London, 2019

Call for Submissions: 12th Edition, Sculpture in the City – 3D Sculpture Category

Deadline: 5.00pm (GMT), Tuesday 1st November 2022

PLEASE NOTE: This is the submission page for the 3D Sculpture Category and only artworks that fulfill these criteria will be considered. If you are unsure, please refer to ‘Submission Criteria’ further down.

Examples for the 3D Sculpture Category, currently on view in 11th edition SITC:

Alice Channer, Burial (2016) –St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate Churchyard, EC2M 3TL

Bosco Sodi, Untitled (2013) – 70 St Mary Axe, EC3A 8BE

Eva Rothschild, Cosmos (2018) - Undershaft, EC3P 3DQ (between Aviva and The Leadenhall Building)

Emma Louise Moore, Miss (2021) - corner of 99 Bishopsgate & Wormwood Street, EC2M 3XD

Jun T. Lai, Bloom Paradise (2019) -Plaza outside Fenchurch Street Station, EC3M 4AJ

Mike Ballard, Rough Neck Business (2019) – 100 Bishopsgate, EC2M 1GT

Sarah Lucas, Sandwich (2011–2020) - Undershaft, EC2N 4AJ (In front of Crosby Square)

Ugo Rondinone, Summer Moon (2011) - Undershaft, EC3A 8AH (next to St Helen’s Church)

For more information, search here by artist’s name: https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/artwork/11th-edition/

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Submitted artworks must be suitable for outdoor display in a busy urban environment and available from May 2023 to May 2024. Only fully completed submissions and those relevant to the specified category, will be considered.

The 12th edition of Sculpture in the City offers a unique opportunity for sculptors, artists, designers and illustrators to submit in five primary categories:

• 3D Sculpture
• 2D Graphic Design
• Audio & Visual
• Hanging 3D Sculpture
• Light & Sound

We only accept a maximum of three applications per artist, per category, i.e. maximum of fifteen entries by one artist. Any artist exceeding the limit will be automatically disqualified.

BACKGROUND

Artworks exhibited in the 3D Sculpture Category are by standard 3-dimensional and made from variety of materials (marble, stone and metal; neon, light and sound) and/or mixed media (fabric, ceramic and other composite materials). The works may be free-standing and positioned on a plinth or suspended e.g., from the ceiling of Leadenhall Market, hung in a tree or fixed to a wall. Artworks can also be time-based, such as sound, film, digital and other media work. Performance-based artworks are also welcome.

The SITC exhibition does not have a specific theme. Selection is based on each work’s artistic merit and the artwork’s suitability to the urban context (e.g. materiality, scale and style).

SITC has been activated during Nocturnal Creatures in partnership with the Whitechapel Gallery, a contemporary arts festival that brings together artist performances, music, films, talks and culinary experiences in the heart of East London for one night each summer (free and welcome to all). In July 2022 seven exhibiting artists of the 11th edition contributed with special events, including contemporary dance (Elisa Artesero), live reading (Jocelyn McGregor), a poetry workshop (Emma Smith), live art performances (Emma Louise Moore, Jun T. Lai) and sound installations (Bram Ellens, Pedro Pires). Confirmed artists will be asked to submit proposals for activation programme. https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/whats-on/nocturnal-creatures/

Sculpture in the City offers exciting opportunities for young people to engage with the City of London through our extensive educational programme delivered by Urban Learners. The programme reaches 200 students from local schools each year.

You can find out more about the programme here: https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/education/

ART ADVISORY GROUP

An esteemed Arts Advisory Group, in tune with contemporary cultural discourse and familiar with the practical requirements of the setting, is responsible for the selection of artworks.

The Arts Advisory Group wishes to address contemporary issues, including gender and equality, freedom, democracy and representation, belonging and climate concerns.

Members of 12th edition Arts Advisory Group:
Sepake Angiama, Artistic Director, Iniva
Iwona Blazwick OBE, Former Director, Whitechapel Gallery
Whitney Hintz, Curator, Hiscox
Lotte Johnson, Curator, Barbican Art Centre
Thomas J Price, artist and former participant (2018–2019)
Andrea Schlieker,  Director of Collections and Displays, Tate Britain

SITES

There are many sites of varying sizes and conditions. The scale of the surrounding tall buildings calls for large-scale works. The prevalence of shiny monochrome buildings that make up the City Cluster, provide an ideal setting for bold and colourful artworks. Additional smaller sites (e.g. churchyards), make an ideal setting for smaller artworks.

During the past 11 editions, artworks have been hung in Leadenhall Market, in trees, in alleyways, across lamp-posts, on the Lloyds building and on The Leadenhall Building (The Cheesegrater). The scope of the project and its unique urban context, allows for sculpture to be showcased in exceptional locations.

Weight and installation requirements of certain artworks, in line with weight-loading capacity of specific locations, are important considerations for the selection and positioning of selected artworks.

SELECTION PROCESS

Submitted artworks are presented for shortlisting to the Art Advisory Group. Shortlisted artists and/or their gallerists are invited to a site visit with Stella Ioannou, Artistic Director to select the most suitable site for the artwork.

Following the site visits, the project team liaises with the landowners to obtain approval and negotiates with the local authority legislative teams, as well as engineering and installation team. When this process is complete, meeting the conditions of the budget, the final artwork selection will be confirmed.

KEY DATES

• 20th September 2022 – announcement of open call for submissions
• 1st November 2022 – deadline for submissions
• 1st December 2022 – confirmation of shortlisted artists
• April 2023 – notification of successful applicants
• May/June 2023 – installation of artworks
• June 2023 – exhibition opening and official launch

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

Artworks are on loan for 12 months (May 2023 – May 2024). They must be suitable for outdoor display in the public realm for the entire period and subject to a loan agreement with the City of London Corporation.

SITC covers shipping within the UK, installation, insurance and maintenance costs. Please note: shipping from outside the UK will be considered but not guaranteed.

SITC works exclusively with Mtec, a leading international logistics provider providing bespoke solutions for art handling, installation, transport and insurance.

Participating artists and galleries receive full credit on all marketing and press materials and invited to attend the official launch and other associated events. For the 12th edition, exhibiting artist will receive an artist’s fee of £750 each.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Applications must be submitted via curatorspace.com.

We strongly encourage artists to review earlier editions online and to visit the current. The SITC website and social media platforms also offer short film summaries:   www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk, @lacunaprojects  / Linkedin

For questions please contact: Alice Sandon, Arts Producer, Lacuna: alice@lacuna-projects.com

Please review this document and the FAQs before contacting the Arts Producer.