Call for artists to design sculptures for Salisbury’s new River Park Project

Calling all artists, here’s your chance to design and make a sculpture to be located within the new Salisbury River Park Project.

The Friends of Sarum St Paul’s Primary School (FoSSPS), in collaboration with The Environment Agency, Wiltshire Council and Salisbury City Council, are looking for artists to design and make sculptures to be located within the new River Park Project.

Background
Salisbury’s River Park aims to create a riverside green space and urban wildlife habitat for the people of Salisbury and its visitors to enjoy well into the future.

The vision is to connect and enhance the linear riverside route from the Ashley Road Open Space towards Elizabeth Gardens, north to south through the centre of Salisbury along the margins of the River Avon.

The River Park will enhance the setting and quality of the river while delivering essential flood risk mitigation to protect existing and future residents and businesses, building resilience to the effects of climate change.

The River Park Art Project aims to:

• Engage the local children with their unique natural surroundings
• Create Public Art to reflect environmental themes
• Give the young people ownership of the space, embedding a legacy of care and pride
• Create a beautiful space to be enjoyed by the community

A brief for artists:

• Design and create sculpture/s, which highlight and celebrate the natural environment of the River Park
• The artwork must respond to the location, reflecting the unique flora and fauna
• The artwork must be made from sustainable material, and not impact the environment negatively. In particular material will be available from trees that are being felled on the site
• The school will lead the project from the educational side, and the Artist must be available to meet with the children & teachers on occasion
• The Environment Agency, and their appointed public art specialist, will provide input and advice on what will be possible and where it could be situated
• The Environment Agency would obtain any necessary consents to allow installation of the artwork, which would be done by their contractors
• Input will be required form the artist into any method statement for construction, and any ongoing maintenance/safety requirements
• Final approval for any installed artwork will need to be provided by landowners, for which they will need information on liabilities, insurance requirements and future maintenance costs
• The school will produce designs for interpretation panels to be located in the area, referencing the environment and the art work. There will need to be liaison with the River Park project’s design team to ensure coordination on the overall wayfinding and landscaping strategies
• Artwork must be easy to maintain (no moving parts, easy to clean etc)
• NB The area is designed to flood at certain times of the year. The Environment Agency will be able to advise on the level of this risk and what the implications will be.

If you would like to apply submit a short proposal of design ideas and proposed fee to Briony at FOSSP@sarum-st-pauls.wilts.sch.uk by 28th March 2022 along with examples of previous work.