Artist Brief

Tees Valley Arts, in collaboration with Creative Darlington and Groundwork NE & Cumbria, wish to commission an artist or group of artists to undertake a commission as part of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Great Place – Tees Valley initiative. The opportunity is open to artists working across any platform, including visual arts and performing arts and should respond to the themes identified below. The site for the work will be along the track bed of the original Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world’s first passenger railway, the bicentenary of which is to be celebrated in 2025. We envisage interventions along a 5-mile length of track bed in Darlington Borough, either physical, virtual or through performance.

The project will last for a total 18 months, between September 2018 and March 2020 and should be predicated on structured community involvement, particularly through local school, in the shaping of the final work to reflect the site’s railway heritage. Support will be offered by Groundwork NE & Cumbria and Tees Valley Arts in reaching local communities. Support will be offered through the project steering group in accessing information regarding the history of the railway, including through the Friends of Stockton and Darlington Railway.

We invite first stage expressions of interest which should include a statement about your practice, details of previous experience in a related area and an outline of how you would approach the brief and a proposed breakdown of your budget. This should be no more than 3 sides of A4 in total. Please include up to 5 high-quality images to accompany your proposal in digital format. Up to five shortlisted artists will be invited to develop a detailed proposal which will be exhibited at the Head of Steam Museum, Darlington in June and shortlisted artists invited to present their ideas to interested parties from the local community. A fee of £800 per proposal will be available for this stage together with modest travel costs and subsistence costs (not more than £200.) From this, a final selection will be made.

The overall budget for the final commission is £18,000 to include fees, travel & subsistence and materials. If you wish to discuss any details of this opportunity please contact by email James Beighton, Executive Director at Tees Valley Arts at james@teesvalleyarts.org.uk

Please email your expressions of interest by 12pm on 1st June 2018 to applications@teesvalleyarts.org.uk

Opportunity Summary

Duration: 18 months
Total Fees: £18,000 including all fees, travel & subsistence and materials.

Key themes:

• To explore the importance of both rail and local heritage within particular communities in Darlington which are based in close proximity to the track bed of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (Red Hall, communities around North Road, and Middleton St George).
• To engage with the Healthy New Towns agenda around wellbeing, building pride and aspiration.
• To encourage story-telling and inter-generational learning around aspects of the area’s heritage.
• To involve other artists and creative practitioners within the Tees Valley region in the creative journey.
• To produce recommendations for further and sustainable activity around the theme in the run-up to the anniversary.

Key Dates

1st June 2018: Deadline for expression of interest.
8th June 2018: Shortlisted artists notified
15th June 2018: Deadline for submission of developed proposals if successful
20–29th Jun 2018: Tour of proposals with local schools (managed by Tees Valley Arts/ Groundwork NE & Cumbria)
3rd July 2018: community pitch. Artists will be invited to pitch their proposal to a community group which will inform the final selection of artist/s

Download Brief

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