Making the Most Out of Public Art Proposals workshop by Sven Anderson, Jennie Guy & Lou-Atessa Marcellin
Developing proposals for public art commissions and competitions consumes significant resources, and does not always lead to a successful outcome. This workshop outlines strategies to make the most out of proposals regardless of their success within the commissioning or competition process. The workshop combines artistic and curatorial perspectives alongside an introduction to the work of the London-based organisation Theatrum Mundi, revealing further cues to rethink specific proposal contexts as sites of production.
The workshop questions the commissioner-led nature of the briefing-process, and uncovers tactics to support artist-led proposal-development. It positions the proposal not only as a means of realising work, but as an opportunity to advance individual practice and challenge existing production and engagement methodologies in response to diverse urban, spatial and cultural contexts. Through this process, proposals for unrealised projects are re-imagined as powerful assets for presentations, teaching, developing new work and discovering new partnerships.
This workshop is open to artists working in all disciplines. It is aimed at both established artists who have experience developing proposals for public art commissions as well as emerging artists who are working to advance towards opportunities in this domain.