for nor - arts council of northern ireland public art handbook.pdf · page 11 page 10 the public...

FRONT COVER:Maurice Harron, Let the Dance Begin,2002, Strabane

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uncil-ni.org

Arts Council of Northern IrelandMacNeice House77 Malone RoadBelfastBT9 6AQNorthern Ireland

Tel: +44 (28) 9038 5200Fax: +44 (28) 9066 1715

www.artscouncil-ni.org

First published 2005Copyright in publication © Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Text: Paul HarronDesign: www.whitenoisestudios.comPrinted: Nicholson & Bass Ltd

Acknowledgements: In addition to those commissioningorganizations which supplied images of and information aboutartworks funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Councilof Northern Ireland, the Arts Council would like to thank thefollowing for supplying and permitting reproduction of images:Belfast City Council (Good Relations Unit and DevelopmentDepartment) and NICCY (Northern Ireland Commission forChildren & Young People). Most images have been supplied tothe Arts Council as a condition of grant offer, the rest have beencommissioned by the Arts Council from Harrison Photography;copyright in the images will usually rest with the commissioneror their photographer in each case, and no image should bereproduced without the prior permission in writing from that body.

PUBLIC ARTHANDBOOKFOR NORTHERN IRELAND

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LEFT: Vivien Burnside, Dividers,2002, Clarendon Dock, Belfast

Preface 07Foreword 08

Public Art in Northern Ireland: a Brief Synopsis 10

The Arts Council’s Role and Funding Routes 14

The Commissioning Process 16The Vision Developing a Brief The Brief Selecting Artists Open Competitions A Word on Shortlisting and Selection Contracts Documentation and Evaluation Launching the WorkA Word on Maintenance

Types of ProjectSingle Works 21Case Study I: Big Fish, Belfast 22Case Study II: Let the Dance Begin, Strabane 24Brief Descriptions of other Single Work Projects 26

Multiple Works 37Case Study I: Lough MacNean Sculpture Trail, Fermanagh 38Case Study II: XPlore Art & Sculpture Trail, Lagan Valley Island, Lisburn 40Brief Descriptions of other Multiple Works Projects 42

Integrated Arts Projects 49Case Study I: The Verbal Arts Centre, Derry 50Case Study II: The Mater Hospital McAuley Building, Belfast 52Brief Descriptions of other Integrated Arts Projects 54

Public Art in Healthcare 61Case Study: Movement within an Edge, Ulster Hospital, Dundonald 62

Community-focused Projects 65Case Study I: South Lough Neagh Wetlands Arts Initiative 66Case Study II: Ealaín Sraide – Street Art Project, Upper Springfield, Belfast 68

Temporary Projects 71Case Study: Drawing the Blinds, Belfast 72Brief Description of other Temporary Project 74

Further InformationContacts 76Select Bibliography 78

AppendicesA. Arts Council’s Public Art Policy 80B. Arts Council Commissioning Policy excerpt 82C. Arts Council’s Architecture & the Built Environment Policy Summary 84

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Public art is not a distinct artform; rather the term refers to works of art inany media created for and in the context of the civic realm, be it the builtor natural environment. The only constant quality of public art is that it isalways site specific. As www.publicartonline.org.uk puts it, public art ‘aimsto integrate artists’ and craftspeople’s skills, vision and creative abilitiesinto the whole process of creating new spaces and regenerating old ones,in order to imbue the development with a unique quality and to enliven andanimate the space by creating a visually stimulating environment’.

Public art, while often invigorating, stimulating and regenerative, canalso sometimes be banal or of poor quality, quickly becoming superfluousurban clutter. There is much current debate around the commissioning ofpublic art and what it can and cannot achieve – in this sense the termand activity of creating it is sometimes contested. At its worst, public artcan seem somehow patronising or compromised, but at its best it can bebeautiful and uplifting, capable of rendering unexpected delight, and, toquote Jay Merrick, may provide ‘lively presences, objects that force usto look and think again, or grin, or swear’.1

This Handbook is intended to help enable those involved in the processof commissioning art within the public context achieve the most rewardingoutcomes, by approaching their project in an informed way that bestbenefits the artist(s), funder(s) and community(ies) involved. It outlines ashort history of public art in Northern Ireland to date; the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland’s role in supporting public art projects and the routesavailable for funding future projects; best practice guidelines forcommissioning and the relevant stages of the process depending on thenature and scale of the project; case studies of selected exemplarprojects; and a short guide to some public art that has been funded bythe Arts Council of Northern Ireland – mostly through the National Lotterysince 1995. The aim of these case studies and thumbnail profiles is torecord what has been achieved by so many to date and to providestimulus for future possibilities.

Paul HarronArchitecture & Public Art Officer, Arts Council of Northern Ireland

1 Blueprint No. 216, February 2004

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LEFT: Eamonn O’Doherty,Bicentenary Sculpture, 1997,Royal Group of Hospitals, Belfast

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The phrase public art is generally accepted as that catch-all term thatencompasses the making or placing of art in non-gallery settings. Inrecent decades the practice of public art has developed and diversifiedsignificantly and includes a wide variety of contextual art practices whichcan be temporary or permanent or which are process orientated ratherthan purely product or outcome focused. In the context of this documentthe term can generally be taken to refer to the process by which an artistis commissioned to make new work in response to a particular people orpublic, a place or space. It is this very process of commissioning thatreveals perhaps the most significant aspect of what makes public art amarkedly different activity to other forms of art making.

Any public art project generally involves a wide range of individuals,organisations and interests in its conception, creation and delivery. Whenwe think of a public art project, we like to think of its output as thecreation and vision of the artist. There are, however, a whole range ofothers involved in the production of public art, from commissioners,funders, administrators, consultants, curators, planners, politicians andcommunities whose input and influence greatly affect the nature andoutcome of a public art project. It is this collaborative process that makespublic art both complex and challenging. It is also what creates thepotential for exciting and creative partnerships between artists,commissioners and many others.

The commissioner is the starting point for any public art project and fromthe beginning the commissioner is faced with a wide variety ofpossibilities. There are numerous decisions that will be taken as a projectis being conceived and considered that will ultimately affect the artisticproduct or process. This underlines the power but also the responsibilitiesof commissioners in relation to the contribution they make to successful,creative, ambitious and challenging public art projects.

If experience can tell us anything it is that the commissioning andmanagement of artistic projects of the highest quality is a difficult andcomplex task. It requires experience and knowledge, patience, negotiationand commitment. Research and preparation are essential in order toundertake a commission with a sense of purpose and with clear aims andobjectives. All decisions about the nature of the commissioning processshould be taken knowingly and at all stages the commissioner should beaware of precisely what it is doing and why.

Commissioners should also be wary of having preconceptions about whatan artist can contribute to an artistic process. Creative decisions in thecommissioning process take place in the planning and research stages.Commissioners should aim to fully utilise the creative potential of artists. Inorder to do this, artists should be brought into the process at the earliestpossible stage both as members of any management committee as well asartistic producers.

In addition, it is not sufficient for the commissioner to simply provide thefinancial support; the commissioner must also lend sufficient support tothe artistic process on an ongoing basis. The commissioning orcontracting of an artist is quite different to the contracting of otherprofessionals. It is not like contracting a cleaning company or buildingfirm to carry out a job. Firstly the artist is an individual, which can make itvery difficult for them to operate without the support of the commissioner.As well as being an individual the artist is undertaking a creative task i.e.creating an artwork. This will mean that whatever they are engaged in,one would expect it to be unusual, unique, a one off. It may involve doingthings that have not been done before; it may involve quite challengingsituations, pushing the boundaries of what is considered the normal wayto do things. This is the nature of what it means to create an original workof art. This can be awkward and sometimes frustrating for thecommissioner; however, the challenges, the discussions and encountersthat are thrown up can often be revealed as positive and productive by-products of the overall process.

Finally, there is one particular issue that so often seems prevalent amongstcommissioners – the fear of controversy. Public art invariably involvespublic money from some source or other. It does seem that this can bringwith it a real fear amongst commissioners of any form of potentiallynegative publicity. The pressure to play it safe, to do what has been donebefore, not to rock the boat can seem overwhelming and can impactnegatively on the vision and ambition of a project. More often than not,however, this hesitancy seems to stem more than anything from a lack ofconfidence, where a commissioner feels unable to justify or articulatecreative and artistic decisions. It is for this precise reason that artisticexpertise on a commission management committee is so valuable. It canbuild confidence and is a key aspect in creating and sustaining ambitionin a truly creative process.

While a positive response to a new public art project is something to behoped for, more important than anything is that at least some form ofengagement takes place. Where public art really fails is not where there isnegative publicity but rather where there is indifference. Public art is aboutengagement and discussion, about new ways of thinking and looking, it ischallenging, creative, ambitious and, dare one say, ‘controversial’. Theseare principles that underpin our understanding of art and consequentlyones that should be embedded in the commissioning of art for our towns,cities and communities.

Toby DennettDirector, Sculptors’ Society of Ireland

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The public art movement in Northern Ireland was slow to mature. JohnHewitt noted in Art in Ulster No.1, in 1951, ‘Of sculpture, there is little totell…’, although there had been a reasonably lively tradition of architecturalsculpture in Victorian and Edwardian times and a notable exception of veryrefined work in the public or quasi-public realm by Rosamund Praeger,whose work can be seen in St Anne’s Cathedral and the Royal VictoriaHospital, both in Belfast, and at Holywood, Co. Down, where the bronzeJohnny the Jig (1953) takes pride of place. We can, perhaps, mark theemergence of a ‘public art movement’ with the Festival of Britaincommissions to John Luke for his mural in Belfast City Hall and to GeorgeMcCann for his stone relief panels, St Columba and The Four Just Menof the London Guilds, on the Guildhall in Derry. Also in Derry, two of theearliest public art works emerged when the architects of AltnagelvinHospital – the firm of York, Rosenberg and Mardall – commissionedPrincess Macha by the remarkable F. E. McWilliam and the huge muralFour Seasons by William Scott. In 1964, the Ulster Bank in Belfast’sShaftesbury Square created a stir with its commissioning of two untitledcast aluminium prone works by the renowned English sculptor ElisabethFrink for the corner façade of its building; affectionately dubbed ‘Draft’and ‘Overdraft’, they have come to define that urban space.

By 1971, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland was endeavouring to takeartists’ work out of the gallery and into public places under the auspicesof a scheme called Art in Context. Competitions held in 1975 and 1978resulted in works such as Oisin Kelly’s Grasshopper in scrap metal for

St Mary’s Primary School, Strabane; Arthur Armstrong’s Play Sculpture;Caroline Mulholland’s Three Free-Standing Figures for the Antrim Forum;Bob Sloan’s sculpture at Greenland County Secondary School, Larne;and Graham Gingles’ Concrete Trees at St Colmcille’s Primary Schoolin Omagh. In total, some 14 works were commissioned for a variety oflocations, including parks, libraries, hospitals and colleges. Also during theSeventies, the Ulster Museum commissioned Barry Flanagan’s New MetalPiece in mild steel (1978) for placement outside its main entrance.

During the 1980s the Arts Council focused its public art policy on directcommissions with identified clients or commissioning bodies. The selectionof artists was on the basis of limited competition; one example was BelfastCity Hospital, where works were commissioned from Eilis O’Connell(Untitled, 1986-7), John Aiken (Untitled, 1986-7) and F. E. McWilliam(Homer, 1986). Elsewhere during this decade, Queen’s University, Belfast,commissioned Clifford Rainey’s granite and cast iron Sulpicia (1984) toadd to its collection of public realm work which included Seated Figure(1962) by F. E. McWilliam and Industry by Barry Orr (1974-6).

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the successful completion of JohnKindness’ Waterfall of Souvenirs at the Europa Bus Centre and LouiseWalsh’s Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker on Great VictoriaStreet. The Arts Council also embarked in 1990 on the creation of aSculpture Park at its former headquarters at Riddel Hall on StranmillisRoad. Eight artists were invited to submit proposals for the park, and alarge bronze Umbilicus was purchased from F. E. McWilliam. TheSculpture Park project had to be suspended when the Arts Council’stenure at Stranmillis Road became uncertain (the Arts Councilsubsequently moved to MacNeice House on the Malone Road). Inaddition, the purposes for which the park had been set up – to stimulatean interest in public works, and to act as a resource from which workcould be purchased – became less necessary as the direct commissioningof art by district councils and others became more common. Since thenthe Arts Council has sold one piece, Deborah Brown’s Sheep on theRoad to Laganside, which has been very successfully relocated to thefront of the Waterfront Hall where it resonates with site’s original functionas a livestock market, and loaned another to Laganside – Untitled byBob Sloan which is now relocated beside the Lagan at Mays Meadow –and one to Ballynahinch Market House: John Kindness’s ceramic andbronze pig, Romulus and Seamus (1992). The Council is investigatingstrategies for the long-term relocation of three other works.

In the early 1990s, the Department of the Environment commissioned arange of works, including three for St Anne’s Square on Donegall Street,Belfast – Untitled by John Aiken (1990), Globe by Brian Connolly (1990),and Boat, a mosaic by Dierdre O’Connell (1990) – and, in Derry, HandsAcross the Divide by Maurice Harron (1992) and The Emigrants byEamonn O’Doherty in Waterloo Place.

With the introduction of National Lottery funding in 1994, a new financialresource for public art has become available, and has significantlyaccelerated the commissioning of it in Northern Ireland (the Arts Councilof Northern Ireland holds the licence for distributing Lottery funding for the

TOP TO BOTTOM:Louise Walsh, Monument to the UnknownWoman Worker, 1993, Great VictoriaStreet, Belfast;John Aiken, Untitled, 1992, Riddel Hall,Belfast;John Kindness, Waterfall of Souvenirs,1991, Europa Bus Station, Belfast;Deborah Brown, Sheep on the Road, 1991,Riddel Hall, Belfast (now relocated toLanyon Place)

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:Arthur Armstrong, Play Sculpture, 1976(no longer in situ);John Aiken, Untitled, 1987, City Hospital,Belfast;Eilis O’Connell, Untitled, 1987, CityHospital, Belfast;Dame Elisabeth Frink, Untitled, 1964,Ulster Bank, Shaftesbury Square, Belfast

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arts). Since May 1995, when the first Lottery grants were made in NorthernIreland, the Arts Council has allocated over £1.9 million to over 50 publicart projects, ranging from large-scale urban works to smaller scalecommunity and rural commissions and integrated arts projects for newbuildings – many of these works are showcased later in this publication.These have been commissioned by a wide range of organizations, fromcommunity organizations to local authorities to health trusts toregeneration agencies.

A culture of commissioning artworks for the public realm has arguably nowgained momentum – the wisdom of building-in a ‘Per Cent for Art’ of acapital budget for new building projects (which allows for meaningfulcreative collaboration between artists and other design professionals fromthe earliest stages) is increasingly accepted (it is now official policy for theArts Council and Health Estates), and community groups have begun todevelop their own localized public art strategies (such as at Holywoodand Omagh), for example. Laganside, meanwhile, has commissioned alarge number of works by a range of artists along the banks of the Laganand its hinterland in Belfast, which has been complemented there andalong other cycle paths elsewhere along the National Cycle Network, bycommissions developed by Sustrans. Increasingly commissioners raisefunds for public artworks from their own resources, seeing the benefitsof engaging artists in either interpreting or presenting a ‘message’ to thepublic or simply enlivening the public realm. Examples of suchcommissioning in 2004 included: Belfast City Council’s commissioningof Katherine Nixon to create interpretive bronze information panels forBelfast’s Cathedral Quarter; the City Council’s Good Relations Unitcommissioning of Elizabeth O’Kane to sculpt a bust of Mary AnnMcCracken for the City Hall’s rotunda; and the Northern IrelandCommission for Children and Young People (NICCY) engaging MartinaGalvin to create a large photographic work for the entrance to theirpremises on Great Victoria Street – in this, children and young peoplewere active participants in the whole creative process, from writing thebrief, judging the submissions and completing the work. (In each ofthese examples, the Arts Council was able to provide advice and supportat competition stage by participating in the selection process.)

TOP TO BOTTOM:John Kindness, Romulus and Seamus, 1992,Riddel Hall, Belfast (now relocated toBallynahinch Market House);Bob Sloan, Untitled, 1992, Riddel Hall, Belfast(now relocated to May’s Meadow, Belfast);Katherine Nixon, Interpretive Panel, 2004,Cathedral Quarter, Belfast;Martina Gavin, Photographic Panels, 2004,NICCY Headquarters, Belfast;Elizabeth O’Kane, Bust of Mary AnnMcCracken, 2004, City Hall, Belfast

RIGHT: Brian Callaghan, Ninth Life, 1992,Riddel Hall, Belfast

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further detail on the relationship between assessment criteria and theCouncil’s strategic position. Applicants should note that where funding issought from the Arts Council, the selection of artists will always be througha competitive process and usually be through open competition (see TheCommissioning Process on page 18 and Appendix B). Furthermore, thewebsite includes a virtual tour of selected public art works across NorthernIreland, which is updated on a rolling basis.

Arts Council funds towards smaller projects with a lower financialthreshold are also potentially available through Awards for All – fordetails on how to apply, contact Awards for All directly (see FurtherInformation pages).

The Arts Council can also advise on all aspects of the commissioningprocess, from planning the commission, developing the brief, selectingartists and drawing up a contract. Where the Arts Council is involved infunding a commission, it is a requirement that a representative of theCouncil is involved in the selection process. It is advised that whenplanning a commissioned art work for which you may seek funding, thatyou contact the Arts Council at the start of the project, before any workis undertaken. There is currently no public art commissioning agency inNorthern Ireland (as there is in other parts of the UK); however, theSculptors’ Society of Ireland, an organization with an all-Ireland remit, canprovide an excellent service in terms of advice and project developmentand it may be able to assist with nominating an independent artist to aselection panel – this should be discussed directly with SSI (for contactdetails, please see the Further Information pages). The Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland may also be able to participate occasionally in selectionpanels for public art projects which it is not funding if desired, dependingon capacity – contact the Architecture and Public Art Officer.

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland does not directly commission publicart, rather it enables commissioning, by welcoming applications fromorganizations (not individuals) who wish to do so to its National Lotteryfunding schemes. The principal avenue to date has been the New Workprogramme, but also occasionally the Access programme, whereengagement with new community audiences is key to the process (thatsaid, community engagement is a welcome element to a public artapplication under any scheme). The Arts Council is currently (Spring 2005)developing a dedicated Public Art Programme, the details of whichshould be announced on the Arts Council of Northern Ireland websiteshortly. The establishment of the dedicated programme, with specificallyallocated National Lottery funds ring-fenced for the purpose, indicates arecognition by the Arts Council of the growth in commissioning art for thepublic realm and the importance of it. The Public Art Programme will actas a stimulus and enabler for the commissioning of public art.

Applications to Lottery programmes are assessed against the ArtsCouncil’s set criteria: public benefit; quality of arts activity; financial viabilityand quality of management; and partnership funding – all Lotteryprogrammes require a partnership funding approach. Applicants shouldnote that the Council currently splits applications into two separate stages:commissioning and production, each of which is eligible for funding; also,maximum ‘ceilings’ for funding operate. While the Council obviouslywelcomes strong and innovative applications, funding is always highlycompetitive and, therefore, regrettably not all applications are successful.

A further scheme, Art in Contested Spaces, is under development andmay afford opportunities for public art work and practice. This funding willbe used to encourage local communities to work creatively in tacklingissues around contested locales, connecting the arts to areas not usuallyassociated with them and allowing the arts to enrich their communities.

The Council also supports public art within its Capital programme, whereat least 1 percent for integrated art is built into a building project. (For adescription of the integration of art in building projects and an explanationof the ‘Per Cent for Art’ principle, see page 49).

In addition, public art has emerged from the work undertaken by artistsengaged with community groups and organizations through the Artists inthe Community Scheme, and occasionally artists engaged in work in thepublic realm context have received support for elements of their work (asit relates to their own professional development) through the Support forthe Individual Artist Programme. (Public art projects are also beingdeveloped under the current Art of Regeneration Programme, whichpartners with local authorities, although this funding route was time-limitedand is not receiving new applications).

For details of all the schemes highlighted in bold above (and the levels offinancial support potentially available and minimum partnership fundingthresholds), application forms, guidelines and deadlines, visit the LotteryFunding pages of the Arts Council website: www.artscouncil-ni.org. Also,see the Arts Council’s Public Art Policy at Appendix A on page 80 for

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and child protection; the involvement of the localcommunity and specific groups as appropriate; legaland contractual responsibilities; insurance; projectmanagement, recording/documenting and monitoring;future maintenance; and publicity and promotion. Thecommissioning body should draw together a steeringor management group, which will ultimately form aselection panel. The group should include membersrepresenting the community, the commissioner,funders, and a person with arts expertise (this couldbe an independent artist).

It may be that commissioners will feel that they needto employ a consultant to help them through thisdevelopment stage, especially on large and particularlycomplex projects. Applicants to the Arts Council mayinclude reasonable costs to cover such consultancywork connected to specific projects as part of acommissioning stage application; however, applicantsshould note that retrospective applications cannot beconsidered, so any work undertaken prior to a letterof offer being received cannot be recouped andapplicants should be cautious about entering intoany contracts.

THE BRIEFThe brief is an essential document. It will be thedocument which is supplied to the selected orapplicant artist (depending on selection route) and willform the basis of the written agreement (contract) withthe commissioned artist. The brief should as aminimum include information on the following:

Q The visionQ Details of team members and their rolesQ Selection process – how, and against which criteria,

will an application be assessed? (It is also good practice to state who is to be on the selection panel.)

Q Working Context (eg. community participation, local environment)

Q Budget – considering all the potential costs: advertising and selection costs; artist’s fee; materialsand fabrication (production) costs; installation and transportation costs; travelling and workshop expenses; professional and legal fees; insurance costs; consultation costs; VAT; contingency; maintenance costs; publicity, documentation and launch costs

Q Timescale Q Requirements as to durability, maintenance and

health and safety

Q Themes (if there are themes) Q Technical information – maximum or minimum

dimensions and weight requirementsQ Site – description of it and its condition, and of

planning permissions (etc.) required (it is goodpractice to provide visuals of the site in question alongside a brief)

SELECTING ARTISTSThe selection of the artist should be made againstclear criteria based on the objectives of thecommission. As stated above, a representativeselection panel should be drawn together from thecommissioning steering group and an independentartist or representative with arts expertise.

Artists can be selected by:

Q Open submission: opportunities advertised nationally and/or internationally so any artist fulfilling the criteria can register interest

Q Limited competition: invitation to a small numberof recommended artists who are paid to produce proposals or invited for interview.

Q Direct invitation: artists approached directly and invited to undertake the commission or in response to artists themselves initiating an idea.

Q Purchase of contemporary work: direct from the studio or gallery or from open or limited submission.

Where funding is sought from the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland, the selection of artists will almostalways be through open competition (see AppendicesA & B). The rationale for this is that maximumopportunity should be afforded to practising andprofessional artists to engage with creating work in thepublic context, and that there should be a ‘level playingfield’ – public art commissions are, relatively speaking,substantial and high profile commissions, and wherepublic money is involved, direct commissioning is notgenerally desirable. An exception to this route may bewhere it has not been possible for a selection panel tocollectively appoint an artist after an open competitionhas been exhausted – in this instance a more limitedapproach may be considered acceptable, althoughequally the appropriate way forward may be to re-runa competition if funds allow.

INTRODUCTIONIt should be stated at the outset that there is a wealthof well researched and detailed information availablefrom specialist bodies such as the Sculptors’ Societyof Ireland; a-n/The Artists Information Company; PublicArt South West (see www.publicartonline.org.uk); andIxia (formerly the Public Art Forum), amongst others –please refer to the Further Information/Contacts pagesfor contact details. It might also be worth obtaining acopy of The Code of Practice for the Visual Arts froma-n; in summary, the principles of good practiceidentified in that publication are that those who workwith artists should: contribute confidently, preparethoroughly, collaborate creatively and aim high, andartists should do likewise. It is also worth rememberingthat where public art is being commissioned as part ofa capital or environmental improvement project, themost effective and innovative creative outcomes occurwhen collaborations between artists and design teamsand commissioners take place at the very outset of ascheme – for good information on this, see theguidelines for the Project funding scheme producedby Public Art South West.

THE VISIONThe important first stage of the process is establishingthe vision. In other words, potential commissionersshould articulate what it is they hope to do and whythey want to do it, identifying the desired outcomesof the commission. This is essential for thecommissioner’s own purposes but it will also aid andinform potential funding applications. If professionaladvice is required it is best to get it at this stage. TheArts Council recommends that commissioning bodiescontact both the Arts Council and the Sculptors’Society of Ireland as early in the process as possibleas they can assist with assessing the costs, identifyingthe site, selection procedures, community involvement,developing the brief and legal and contractualresponsibilities.

DEVELOPING A BRIEFA process of detailed planning flows on fromestablishing the vision. Regardless of scale, a projectwill need a comprehensive plan, which in turn will bedeveloped into a brief for the project. Inevitably a planwill go through various stages of drafting as it isreviewed and developed. The planning/development ofa brief stage will consider: costs; the route for selectingthe artist; the potential site(s), considerations regardinglegislation including equal opportunities, accessibility

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to funding decisions; these time-scale and fundingoutcome considerations ought to be factored into thetimetable developed at brief development stage.

Sound advice on contracts and what they shouldinclude, should be sought from the professionalbodies, such as the Sculptors’ Society of Irelandand/or a-n/The Artists Information Company. However,in summary, a legally binding agreement which worksto protect both artist(s) and commissioner, is essential,and it should include at least the following:

Q Names, addresses and definitions of the partiesQ The briefQ The proposal (with a drawing or photograph of

a maquette)Q Insurance and professional indemnity requirementsQ Fees, costs and payments scheduleQ Key contractual datesQ Ownership of work, copyright and moral rights

(NB. Copyright in the work itself will always remainwith the artist)

Q Defects warranty terms Q Warranty of originalityQ Site preparation, installation and maintenance

obligationsQ Permissions, such as planning permission or

performance licences (if applicable)Q Formal acceptanceQ Arbitration routes

DOCUMENTATION ANDEVALUATIONDocumentation and evaluation are important elementsof any public art project, for both reference andpromotional purposes. The documentation can becarried out in written and visual formats – it may beappropriate to film as well as photograph stages of theproject, for example. A full evaluation of the processfrom start to finish is useful in terms of measuring thesuccess of the project for the benefit of all thoseconcerned, and funders will generally require someform of evaluation to be carried out and submittedduring and at the end of the process. Evaluation andreview will, of course, also help with the planning ofany future projects.

LAUNCHING THE WORKIt will be important to launch the completed work in ahigh profile, public way – after all, engagement with thepublic and integrating the work with the local contextwill be and have been of paramount importance to theproject itself. Marking the completion of the projectensures that it becomes publicly known, acknowledgedand indeed debated. All those actively involved in theproject, from artist to participants to funders to localresidents, should be invited to attend an event, towhich the media should also be invited andencouraged to cover – drawing up a press releasewould also be useful.

A WORD ON MAINTENANCEOften public artworks that have a practical as well asan aesthetic function fare best in terms of longevity –they become cared for, maintained and renewed on anongoing basis. Similarly, public art which is strongly‘owned’ by a community or constituency of some sortwill be kept alive and avoid becoming tired (at best) orvandalized or damaged (at worst) for longer than awork which doesn’t. It is sad all round if a water featurebecomes clogged with debris and no longer functions,or a piece requiring illumination never has the bulbschanged, or if a kinetic work becomes seized up andno longer moves for want of a little oil. Considerationof how a work can and will be maintained in the future(if it is planned for it to have a long-term future) – andthe potential cost implications – should be undertakenat probably the brief development and certainly theselection stage. Certain contractual responsibilitiescan be negotiated with artists at contract stage(especially relating to rectifying defects within areasonable time period), but the ultimate responsibilityfor ongoing maintenance will and should rest withthe commissioners.

OPEN COMPETITIONSFirstly, an advert will need to be prepared and placedin the media. In Ireland, North and South, the usualroutes are through the trade press: Circa Magazine andthe Sculptors’ Society of Ireland’s Visual Artists’ NewsSheet; both also have websites and e-bulletins throughwhich commissions can be advertised. Additionally,commissioners may – depending on the budgetavailable and the context in which they work – wish toplace the advert in the local press or daily papers (if so,commissioners should be mindful of equality ofopportunity when choosing newspapers and theirperceived readerships). If desired, and especially if thecommission is major, adverts can be placed in Britishtrade journals, such as a-n. Targetted mail-shots tostudio groups can also be considered and may beeffective, as may be advertising on local authority orother websites as appropriate.

Artists who respond to the advertisement shouldreceive a copy of the brief, and preferably be given theopportunity to visit the site in question. A reasonableperiod of at least 4 weeks from the date of advertshould be given before the deadline for receipt ofapplications. It is normal to ask for artists to submit astatement in response to the brief and criteria laiddown; outline proposals and drawings detailingmaterials to be used etc.; a CV detailing all their workto date and relevant qualifications; a good range ofvisual examples of their work; and information on theirworking to the budget involved.

Competitions are usually handled in one or two stages.For smaller commissions it may be sufficient for apanel to collectively select an artist from the basis ofone submission, assessed (and often scored) againstthe established criteria. Frequently, and especially onmore substantial commissions, a two-stage approachis taken, whereby the panel shortlists submissionsdown to say 4-6 of the strongest proposals and invitesthese artists to develop their proposals to a moredetailed stage for an agreed fee – commissionersshould factor in the costs of such fees in their overallbudget. This detailed stage may require artists toproduce a maquette (or model) and to attend aninterview. Again, a reasonable period should beallowed to enable artists to carry out this secondstage. The artist whose work is most impressive at thismaquette and/or interview stage will be selected.

A WORD ON SHORTLISTINGAND SELECTIONAs stated above, commissioners should establish clearcriteria related to the objectives of the commissionwhich will enable them to select the best artist for thecommission – these selection criteria should be writteninto the brief so that applicant artists will also be fullyclear on how their submission is being judged.Selection should also be made by a panel which is asrepresentative as possible (although be wary of over-large interview panels as these can be daunting forinterviewees). Commissioners may find it useful to‘score’ against the set criteria as a way of achieving,recording and analysing consensus, and indeedweighting the scores for particular elements as theysee fit – for example, if a project is to have a strongeducational component, the score for the ability to andexperience of working in education may be marked outof a higher score. Every project is different, but it issuggested that selection criteria address the followingmatters in most instances:

Q Artistic quality of submissionQ Appropriateness of submission Q Quality of examples of previous work submittedQ Previous experience of working in the public realmQ Consideration of health and safety issuesQ Durability (assuming it is not a temporary project)Q Implications for future maintenance

It is, of course, good practice for commissioners tokeep a clear record of the selection and any scoringprocess undertaken by a selection panel – it will beuseful for review purposes and to inform futureprojects, as well as available for providing feedback tounsuccessful artists. It is generally appropriate to offerthe opportunity for feedback to unsuccessful artists ina letter of regret.

CONTRACTSOnce the artist is selected, the next stage will be forthe commissioners to agree on the contractualarrangements. It is important to note, however, that ifthe process is being funded through a two-stage ArtsCouncil process (or indeed by other funders operatingsimilarly), it may be necessary to await the outcome ofa funding decision for the second stage before actuallyentering into a firm contract with the selected artist – inother words, proceeding to this stage may be subject

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T Many public art projects are simply one-off,discrete works created for single, well definedsites. Often they are designed to enhance thecivic realm as spaces of communal convivialityand/or to provide a visual or aestheticcounterpoint to the physical environment; thescale of the work will depend on the site andfunding limitations and other project-specificvariables. The creation of single works willoften involve community participation, whichis important in terms of gaining publicunderstanding, connection and ownership ofthe work. Two larger commissions are presentedhere as case studies, followed by briefdescriptions of a selection of other examplesfunded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland(in roughly chronological order), and anindication of works currently in receipt offunding and in development.

LEFT: Deborah Brown, Sheep on the Road,1991, Lanyon Place, Belfast

ABOVE: Louise Walsh, Monument to theUnknown Woman Worker, 1993, GreatVictoria Street, Belfast (detail)

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This 10-metre long salmon,situated in front of Belfast’s elegantVictorian Custom House by SirCharles Lanyon, has become aniconic landmark for Belfast citycentre. Funded by Laganside andthe National Lottery through theArts Council of Northern Ireland,the work was commissioned byLaganside Corporation throughopen competition to celebrate theregeneration of the River Lagan.

The outer ‘skin’ of the fish is cladin printed ceramic tiles decoratedwith texts and images relating tothe history of Belfast. Material fromTudor times to contemporarynewspaper headlines are includedalong with contributions fromBelfast school children. The UlsterMuseum provided the primarysource of historic images, whilelocal schools and day centreslocated along the line of the RiverFarset (an ‘unseen’ river alsoflowing through Belfast) wereapproached to provide drawingsfor the fish. Images were providedby Glenwood Primary School, StComgall’s and Everton Day Centres.The Big Fish also contains a timecapsule storing information/images/poetry on the city.

The artist, John Kindness, is knownfor his humorous and quirky visualcommentaries and use ofunconventional materials. He isone of Northern Ireland’s bestknown artists, particularly in relationto the work he has produced forpublic spaces including Waterfallof Souvenirs at the Europa BusStation, Belfast (1991) and, in theRepublic of Ireland, at BallymunCivic Centre, where his series ofportraits, Sisters (2003), werepainted onto car bonnets.

CASE STUDY I

Big FishDonegall Quay, BelfastJohn Kindness, 1999

ABOVE: Big Fish under construction

This large-scale composition wascreated by the experienced Derry-based artist Maurice Harron,whose other work has includedHands Across the Divide in Derry,the Workers dry arched gatewayto Letterkenny, and the FlyingAngel at the Mission to Seafarersat Laganside, Belfast. Thecommission was developed asthe result of open competition byStrabane District Council, theStrabane-Lifford DevelopmentCommission and the North WestDevelopment Office and wasfunded by the National Lotterythrough the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland, Strabane DistrictCouncil, Sustrans, the UlsterWildlife Trust, the Department forSocial Development and theStrabane-Lifford DevelopmentCommission.

The work has a landmark qualitythat defines the space in whichit is set – at a busy intersectionof roads. The local communityappears to have taken itaffectionately to heart, having

been known to surreptitiously dressthe figures in football strips, andunofficially name the 18-feet-highstylized bronze figures ‘the Tinnies’.

The sculptures won a Civic Trustcommendation in 2003, with thejudges commenting as follows: ‘Itmakes for one of the largest andmost impressive pieces of publicart in Northern Ireland. The themeof music and dance reflects thearea’s social and cultural heritage,and the site is brought to life whenfloodlit at night. The sculpturesmake a very real contribution tothe area and, in their setting, arean excellent example of civic art.’

CASE STUDY II

Let the Dance Beginor Millennium SculptureStrabane, Co. TyroneMaurice Harron, 2002

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Through a limited competition in1990, Brian Connolly wascommissioned to make a publicsculpture for his home town ofPortrush. This sundial created fromceramic tiles and cast concretecontinues the artist’s interest in theimportance of time and space. Theshell-shape incorporated into thispiece had become a recurrentelement in Connolly’s work bythis stage.

Born in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim,Connolly studied sculpture at theUniversity of Ulster, Belfast (where

he now teaches). He is currentlybased near Bushmills, and hiswork has been exhibited nationallyand internationally; his publiccommissions include works for StAnne’s Square, Donegall Street,Belfast (now temporarily removed)and at Lagan Valley Island, Lisburn.Throughout his work, the artist hasbeen intrigued by the conceptof time.

The work was funded by ColeraineBorough Council, the Arts Councilof Northern Ireland, ABSA andHutchinson Flooring Contractors.

OTHER SINGLE WORK PROJECTS

Shades of My FatherKerr Street, Portrush, Co. AntrimBrian Connolly, 1990

This flock of seven bronze sheepand a shepherd on a concrete andstone base was originallycommissioned by the Arts Councilfor its sculpture garden at RiddelHall on the Stranmillis Road inBelfast. It was purchased byLaganside Corporation in 1999 andrelocated to its present positionoutside the Waterfront Hall atLanyon Place, where it resonateswith the history of the site as acattle and sheep market.

Deborah Brown, born in Belfast in1927, is an acclaimed sculptor witha profound love and respect fornature. Sheep on the Road was

inspired by her childhood visits andenduring interest in the landscapeof Cushendun. The realisticrendition of the piece resulted fromcareful observation of people andanimals within the countryside.Renowned in Ireland for herpioneering exploration of themedium of fibre glass in the Sixties,Brown’s work is represented inmany collections in Ireland andabroad, including the UlsterMuseum, RTE, Bank of Ireland, theHugh Lane Municipal Gallery ofModern Art Dublin, Irish Museum ofModern Art Dublin and the ArtsCouncil of Northern Ireland. Arecent quirky public commission

was Suzie the Street Cat forBelfast’s Donegall Road,commissioned by the Forestof Belfast.

Sheep on the RoadLanyon Place, Waterfront Hall, BelfastDeborah Brown, 1991

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This 5 metre-high ceramic mosaicwork was the result of acollaboration between Translinkand the Arts Council (the jointfunders) to mark the opening ofthe new bus and train station –the piece takes a central andpivotal place on the concourse.The Waterfall is an avalanche ofIrish memorabilia with a strongnorthern accent – images includean Ulster Fry beside the Giant’sCauseway, presents from Bangor,Bushmills and Ballymena. One ofthe ideas behind the piece was toconnect the places reached byUlsterbus services.

As part of his process of communityengagement and participation, theartist John Kindness inviteddonations of ceramic souvenirsfrom Ulster, some of which werethan selected for inclusion in thefinished piece. The public responsewas considerable. These oftenkitch items were then, along withspecially fired ceramics,reassembled by the artist toachieve the overall design of thework. Kindness said of the work:‘I tried to find a format that wouldrelate to all the places the busestravelled to, thereby creating animmediate relationship between

the sculpture and the people whoused the station’; he also remarkedon how this was at the time the firstmajor sculpture commission to berealized in Belfast since the 1950s.(Irish Reporter)

(Biographical details on the artistare given in the Big Fish case study.)

Waterfall of SouvenirsEuropa Bus Station, BelfastJohn Kindness, 1991

Originally commissioned by theDepartment of the Environmentfor Northern Ireland, thecommissioning of this piece wastaken over by Glenbank EstatesLimited following a disagreementregarding the interpretation of thetheme, and the Arts Council part-funded the work to the tune of25%. The official brief was toreflect Amelia Street’s history as aformer ‘red light district’ with ‘twocolourful life-size “cartoon” femalefigures’. Walsh considered it to beoffensive to portray women in thatway, and instead submitted herproposal for two bronze femalefigures who could address the

underlying issues of women’s low-paid jobs and unpaid housework.This theme is articulated by theuse of objects and utensilssymbolic of women’s work, suchas household items, telephones,shopping baskets and cashregisters, which are imbedded inthe fabric of the figures.

Louise Walsh was born in CountyCork in 1963, graduated fromCrawford Municipal College of Artin 1985, and gained her MA inSculpture from the University ofUlster, Belfast in 1986. She is wellknown for her life-size energeticfigures, which challenge

conventional depictions of women,her use of informal objects and herconsiderable technical skills. Shehas exhibited extensively in Irelandand the UK and has substantialexperience in the field of public artwith commissions includinginstallation work at HeathrowAirport, London; sculpture withinthe integrated artworks project atthe Royal Group Hospitals inBelfast; and work in Dublin, Cavanand Limerick.

Monument to the Unknown Woman WorkerGreat Northern Mall, Great Victoria Street, BelfastLouise Walsh, 1992-3

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This work, commissioned by theDepartment of the Environment viaan open-submission sculpturecompetition and funded by the DoEand the National Lottery throughthe Arts Council of NorthernIreland, is site-specific to alandscaped area on Orchard Street,adjacent to New Gate Bastion. Dueto the dynamics of the sloping site,the work can be seen from bothinside and outside the walls, aboveand below. The work consists offour granite blocks which reflect theshape of the city’s four quarters –Ferryquay Street, Shipquay Street,Butcher Street and Bishop Street.The geometric, irregular, multi-

sided stones are intended by Aikenas ‘portraits of the old city in termsof shape and form’ – an abstracttranslation of Derry’s walled city.The multi-textured and multi-coloured granite is highly polishedand was sourced from Europe,Africa and South America. Therange of granites used representsthe diversity of cultures in Derryand its role as a port. Themonolithic forms (weighing up totwenty tons) reflect Derry’s richhistorical, archaeological,commercial and cultural heritage.As abstract conceptual sculptures,profiling Derry’s walls, placed at theheart of the city, the works

simultaneously point to past,present and future.

John Aiken studied at the ChelseaSchool of Art (1968-73) and theBritish School at Rome (1973-75).In 1986 he was appointed Head ofSculpture at the Slade School ofFine Art in London. His interest inmilitary architecture and inarchaeology underpins much of hiswork. He has exhibited extensivelyand has been awarded manycommissions including a 40 metrefrieze in Belfast City Hospital (1986)and a steel sculpture for the ArtsCouncil of Northern Ireland’sSculpture Park (Untitled, 1992).

The City as ShapeOrchard Street, DerryJohn Aiken, 1996

This bronze work was erected tocommemorate the life and work ofJimmy Kennedy, a songwriter whospent much of his life inPortstewart. He wrote ‘Red Sails inthe Sunset’ whilst looking out tosea from his parent’s home inStrand Road in the town. It wascommissioned by ColeraineBorough Council and funded bythe Council, the National Lotterythrough the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland, Dempsey’s ofPortstewart and the Association ofBusiness Sponsorship of the Arts.

The artist, Niall O’Neill, is basedin County Wicklow. He is a well-established sculptor who hascompleted a number ofcommissions in Ireland, north andsouth, including The Garden andRepose in Dun Laoghaire, andAmmonite, a public sculpture forMalahide Marina. He is a regularexhibitor in the Oireactas and AerRianta, and his work is included ina number of public collections.

Fishing BoatPromenade, Portstewart, Co. LondonderryNiall O’Neill, 1996

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Derry City Council wished tocommission a public artwork forplacement outside its headquarterson the city-side banks of the RiverFoyle. Chosen artist Locky Morrisproposed to salvage huge timberpiles from the old American jetty atLisahally along the river. WithDerry’s rapidly changing landscape,little remained of the old woodendocks and quays; rich material thatgive clues into its history. Thesetimber piles, now transformed intosomething new, still show themarks and effects of a lifetime inthe river. The tidal markings couldbe seen as emblematic of Derry’shistory as a port with its many

waves of emigration and trade. Thestructure, rising to 10.4m (34 feet),weighing 34 tones and forming akind of totem, exploits the physicalpower and beauty of the wood. Itrefers directly to processes ofconstruction and strongly suggestsskyscapers or stepping-stones.Like modernist architects'experiments in the 1920s and1930s with new urban forms theneat columns of Atlantic Driftbelie a complex rhythm of spaceand form.

Locky Morris was born in Derry in1960, where he continues to liveand work. He studied in Belfast and

Manchester. His work has beenexhibited widely nationally andinternationally. Throughout hiscareer, his engagement with DerryCity and its changing characterhas shaped his work. For a numberof years in the late 1990s heconcentrated solely on makingmusic with his band Rare. He hasbeen the recipient of numerousawards including an Art forArchitecture award from the RSA.

The work was funded by Derry CityCouncil and the National Lotterythrough the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland.

Atlantic DriftCivic Offices, Strand Road, DerryLocky Morris, 1998

Laganside commissioned this workin mild and galvanised steel for thenew riverside walkway running fromMays Meadow to the WaterfrontHall, and funded it along with fundsfrom the National Lottery throughthe Arts Council of NorthernIreland. The references are both tothe natural life of the river and tothe musical performances whichtake place in the landmarkWaterfront Hall building (byRobinson McIlwaine Architects).Steel bands wave in and out andup and down to create a feeling ofmovement associated with music

and, representationally, themusical stave. The lines changein character from formal andcontrolled at one end to free-format another, which is also markedby the figure of a standing heron.This inclusion of bird-life reflectsthe variety of activity along the riverand pays tribute to the work of theRSPB. In the evening, the workcreates dramatic shadows of birdsup and across the wall whencaught by the sunset.

Susan Crowther is an architectworking for the private practice

‘designs matter’. She has workedon a number of commissions incollaboration with Portadown-based Willis Engineering. Her workcan be seen at the Gasworksrailings in Belfast, railings at MarketStreet in Lurgan and in the streetfurniture at Belfast Castle.

Lagan SymphonyRiverside Gardens, Lanyon Place, Belfast‘designs matter’ Susan Crowther and WillisEngineering, 1999

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Dividers was commissioned forClarendon Dock by Laganside andfunded by it, the National Lotterythrough the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland, and BelfastHarbour Commissioners. To thepasser-by today’s buildings aroundClarendon Dock are quiet, but inthem the business of internationalcommunication is on a line ofcontinuum of commerce earliereffected by the ships built on thesite, which connected Belfast withthe rest of the world. Like Dividers,simple, familiar hand-held toolswere key to the designing,constructing and planning whichallowed circumnavigation from thecity. The 8.3 metre-high bronzeform (with stainless steel core) acts

as a frame or doorway in the space,both entrance and exit, andprovides a symmetrical, linearshape among a great many blocksof buildings, echoing the Harland& Wolff sentinel cranes on theother side of the river. Lagansideencouraged communityparticipation with the Dividerspiece. Interested individualsattended design workshops andphysically made their own bronzeplaques to be located near theDividers. Each participant wasasked to prepare an image ortext, which best described whatClarendon Dock and thesurrounding area meant to them.

Vivien Burnside lives and works inNorthern Ireland. She has an MAfrom the University of Ulster and isan Associate Lecturer at the BelfastInstitute. She has been exhibitingwork, in a variety of media, ingalleries and public spaces since1981. In Belfast, previous publicartworks include billboardpaintings, participation inHorsehead International SculptureProject and a commission for TheRoyal Belfast Hospital for SickChildren. She also has considerableexperience in project-managinglarge integrated arts projects at theMater Hospital in Belfast and forSouth & East Belfast Health Trust inits development of three CommunityTreatment and Care Centres.

DividersClarendon Dock, BelfastVivien Burnside, 2002

The work in Portland stone with awater feature (measuring: h. 200cmx w. 150cm x l. 400cm) was fundedby Limavady Borough Council andthe National Lottery through theArts Council of Northern Ireland. Italludes to a mid-19th century eventassociated with the town ofLimavady – a local woman, JaneRoss, on hearing a blind fiddleroutside her window in Main Street,

wrote down the melody knowntoday as the ‘Londonderry Air’.

The artist Philip Flanagan, whosework alternates between figurativeand abstract minimalist work, hascreated a work composed of aseries of lines cut within the stonewhich refer to the town’s coat ofarms, the lines of the musical staveand the River Roe.

Jane Ross CommemorationSculptureCamden Street, Limavady,Co. LondonderryPhilip Flanagan, 2002

SOME SINGLE WORKPROJECTS IN RECEIPT OFARTS COUNCIL FUNDINGAND UNDER CURRENTDEVELOPMENT

DERRYFoyle Valley ‘Art in the TravellingLandscape’ Double Bridge byNoah Rose (Commissioned bySustrans)

DUNDONALDMoat Park Sculpture by EleanorWheeler (Commissioned byDundonald Village RegenerationGroup)

DUNGANNONHospital Road RoundaboutArches by Eleanor Wheeler andAlan Cargo (Commissioned byDungannon & South TyroneBorough Council)

LARNEMigration sculpture by JohnO’Connor (Commissioned byLarne Borough Council)

TOOMEGateway artwork by Chris Wilson(Commissioned by ToomeIndustrial Development Amenitiesand Leisure/TIDAL)

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These projects may be conceived as a wholeor in stages, but involve the creation of morethan one work for a location or group ofconnected locations; often they are sculpturetrails, although the artworks may be in a varietyof media and they need not necessarily belinked by a unifying theme. A couple of casestudies are given, followed by brief descriptionsof a selection of other examples funded by theArts Council of Northern Ireland and otherprojects currently in development. It is worthnoting Laganside’s Art Trails in Belfast (seewww.laganside.com) and Sustrans sculpturetrails along the National Cycle Network (seewww.nationalcyclenetwork.org.uk).

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LEFT: Ned Jackson Smyth, Homage to theLough, 1999, Belcoo, Lough MacNean

ABOVE: Louise Walsh, Imagine, 1999,Blacklion, Lough MacNean (detail)

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The Lough MacNean SculptureTrail is set in an area of outstandingnatural beauty around Upper andLower Lough MacNean in south-west Fermanagh, borderingcounties Cavan and Leitrim; at oneend is Florence Court House andbetween the two lakes is the villageof Belcoo. The lakeland area ispopular with fishermen and walkers,as well as artists and writers, andis rich in historical and culturalinterest. A group with a vision tolink the communities around thelough shores and unite them in acelebration of shared experiencethrough physical expressions oftheir identity formed in order torealise a sculpture trail at locationsall around the area of the Lough.

The Sculpture Trail received aNational Lottery award from theArts Council of Northern Irelandfor £44,600, as well as funding froma variety of other funders, suchas Fermanagh District Council,Leitrim and Cavan Councils, AnChomhairle Ealaion, the EU Peaceand Reconciliation Programme and Co-operation Ireland.

Artists included: Ned JacksonSmyth (Homage to the Lough);

David Kinane (Letterbreen Mark);Niall Walsh (Monument); BettyNewman-Maguire (Circle of Hands,Salmon Leap and Hazel Den),Louise Walsh (Imagine); SeamusDunbar (Forum); Martina Galvin(Inish Ochta & Glen Fearmuighe);Anna MacLeod (Reflectress);Derek Whitticase (Points ofContact); Anthony Scott (KissingBoars); and Gerard Cox (Duet).

Works pictured:

Homage to the Loughby Ned Jackson Smyth

Located in Blacklion, and sited inthe cottage meadow in Belcoo, onthe pathway near to Lough, thisabstract sculpture measuring 2.5metres high and constructed ofsteel, wood and stone, is symbolicin a number of ways. It representsthe history and the passage of timein the area. The corten steel formsare based on bronze arrowheadsthat have been found in the areaand the material represents thecoming of the railway to the village.The three forms have negativeshapes cut out to reflect themoods of the Lough – calm torough. The centre-piece is an oak

form in the shape of a boatreferring to the early settlers; thelime stone path around this is areference to the famine road thatwas built in the area.

Ned Jackson Smyth is a sculptorbased in Newtownards, Co Down.He was born and educated inBelfast, and completed anapprenticeship in light engineering.He attended University of Ulster,where he achieved a BA (Hons) inFine and Applied Art. Since leavingUniversity he has been practisingas a professional artist, throughexhibitions, commissions bothprivate and public, workshopsand lecturing. He has exhibitedthroughout Ireland, andinternationally with groupexhibitions in the UK, Europe,Russia and Brazil. His publiccommissions have been a mixtureof community-based projects andpublic authority commissions; he iscurrently working on a large-scalework for the new Regional AcquiredBrain Injury Unit at Musgrave ParkHospital, Belfast.

CASE STUDY I

Lough MacNean Sculpture TrailBelcoo, Co. Fermanagh1998-2000

Salmon Leapby Betty Newman-Maguire

Located in Claddagh Glen, alongthe river beside the weir, thisDouglas Fir work measuring 4.5ft(W) x 12ft (H) was the outcome of atwo month residency working withlocal children. It was inspired by theweir on the Claddagh River wherethe salmon leap. Looking throughthe negative fish shapes on thesculpture one can see the weir. Theundulating side of the piece echoesthe flow of the water.

Betty Newman-Maguire was bornin Kells, Co. Meath in 1952. Shegraduated with a first class honoursdegree in Sculpture from theNational College of Art and Design,Dublin, 1988 and was awarded aMaster of Fine Art from theUniversity of Ulster, Belfast in 1998.She has mounted many soloexhibitions in Ireland and Americaand has also exhibited in groupshows internationally. Since 1988she has been awarded many majorpublic commissions. Her publicsculptures range in material from

steel, wood, stone, bronze andearth. All her public sculptures aresite specific and are made inresponse to the environment –an example is Flight of Geese atAlexandra Park in East Belfast,commissioned by the Forestof Belfast.

ABOVE LEFT: Homage to the Lough

ABOVE RIGHT: Salmon Leap

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In a sense, the commissioningof artworks at Lagan Valley Islandstraddles ‘multiple artworks’ and‘integrated art’ categorizationas many works of art werecommissioned alongside thebuilding of the new civic andarts centre on the regeneratedsite – several of these are sitedwithin the building itself. Thecommissioning was also stagedrather than created as a ‘one off’ –the first public art programme was‘Natural Forces’, a competitionlaunched in 1999 inviting artiststo submit proposals consideringearth, fire, wind and water; asecond phase commissionedfurther external commissions toenhance a public realm art trail,of which two included significantlocal community involvement.

Funding for the commissions camefrom a variety of sources includingthe commissioners themselves,Lisburn City Council; all but tworeceived support from the NationalLottery through the Arts Council.

Artists include: Ned Jackson Smith(New Growth wood sculpture andThe Island and the Elementsbronze and concrete watersculpture); Janet Preston (Digprints); Larissa Watson-Regan(Salmon Leap, Air and Canal Walk

mixed media works); d3 Art &Design/Ngaire Jackson, ClareLawson and Gerry Woodcock(Concentric Twist steel sculpture);Brian Connolly (Artist’s Easelbronze sculpture); Karl Ciesluk (TheLagan Revival carved stones); BobSloan (Tree of Dreams stainlesssteel and bronze ‘tree’).

Main work pictured:

Artist’s Easelby Brian Connolly

This work is located on the riverpath adjacent to the entrance tothe Island Arts Centre. It takes theform of a bronze artist’s easel,picture frame and stool and workson several levels. It is interactive inthat the viewer can sit on the stooland look through the frame tocontemplate the view of the riverand riverbank beyond, or one canplace oneself within the frame to‘become’ the work of art, or theframe can act as a celebration ofthe natural scene seen within theframe; it also playfully referencesthe work of the Surrealist artistRene Magritte.

(Biographical details on the artistare given with Shades of myFather on page 26.)

CASE STUDY II

XPlore Art Public Art & Sculpture TrailLagan Valley Island, Lisburn1999-2001

TOP: Ned Jackson Smyth, The Island andthe Elements

ABOVE: Karl Ciesluk, The Lagan Revival –Salmon Ladder

The Sculpture Trail in CastlewellanForest Park was opened inSeptember 1992, as the first of itskind in Northern Ireland. The trailwas the result of a three weekSculpture Symposium involvingnine sculptors from NorthernIreland, the Republic of Ireland,Holland and Greece. ThisSymposium was jointly promotedby the Forest Service of theDepartment of Agriculture, DownDistrict Council and the Sculptors’Society of Ireland, with fundingfrom the European Arts Festivaland the Arts Council of NorthernIreland.

The eight sculptures along the trailwere created from natural materials,most of which were gathered fromthe park. They were designed andmade specifically for the three milelake-side walk, with sites chosen toemphasise some of the park’s most

beautiful features. The Trail is ownedand maintained by Down DistrictCouncil.

Works pictured:

Dreams and Stonesby Michael Bulfin

Michael Bulfin has been creatingand exhibiting sculpture since theearly 1960s. He has had a numberof solo exhibitions and has shownwork widely in Ireland, the UK,Europe and the U.S. He is veryinterested in public art and, inparticular, site specific and landart; with a scientific backgroundand knowledge, he brings a specialapproach to these areas ofsculpture. He said of this work,‘This sculpture creates a space, aplace to stop and ponder, to sit andthink, to dream, to dream perhapsof stones. Remember these stonesmay be three hundred million yearsold but still they can be reshaped.’

Piece for a Maple Treeby Kathy Herbert

Kathy Herbert was born in Dublinin 1955 and studied Fine ArtPrintmaking at the University ofUlster. She has had solo exhibitionsin the USA and in Northern Ireland.In 1996, she was awarded a majorprize from the Irish ConcreteSociety and the Alice BergerHammerschlag Travel Award. Herwork is held in private collections inEngland, U.S.A. and Ireland. Shesaid of this work, ‘It is inspired bythe maple tree, under which it is

sited. In a sense, the sculpture andthe tree are both part of the piece:they make reference to eachother and work together as a unit.The pattern of the leaf motif isinterrupted by the stone with theimage of the hand, inferring man’sinterference in the natural order.The piece both honours the treeand warns of the danger of its loss.’

OTHER MULTIPLE WORKS PROJECTS

Castlewellan Forest Park Sculpture Trail1992

Ards Borough Council, with ArtsCouncil of Northern Irelandsupport, commissioned, throughtheir ‘Art in the CommunityProgramme’, Kircubbin-basedsculptor Owen Crawford to designrobust outdoor public seating forcouncil designated sites. Inspiredby previous work on site at CastleEspie with the World Wildlife Trust(WWT), Crawford conceived thesepractical yet visually attractiveseats for two locations.

Flight of Geese is constructedfrom Turkey and Pendunculate Oak,carved and sited ‘green’ fromClarke Cunningham’s wood yardKillyleagh, Co. Down. The workmeasures 420 x 240 x 45cm.

Goose Bench is constructedfrom granite boulders (4 x 225mmdiameter) and oak, carved andsited ‘green’ from the same woodyard in Killyleagh. The Brent Goosehas the distinct shapes and patternsthat the artist worked from. Incontrast to its sister piece, the oakwas given a thin varnish coat toprovide temporary protection thathas now decayed and now appearsas sun-weathered grey grain, aneffect that can only be achievedwith time. The reclaimed Mournegranite remains lighter in colourthan the timber.

Owen Crawford trained in Fine ArtPainting at Ravensbourne Collegeof Art & Design, Kent. He has

completed over forty publiccommissions in Ireland, north andsouth, including work for the RoyalVictoria Hospital, Bangor HeritageCentre and the Forest of Belfast.He has exhibited in venuesthroughout the country.

Flight of Geese and Goose BenchThe Commons, Donaghadee and PortaferryTourist Information CentreOwen Crawford, 1997

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TOP and ABOVE: Piece for a Maple Tree

LEFT: Dreams and Stones

ABOVE: Goose Bench

LEFT: Flight of Geese

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The Garden of the Senses is asensory experience offeringelements accessible to both able-bodied and disabled persons. Thegarden itself was built in 1996 inthe grounds of Armagh City andDistrict Council’s headquarters –the 18th-century Palace Demesnethat was formerly home to theChurch of Ireland Archbishop ofArmagh. The Garden’s moderndesign is complemented by twobubbling water sculptures –Sensory Form by Ned JacksonSmyth and Kinetic Blooms –which are each linked to a centralpond. The sculptures werecommissioned as a result of acompetition funded by the NationalLottery through the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland and by ArmaghCity & District Council.

Work pictured:

Kinetic Bloomsby Barry Callaghanand Joanne Risley

The focal kinetic sculpture by BarryCallaghan and Joanne Risley is 2metres high and consists of a plantform in bronze (patinated andpolished elements) with a dragonflyresting on an upper leaf. Waterspurting from the insect’s mouthfills the uppermost flower head,causing it to tip. The action is thenrepeated with a second flowerform. Designed to be interactive forchildren, there is a pulley and leverto move the dragonfly’s wings andthe lower flower head can bemoved by a handle.

Joanne Risley was born in Knutfordand completed Foundation inNorwich London Road Collegeof Art. She studied sculpture atDundee and undertook an MAat the University of Ulster, Belfastwhere she met her partner BarryCallaghan also on the MAprogramme. Barry Callaghanwas born in London in 1960. Hestudied at the University of Ulster.He has had solo exhibitions at theOctagon and Orpheus Galleriesin Belfast and exhibits regularlywith the Royal Hibernian Academy,Dublin and the Royal UlsterAcademy, Belfast. Majorcommissions include Ninth Life1992 for the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland Sculpture Garden,Riddel Hall. He also createdNest Egg 1994 which is locatedin the Northern Bank, DonegallSquare, Belfast. Both have workedas sculptors for a number of yearsand have completed a number ofpublic commissions includingsculptures for the integrated artworksproject at the Mater Hospital,Belfast. Kinetic Blooms was theirfirst collaborative commission.

Garden of the SensesPalace Demesne, Armagh1998

Ards Arts (Ards Borough Council)was awarded a three-year Accessgrant from the Arts Council in orderto develop a range of publicartworks by various artists acrossthe Peninsula which activelyengaged with local communities.The project took the form of twophases: the first was an artSymposium (1999) which allowedeight artists – Betty Newman-Maguire, Ann Henderson, HelenSharkey, Petri Westerlund, GavinWeston, Pirjo Nykanen, AngelaGeorge and Graeme Hall – todevelop temporary pieces whichwould arouse the interest of thecommunities in which they wereplaced. Some of these works aredocumented in the SculptureSymposium Sites documentproduced by Ards Arts – Gavin

Weston’s Sea Green Belt atBallyhalbert and Pirjo Nykanen’sPainting on Site at Portavogie arepictured. The second phase sawthe creation of permanent artworksin Portavogie (by Colin Telfer),Millisle (by Laureen Magill),Portaferry (by Raymond Watson),Kircubbin (by Bronagh Wright) andGreyabbey (by Alan Cargo).

Main work pictured:

Look Outby Gavin Weston

Located on the gable wall of theCommunity House in Ballyhalbert,this slightly larger than life sizefigure is constructed of glass fibreand resin. The artist drawsattention through the work to

Ballyhalbert’s historical connectionsto the nearby airfield and directsour gaze far out to sea.

Gavin Weston is a multi-mediaartist, writer and curator who liveson the Ards Peninsula and works inBelfast. He studied Fine Art at SaintMartin's School of Art and Designand Goldsmiths' College, London,and subsequently worked andtaught in West Africa. In 1995 hecompleted an MA at the Universityof Ulster, where he has recentlybeen teaching. He is also anassociate lecturer at BelfastInstitute and a regular contributorto The Sunday Times. He wasawarded a major commission – The Spring – by the UpperSpringfield Development Trust, inWest Belfast.

Ards Public Art TrailVarious artists1999-2002

TOP: Pirjo Nykanen, Painting on Site,Portavogie

ABOVE: Gavin Weston, Sea Green Belt,Ballyhalbert

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A series of artworks – a mosaicon the theme of peace andreconciliation and three sculpturesrepresenting local 18th-centurypoets Seamus Mor MacMurchaidh,Padraig Mac A Liondain, PeadarO’Doirnin, Seamus Dall Mac Cuartaand Art McCumhaigh buried inCreggan Churchyard – wascommissioned by Creggan HallManagement Committee for theWalled Garden and Park inCrossmaglen, Co. Armagh. Thecommissions are, therefore,examples of work for a rural,natural landscape setting, engagingartists in the interpretation ofcultural and historical themes.

The nature of the project suitedartists working in environmentaland/or time-based practice, andalso those interested in workingwith children as local school pupilsparticipated in allied creativeworkshops, producing time-limitedenvironmental works.

Mike Hogg sculpted AgSmaoineamh – a ‘ruminating’ or‘thinking’ stone – for location by theriver, and the sandstone wedge, AgTiteamh Amach or A Falling Outas a seat. Patrick Ward and AineIvers created Clay of Creggan –five etched copper panelscelebrating the work of the five

poets with extracts from their workinscribed on them, for alandscaped mound which theycreated to echo an ancient stonecircle across the Creggan Riverfrom the Poets’ Glen; andCommon Thread – twelve PortlandStone slabs threaded together withstainless steel wire rope tosymbolize division and unity. Davidand Catherine Wilcoxson createdPeace and Reconciliation – acircular mosaic of geometric designincorporating bird motifs.

Creggan Poets’ Glen Park ArtworksCrossmaglen, Co. Armagh2001-2003

These works were commissionedby Translink/Northern IrelandRailways, supported by a NewWork National Lottery award fromthe Arts Council. As the result ofan open competition, Chris Wilsonwas selected on the basis of aproposal which envisaged a rangeof works both above therefurbished main station concourseand on the stairwell leading to thecar park. The works employ thetopography of maps as a way ofexploring landscape. The intentionwas to focus on the links that existbetween different locations. In thenatural landscape the lines createdby the road network, railways andrivers can be viewed as large scaleline drawings that criss-cross thelandscape creating connectionsbetween people and places, with

each of these lines creating pulsesof movement, of trains, cars andflowing water.

In the work titled Landscape Linesthe intention was to create a linearflowing drawing in metal and neonthat would extend from Belfast toDublin with the patterns of the roadnetworks highlighting the clustersof urban development locatedalong the connecting rail line. Thesix panels situated at the car parkentrance are collectively titledNetworks and illustrate sixlocations served by Translink. Eachpanel employs the geography ofmaps, focused on the roads andpathways as indicators of humanactivity, with each section oflandscape backlit with neon tocreate a floating blue field pattern.

Chris Wilson studied at BrightonCollege of Art and since graduatingfrom the University of Ulster with aMaster of Fine Arts degree in 1985he has maintained a strongcommitment to exhibiting in Irelandand internationally. His work hasbeen included in many national andinternational exhibitions of Irish andBritish art. He is represented inseveral public collections, includingthe Arts Council of England, ArtsCouncil of Northern Ireland and theArts Council of Ireland. His work ismultidisciplinary in approach,exploring both 3 dimensional and 2dimensional forms in a wide varietyof media. Current projects include amajor sculpture commission forToome Bypass.

Central Station ArtworksBelfastChris Wilson, 2005

DERRYCredit Union works for exterior ofbuilding by Louise O’Boyle andMarie Barrett

OTHER MULTIPLE WORKSPROJECTS IN RECEIPT OFARTS COUNCIL FUNDINGAND UNDER CURRENTDEVELOPMENT

TOP: Mike Hogg, Ag Titeamh Amach

ABOVE: Patrick Ward and Aine Ivers,Clay of Creggan

TOP: Mike Hogg, Ag Smaoineamh

ABOVE: David and Catherine Wilcoxson,Peace and Reconciliation

TOP: Patrick Ward and Aine Ivers,Clay of Creggan

ABOVE: Patrick Ward and Aine Ivers,Common Thread

ABOVE LEFT: Landscape Lines

ABOVE RIGHT: Networks

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The Arts Council encourages the adoption ofPer Cent for Art policies in all public sectordevelopments in Northern Ireland. ‘Per Cent forArt’ is when a percentage of a capital budget isspecifically reserved for art, usually a minimumof 1%, so, for example, a project costing £1million would allocate £10,000 for thecommissioning of art works. The case for thispolicy is made clearly in the Arts Council’sArchitecture & the Built Environment: Policies,Strategies and Actions document (availablefrom the Arts Council; a summary is given atAppendix C). In essence, the drive is to instilla culture of engaging artists meaningfully andcollaboratively in the design process of buildingsand large-scale environmental schemes, andto integrate artwork within the physical fabricof buildings which interface with the public. Acouple of case studies of integrated arts projectsare given, followed by brief descriptions of aselection of other examples funded by the ArtsCouncil of Northern Ireland and other projectscurrently in development. It should be noted thatconsiderable progress in integrating art withinhealthcare buildings has been made in NorthernIreland over recent years.

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LEFT: General view of Main Street, RoyalBelfast Hospital for Sick Children (worksby Rita Duffy, David Dudgeon, HilaryCromie, Peter Rooney, Rhona Hendersonand Helena Kaushal)

The transformation of the formerFirst Derry Presbyterian PrimarySchool, located next to the CityWalls in Derry City, into a VerbalArts Centre took place from themid-1990s to 2000. Through thework of architects Hall BlackDouglas it became a centredesigned to promote writing, story-telling, performance and verbalcreativity. (For a fuller explanationof the building’s construction, seeBuilding for the Arts: celebrating 10Years of Lottery Funding, availablefrom the Arts Council of NorthernIreland). From the start, the projectconceived the thorough integrationof permanent artworks by a widerange of artists, funded as part ofthe overall capital budget. Theholistic approach was rewarded inthe building receiving a number ofsignificant awards: a Civic TrustAward (2001); the RIAI regionalAward (2001), and the EHSConservation Award (2001).

The integrated artwork included: aseries of oil paintings on thestairway by Rita Duffy illustratingtraditional stories from all overIreland (in conjunction with theDepartment of Education’s‘Everlasting Voices’ project); mapleand walnut lectern, chairs and tableby Michael Bell for the Blue CoatRoom; oak and white oak chairsand a table for the first floor Library

also by Michael Bell; a storyteller’sseat and lockers with textured andshaped wall panels in AmericanRed Oak by Ben Russell for thechildren’s workshop; a hand-carvedcornice inscription in Americanred oak for the Library also byBen Russell; a glass sculpturecontaining 212 original hand-writtenpoems for the reception hall byKillian Schurmann; an oil paintingby Martin Mooney commissionedby the Honourable the Irish Societyfor the Library, entitled The NewVerbal Arts Centre, 2001; a multi-media video projection by CarolineMcCarthy, Forms for Space;French flashed glass panels forthe top section of the Librarywindows by Deirdre Rogers,with sandblasted text naming 24writers from the North-West; abronze work, Figures Passingby Caroline Mulholland for theMezzanine balcony; a bronze andcopper work by John Behan, WordJugglers, for the first floor; ceramicfloor tiles for the ground floor byLouis Le Brocquy and Studio VanDer Noll, entitled Chariots fromTain Bo Cuailge (1969); a receptiondesk in steamed beech with eagleblack granite by Knut Klimmeck &Henderson; and steel security grillsand gates on the exterior of thebuilding by Gerald Pullman. A ShortGuide for Visitors to the Centre isavailable from the Centre.

CASE STUDY I

The Verbal Arts CentreDerry1995-2000

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TOP: Gerard Pullman, Steel railings

ABOVE: Michael Bell, Oak chairs

MAIN IMAGE: Louis Le Brocquy and StudioVan Der Noll, Chariots floor tiles

An holistic approach was taken inthe construction of a substantialnew building programme at theMater, one of Belfast’s majorhospitals, so that an integrated artsproject developed alongside theraising of the structure. With asubstantial grant from the NationalLottery through the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland, a creative teamwas formed and the project wasable to get underway, co-ordinatedby artist Vivien Burnside. Thirteenartists worked on eleven majorprojects in a variety of disciplines.The project involved artists workingclosely with many members of staff,patients and individuals from thelocal community in North Belfast.

The McAuley Building now housesan impressive body of artwork,which is immediately apparentupon entering the building withcarved brick panels and seatingand ceramic floor panels byEleanor Wheeler, textile hangingsby Clare McCarroll and stainedglass by Kate Baden-Fuller. In theatrium, the centrepiece of which isthe original Gothic convent doorleading to the old hospital building,the bright, airy space is enhancedby wall hangings by JoannaKinnersly-Taylor and an installationof 30 portraits of patients and staffby Brian Maguire. Glass doors leadoff the atrium into a peacefulinternal courtyard, which features

sculptural works by Joanne Risleyand Barry Callaghan and BillMoutrie and Colin Mortimer. On themain staircase off the atrium andthroughout the building, CatherineHarper’s 100 Words for Motherconsists of one hundred smallboxed artworks created inworkshops with local people – theycan be ‘discovered’, as can printsand photographs by Lucy Turner,Anushiya Sundaralingham andJim Maginn in corridors and waitingrooms. The works are the productsof time spent by the artistsresponding to the people,atmosphere and architecture (thebuilding was designed by ToddArchitects). Smaller commissionsby Carmel Cleary, Hilary Cromie,Sara Cunningham-Bell, MichaelHogg, Kate Malone, ElaineMegahey, Tony O’Malley and D.H.Smith are also located throughoutthe building. An illustratedcatalogue of the Integrated ArtsProject is available from the ArtsCouncil of Northern Ireland.

CASE STUDY II

The Mater Hospital McAuley BuildingCrumlin Road, Belfast2000-2002

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TOP: Joanna Kinnersly-Taylor, Series ofFour Wall Hangings, atrium (showingoriginal convent door)

MIDDLE: Kate Baden-Fuller, Sky, sun,stones, and arches, café

ABOVE: Catherine Harper, 100 Wordsfor Mother

MAIN IMAGE: Eleanor Wheeler, Untitled,boundary wall

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Antrim Area Hospital engagedcollaboratively with artists toprovide artistic stimulus at theentrance to and in the grounds ofthe new regional hospital. Fundingfor the work was provided byArtscare, James P Corry HoldingsLtd, Doran and Partners, Isherwoodand Ellis, Murland Partnership, W HStephens and Sons, the ArtsCouncil of Northern Ireland, BritishEnkalon Foundation, ScarvaPottery, and Weir and McQuiston.

Works pictured:

Swansby Eamonn O’Doherty

The 4.5m (16ft) high sculpture ismade in stainless steel and thesurface reflects the changing light.The imagery of swans was chosenfor several reasons: it reflects thecolonies of swans at Lough Neagh;

it has reference to migrating birds,their returning each year giving asense of continuity; and it also hasreference to the story of theChildren of Lir, in Irish mythologywhen four children were turnedinto swans.

Eamonn O’Doherty is best knownfor his large scale public sculptures,five of which stand in Dublin, twoin Galway, two in Derry and othersin Navan, New Ross, Ardagh,Ballymahon, Cobh, Dun Laoghaire,Enniskillen, Cahirciveen, Killarney,Belfast, Liverpool and New York.He is also a painter and printmakerand has won major awards forpainting. O’Doherty took a degreein architecture in U.C.D. and wassubsequently Visiting Scholar atthe Graduate School of Designat Harvard University.

The Healing Treeby Brian Connolly

Connolly’s 1.2 metre high bronzecast sculpture, sited in the hospitalforecourt, has as its theme ‘mutualsupport’ and represents a self-supporting unit of two men andtwo women. The hollowed-outfigures are in a sitting position.They are positioned in a circle,facing outwards, with eachsupporting the other. The rearsurface of the figure is texturedwith elements of bandages andembedded leaves. According toConnolly, the tree, an ornamentalNorwegian Maple, is ‘symbolic oflife around which we are placed’.

OTHER INTEGRATED ARTS PROJECTS

Antrim Area HospitalBush Road, Antrim1994

Causeway Hospital wasconstructed as a busy, modernacute hospital on the edge ofColeraine, Co. Londonderry,between 1997 and 2001. AnArtworks Group was set up in orderto integrate art across the site,internally and externally. Nineteenartists in all were commissioned tocreate 29 artworks for 18 locations.One work, Colours of theCauseway, facilitated by thehospital’s artist-in-residence,Kathryn Nelson, is a rag-rug textileworked on collaboratively by pupilsfrom 26 schools from across theTrust area. The Trust sought acocktail of funding from a widerange of partners – from individualsto businesses to charitable bodies– and was successful in receivingan award of £78,000 from theNational Lottery through the ArtsCouncil of Northern Ireland (1998).

Artists: Cindy Friers (CausewayHospital mosaic sign); StephenTodd (Synergy sculpture); Jo-AnneHatty (Salmon Leaping bronzesculpture/fountain); Roisin Dowd-Murphy (Homage to Grandparentsstained glass); Elizabeth McLaughlin(Let There Be Light bronze andstained glass); Annabel Konig (TheAquarium back-lit resin work for aceiling); Diane McCormick (As Iwent over the Water ceramic wallpiece); Louise O’Boyle (Some Daysit Rains, Some Days it Shinesand A Spiralling Rich Landscapeceramic works); Alan Burke(Nature’s Remedies woodcarvings); Michael Killen (First Visitwood carving); Lydia De Lange (A Dream of Africa painting); Alan

Thompson (Close Encounters andYesteryears photographs); ChrisWilson (DNA stained wood workand Interior Worlds back-litbrushed steel piece); Anne-MarieRobinson (2000 Things We Loveto Love ceramic piece); ClaireMcCarroll (Within I and Within IItextile works); Louise Winward(Familiarity and Referencepaintings); Cheryl Brown (TestFlight I, Test Flight II silver andgold leaf sculptures); Mark Christie(Mowgli and Friends paintings –separate commission); GrahamRowland (Room with a BlueSpace and Vertical Houses byGraham Rowland – donations);James O’Kane (Children of Liretched glass); Ned Jackson Smyth(Water Lilies aluminiumsculpture/fountain).

Works pictured:

Synergyby Stephen Todd

Coleraine artist Stephen Toddcreated a 6.3 metre-high sculptureof galvanized steel wrapped inkevlar coating and painted withtranslucent paint on a circular baseplinth of limestone inset withgranite details, to symbolize theworking together of the differentelements of the body; the formitself is inspired by the DNA doublehelix and the medical emblem ofthe serpent (here – two serpentsintertwined). The sculpture islocated on a prominent site at theentrance to the hospital and isilluminated at night.

Within I and Within IIby Claire McCarroll

Omagh artist Claire McCarroll’stextile work was commissioned forthe Day Room in the Department ofPsychiatry, Ross Thomson Unit.They are colourful and vibrant yetcontemplative pieces usingcontrasting colours, forms andtextures.

Causeway Hospital Artwork ProjectCauseway Health & Social Services Trust, Coleraine1997-2002

An impressive integrated artsapproach (supported by theNational Lottery through the ArtsCouncil) has been taken in severalseparate stages over the phasedredevelopment of the Royal Groupof Hospitals in Belfast, which isindicative of the pioneeringapproach taken by Health Estatesin Northern Ireland. The first phasewas the work carried out at theRoyal Belfast Hospital for SickChildren, designed to create awelcoming and unintimidatingenvironment for children, theirparents and carers and staff; theproject was co-ordinated by RitaDuffy. Substantial integration ofartworks into the fabric of the newMain Building followed closely onthe heels of the work at theChildren’s Hospital, co-ordinatedthis time by Philip Napier. The workof this second phase isdocumented fully in the publication,New Art at the RVH. The projecthas engaged many artists, and afew are selected here by way ofillustration.

Works pictured:

Etask – Extra TerrestrialAmbulance Servicefor Kidsby Peter Rooney

Located at the entrance to theChildren’s Hospital, this sculpture isconstructed of stainless steel withreflective graphics and cold cathod

lighting. The artist pursued thecommission as a design project toreflect the location and context. Heincorporated elements ofinterstellar ambience reflecting thenight sky and ambulance signs. It isa children-driven concept of the21st century. The spaceship giveschildren a chance to use theirimagination and perhaps distractthem from their painful experience

of visiting the hospital.

Peter Rooney was born in Belfast in1954. He received his BA from theUniversity of Ulster in silversmithingand jewellery and he then pursuedpostgraduate study in Applied Arts.He has been involved in a numberof public commissions for LagansideCorporation including Jigsaw, 2001an indoor aluminium sculpture

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The Royal Group of HospitalsBelfast1995-2004

located in Royal Avenue. He alsowas commissioned by Derry CityCouncil to create a stained glasswindow commemorating BloodySunday and this is located in theGuildhall, Derry.

Night Shipby Janet Mullarney

Located in the Endocrinology Uniton Level 1 of the Royal VictoriaHospital, the work was created in2000 and is made of PinusCembrus High Altitude Italian Pine,oil and acrylic painted metal; itmeasures 135 x 80cm x 50cm. Inthe work, the figure dreams onthrough the open window, whichreplace the sails of the boat. Thesedreams flow out as images set intothe floor, in inlaid linoleum.

Janet Mullarney is a wellestablished sculptor based inDublin. She has exhibited widelythroughout Ireland and Europe. Herpublic commissions include SeatedFigures for Waterford RegionalHospital, and Making Space at theHistorical Centre of Grönigen,Holland. Essentially a figurativesculptor, Mullarney engages withthe human condition and works onuniversal themes.

Fairytale Wallby Alice Maher

Created in 2002 for location in theSpecial Investigation Unit on Level 2of the Royal Victoria Hospital, thework consists of four sections. Itseeks to create an ambient spaceand activity centre for visitingchildren and adults wherediscussion over the tales will passthe time in a pro-active way insteadof more passive television watching.The wall consists of eleven alcoveseach containing a sculptural objectin patinated bronze related to awell-known fairy tale.

Alice Maher was born in Tipperaryin 1956. She studied Fine Art at theUniversity of Limerick and CrawfordCollege of Art, Cork, and receivedan MA in Fine Art from theUniversity of Ulster, followed by aFulbright Scholarship for furtherstudies at the San Francisco ArtInstitute in 1987. She has exhibitedwidely in Europe and the U.S.A.

and represented Ireland in the 1994Sao Paolo Bienal. Maher’s work ispredominated by the themes ofnature, culture and memory. Hersculptures and drawings show acontinuous sourcing of thesethemes through myth, fairytale andoral narrative.

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The Green Park Healthcare Trustwas also successful in 2003 inobtaining two Arts Council NationalLottery awards towards thecommissioning and production ofseveral works to be fully integratedinto its landmark new RegionalAcquired Brain Injury Unit, currentlyon site. Co-ordinated by artist-in-residence Nora Gaston, thecommissions include sculptures forthe entrance to the unit, thecourtyard and the garden, stainedglass work, ceramic floor works,photography and multi-media wallpieces, such as those by Lynn

Walters (pictured). Thecommissioning process hasinvolved broad engagement withusers and staff. Commissionedartists include: Ned JacksonSmyth, John Baucher, EleanorWheeler, Diane Bewes and RichardGorvin, and Michael Disley.

Green Park Trust, Regional Acquired BrainInjury Unit, Musgrave Park HospitalBelfast2003-

ENNISKILLENFermanagh UniversityPartnership Board – ClintonCentre, Higher Bridges,Enniskillen (as integral elementof Capital project)

BALLYMENABallymena Borough Council –Ballymena Museum and ArtsCentre (as integral element ofCapital project)

OMAGHOmagh District Council – OmaghArts Centre (as integral elementof Capital project)

MUCKAMORENorth & West Belfast Trust,Muckamore Abbey Hospital,Antrim

BELFASTUniversity of Ulster, ‘Art inArchitecture’, Belfast Campus

SOME INTEGRATED ARTSPROJECTS IN RECEIPTOF ARTS COUNCILFUNDING AND UNDERCURRENT DEVELOPMENT

The South & East Belfast Health &Social Services Trust took a fullyintegrated arts approach to itsdevelopment of pioneering ‘one-stop-shop’ health centres beingdeveloped across the south andeast of the city at three separatelocations: Holywood Arches,Lisburn Road and Castlereagh.Project-managed by artist VivienBurnside, who had overseen theintegrated arts project at the MaterHospital previously, a wide range ofartists have been selected throughopen competition for the creation ofexternal and internal works acrossthe various sites. The process hasbeen funded primarily by the Trust

and the National Lottery throughthe Arts Council. The first buildingto be completed will be HolywoodArches, where the impressive largecoloured glass work of MartinDonlin (work pictured) is thehallmark of the entrance and frontfaçade; other artists in receipt ofmajor commissions across thesites are: Tony Stallard; ShirleyRoss; Michael Disley; JoanneRisley and Barry Callaghan;Clare McCarroll; and Diane Gorvinand Philip Bewes.

South & East Belfast Trust CommunityTreatment & Care CentresBelfast2003-

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As seen in the Integrated Arts Projects section ofthis Handbook, considerable effort has been putinto enlivening art in healthcare contexts inNorthern Ireland over recent years. It is generallyaccepted that the arts enrich human experience,and through the reconnection between the artistand the community, the arts are now moreinclusive, more people-orientated and connectmore intimately with all aspects of our livesand that of society. Artists, patients, relativesand medical staff tend to agree that there is animportant role for creativity in the healthcaresetting. The simple notion is that more pleasantsurroundings make people feel better, and artwhich makes a place feel less clinical canpositively affect mental well-being. This maybe particularly true in the case of children andyoung people who may be more intimidated bytheir surroundings. The well-established work ofArts Care which employs 14 artists-in-residencein hospitals and healthcare venues acrossNorthern Ireland should be particularly noted inthis regard.

Creative art is being used widely in hospitalsand healthcare environments throughout manycountries in Europe, as well as in America,Canada and Australia, to enrich the lives ofpatients, clients and staff, and the evidencebase proving the direct beneficial links betweenart and health is now emerging as a result ofacademic research such as that carried out atthe University of Durham. (See also the referencetexts in the Bibliography). In addition to theintegrated arts projects in healthcare settingsalready outlined, a case study of a public artproject is given.

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LEFT: Hilary Cromie, Orange Clocks,1996, Royal Belfast Hospital forSick Children

ABOVE: Ned Jackson Smyth,Movement Within an Edge, 2004,Ulster Hospital, Dundonald (detail)

Through Arts Care, artist-in-residence at the Ulster Hospital(Ulster Community & HospitalsTrust) Ned Jackson Smyth,developed a project that involvedvisual art and creative writing onthe themes of ‘Our Hospital – OurHealthcare – Our Health’. Creativewriting workshops with schoolchildren from the surrounding areaand clients of the Trust were heldby writer Lynda Nielands. Theproject was supported by anArts Council National LotteryAccess award.

One hundred artworks werecreated by patients, clients of theTrust and pupils from Movilla HighSchool, Newtownards, Our Lady& St Patrick’s College, Belfast, andRudolph Steiner School inHolywood, over the course of ayear. The mixed-media works –

from bronze to sound works –were then uniformly framed in boxframes so that they form essentiallyone single impressive artworkcommunicating an eclecticcompilation of views and visualand verbal perspectives on healthand healthcare, from the communitythat is the life-force of the hospital.The participants varied in age frompre-school to the elderly andembraced a wide range of abilitiesand disabilities.

The 100 works were showcasedand launched in an exhibition onthe Level 2 Gallery of the WaterfrontHall, Belfast, before being placedfor permanent display throughoutthe public areas of the mainhospital site in early 2005.

CASE STUDY

Movement within an EdgeUlster Hospital, Dundonald2004-5

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Most public art commissions will – and should –actively engage with their community context. For thereasons mentioned below, every opportunity to engageshould be explored and included at the developmentbrief stage of any project and financial provisionarranged. While there are general truisms to be bornein mind, there is arguably a distinct ‘type’ of publicart commissioning which is so community-focusedthat the process is at least equally as important asthe outcome (although quality in the finished workshould always be striven for). In the context ofNorthern Ireland, it might be especially useful toconsider the value of community-art mural worksuch as that developed by New Belfast CommunityArts Initiative’s Summer Mural Festival in Belfast.

In a community arts project the artist acts as afacilitator, drawing out the experiences and imagesheld by the group right from a pre-design stage. It isup to the artist to then bring some coherence to amultiplicity of images which, while they may be ona particular theme, will represent individual ideas.The community arts approach to public art has anumber of key benefits:

Q The work is critically ‘owned’ by the community and thus valued and usually protected.

Q A skills exchange takes place by which a group becomes used to working with an artist and growscomfortable with its own creative expression.

Q Non-arts spin-offs occur by which group cohesionhas an important community benefit, which can be expressed in other directions.

Q Artists can gain considerable insights into the thought processes of members of groups which can frequently be of value in their personal development and practice.

Two Case Studies of community-focused projects follow.

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LEFT: Aisling O’Beirn, Street Signs/Nick-names, 2002, Upper Springfield,Belfast

ABOVE: Farhad Nargol O’Neill,Turf Lodge Welcome Stone, 2003,Turf Lodge, Belfast (detail)

The South Lough Neagh WetlandsArts Initiative was conceived bySouth Lough Neagh RegenerationAssociation (SLNRA), CraigavonBorough Council and Sustrans,the sustainable transport charity,as a phased project based alongthe southern shores of LoughNeagh and Lough Beg. It wassuccessful in receiving Arts CouncilNational Lottery awards, first fromthe Access programme for PhaseOne and subsequently from NewWork for Phase Two; the project isalso partner-funded by CraigavonBorough Council. Phase Oneengaged an artist, Holger Lonze,appointed through opencompetition, to involve the ruralcommunities in the South LoughNeagh area in the creative artsand to develop an overarchingvision for the creation of a seriesof permanent public artworks forthe area in Phase Two (which willinvolve a lead artist and a range ofcommissioned artists); he was alsotasked with developing a work ofpublic art himself.

Holger Lonze established a widerange of contacts with a broadsection of the community in thearea, including fishermen, farmers,basket-weavers and boat builders.

An interest in Irish boat buildingtraditions led to the artist holdinga currach building workshop for 18people. A boat theme emerged asa theme holding powerful interest inthe area and led to Lonze’s creationof a site-specific sculpture basedon sailing boats for DerrytrasnaPier (pictured). The work relatesto the heritage of the area with thestainless steel sails reflecting thelight on the Lough and thesurrounding landscape and sky;the sculpture is also powered bythe wind through a 12V windgenerator which allows the work tobe illuminated at night by a seriesof low-voltage halogen lights.

The vision which Lonze producedto inform Phase Two argues forthe crucial role that art can play inreanimating cultural traditions, andthat sustainable development, whilerightly emphasizing environmental,economic and social sustainabilitymust also consider culturalsustainability. Phase Two willenable artists to record, documentand interpret social practices andto offer new insights, triggeringredefinition and reconsiderationto provide fresh interpretations ofdeeply rooted ways of life.

Holger Lonze is a sculptor based inCo. Cavan, who has been workingas a professional artist sincegraduation in 1997. He has beeninvolved in a range of residencyprogrammes and has worked as aresearcher and curator at the EdenProject and Falmouth College ofArts. He has worked collaborativelywith architects from Italy, and isparticularly concerned with thecrossover of architecture andsculpture in public projects.

CASE STUDY I

South Lough Neagh WetlandsArts InitiativeSouth Lough Neagh2004-

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ABOVE: Artist’s impression of the proposedwork in situ at Derrytrasna

MAIN IMAGE: Maquette of proposed work

The Upper Springfield DevelopmentTrust developed a communities-ledpublic art programme for the UpperSpringfield and Turf Lodge areas ofWest Belfast, which has beenrunning since 2001. The projectwas supported by an Arts CouncilNational Lottery three-year Accessaward, and the series of works havebeen partner-funded by a range ofagencies and organizations, suchas Groundwork NI, the HousingExecutive, Belfast City Council,the Creating Common GroundConsortium (New OpportunitiesFund) and Lloyds TSB.

The various works, in a wide rangeof media, have been developed byseveral different artists who have allworked closely with communitygroups, school children, peoplewith disabilities, senior citizens andresidents’ associations. The Trust’sengagement of artists to createworks with and for the localresidents is underpinned by adesire to work towards sustainedsocial, economic and physicalregeneration of the area, througha long-term, people-centreddevelopment strategy; the creationof public art that is ‘owned’ andcared for by the people is seen asa core element of that work.

Works already in situ include:Street Signs/Nick-names(pictured on page 64) by artist

Aisling O’Beirn, working withschoolchildren from St Aidan’sPrimary School and Whiterock AfterSchools group, and installed onvarious streets throughout the area;Fáilte go Gort na Mona/TurfLodge Welcome Stone (picturedleft and detail right), a free-standingceltic Ogham stone with bronzeplates by artist Farhad NargolO’Neill, working with the Turf LodgeResidents’ Association, ArdmonaghWomens’ Group and Turf LodgeSenior Citizens’ Group; the BleachGreen Mural (pictured right) byGerard ‘Mo Chara’ Kelly workingwith residents of Bleach GreenTerrace, Upper SpringfieldResource Centre and young peoplefrom the Base Project for BleachGreen Court and Terrace atWhiterock Close; FionnMacCumhaill and the Seat ofTara by artist Raymond Watson,working with the Turf LodgeResidents’ Association and theAction on Disability SculptureGroup, for the Turf LodgeResidents’ Association CommunitySculpture Garden; Poet-Tree, alsoby Raymond Watson, working withSt Gerard’s Educational ResourceCentre and residents from MountAlverno, for the Top of the Rockheadquarters of the UpperSpringfield Development Trust, andSpringhill Celtic Cross Mosaic byartist Michael Baker working withyoung people from Springhill Youth.

CASE STUDY II

Ealaín Sraide – Street Art ProjectUpper Springfield, Belfast2001-

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Most public art projects funded by the ArtsCouncil of Northern Ireland to date have beenconceived of as works with a long-term or evenpermanent future; to that end, a general ‘rule ofthumb’ has been a requirement (written into thespecific conditions of grant in a letter of offer)that the work will be owned and maintained for25 years. That said, the Arts Council alsorecognises the value and appropriateness oftime-limited artistic interventions in the publicrealm (but expects they will generally be lesscost intensive); certain works profiled elsewherein the Handbook – such as some of the work atSculpture Trails like Creggan and Castlewellan –could be thought of as time-based rather thandecidedly permanent works. A case study of atemporary public realm project – commissioned(and therefore funded) as part of a Festival –follows and may be thought of as a model ofgood practice. A brief description of a billboardproject involving a range of collaborating artistsis also given.

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LEFT: Damien Coyle and Vivien Burnside,Smile, 1996, Bedford Street, Belfast

ABOVE: Rita Duffy, Drawing the Blinds,2001, Divis Flats, Belfast (detail)

As a finale to the Belfast Festival atQueen’s, the artist Rita Duffycreated a temporary artworkdirectly involving the residents ofthe Divis Flats tower block in WestBelfast. Recalling the artist GerardDillon’s recollections of the place,she engaged with residents to bothinform and permit the placement ofabout 200 acrylic on linen imagesof them, or text connected withthem, within the windows of theflats. These were lit at night in orderto create a giant backlit tapestry onthe exterior surface of the building.The artist remarked that, ‘theswitching on and engagement withan audience showed the power ofart to communicate.’

Born in Belfast in 1959, Rita Duffyhas established herself locally andinternationally since the 1980s. Shestudied at the Ulster Polytechnic

and later followed this with anMA in Fine Art at the University ofUlster, Belfast. Duffy has exhibitedwidely at venues including theArts Council Gallery, the HughLane Municipal Gallery, OrmeauBaths Gallery and in numerousgalleries throughout the U.S.A.Her style originally drew heavilyon the local political situation butover the past two decades shehas established herself as afigurative/narrative artist.

The project was developed duringthe Autumn of 2001 and the back-lit ‘tapestry’ was dramaticallyilluminated during the Festival inNovember of that year. It wasfunded by the Belfast Festival, theArts Council of Northern Ireland,Imagine Belfast 2000, the HousingExecutive, and Baird McNuttLinen Company.

CASE STUDY

Drawing the BlindsDivis Flats, BelfastRita Duffy, November 2001

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In 1996, the Arts Development Unitof the Bryson House charity basedin Bedford Street in central Belfast,commissioned, with Arts Councilsupport and sponsorship from theMore Group (More O’Ferrall) andEwart plc, a series of innovativebillboards by a range of localpractising artists from the city fordisplay throughout the course ofthe year. These time-limited worksprovided unexpected artisticinterventions in the streetscape,offering playful and/or provocativethoughts and imagery, takingthe public and visitors to the cityby surprise.

Artists included: Ruth Graham(Random Thought – pictured leftbelow); Terry Loane (Compete –pictured left above); Damien Coyleand Vivien Burnside (Smile –pictured previously, and

Decommission Arms); LorraineBurrell (Dandy); Amanda Dunsmore(Limbo and Target); KevinHenderson (At a standstillsmoking); Daniel Jewesbury(Tourists); Niamh O’Malley(Mapping Space); Gavin Weston(Shut Up Shop); Vivien Burnside(The Noble Profile); Karen Vaughen(Untitled); Eilis O’Baoill (Hirstism);Deirdre O’Mahony (Erratic); ZheniaMaudi Nau (Beyond the LookingGlass); Ciaran Gogarty (Untitled);and Alice McCartney (Artist).

OTHER TEMPORARY PROJECT

Artsite BillboardsBelfast City Centre1996

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Create – Supporting ArtsDevelopment & Practice inIreland (Contexts)10/11 Earl Street SouthDublin 8IrelandT: + 353 1 473 6600F: + 353 1 473 6599E: [email protected]: www.communityartsireland.com

Department of Arts, Sport andTourism – RoIArts DivisionSouth Frederick StreetDublin 2IrelandT: +353 1 631 3956W: www.gov.ie/arts-sport-tourism

Forest of Belfast*4-10 Linenhall StreetBelfastBT2 8BPT: 028 9027 0350

General Public Agency10 Stoney StreetLondonSE1 9ADT: 020 7378 8365E: [email protected]: www.generalpublicagency.com

Groundwork NI(Belfast Office)63-75 Duncairn GardensBelfastBT15 2GBT: 028 9074 9494F. 028 9075 2373w. www.groundworkni.org.uk

Henry Moore Foundation74 The HeadrowLeedsEnglandLS1 3AHT: 0113 234 3158W: www.henry-moore-fdn.co.ukW: www.henry-moore.ac.uk

Laganside Corporation*Clarendon Building15 Clarendon RoadBelfastBT1 3BGT: 028 9032 8507W: www.laganside.com

Ixia (formerly Public Art Forum)1st Floor321 Bradford StreetBirminghamEnglandB5 6ETT: 0121 622 4222E: [email protected]: www.ixia-info.com

Project – Engaging Artists in theBuilt Environment*Public Art South WestPO Box 189ExeterEnglandEX4 3XLT: 01392 229266E: [email protected]: www.project-awards.org.uk

Public Art Commissions AgencyStudio 6Victoria WorksVictoria StreetJewellery QuarterBirminghamB1 3PET: 0121 212 4454

Public Art South WestArts Council England South WestPO Box 189ExeterEnglandEX4 3XLT: 01392 229227W: www.publicartonline.org.uk

Public ArtsThe OrangeryBack LaneWakefieldEnglandWF1 2TGT: 01924 215550W: www.public-arts.co.ukE: [email protected]

Scottish Arts Council12 Manor PlaceEdinburghScotlandEH3 7DDT: 0131 226 6051W: www.scottisharts.org.uk

Sculptors’ Society of Ireland(Printed Project and The VisualArtists’ News Sheet)Cnr Halston Street/Mary’s LaneDublin 7T: + 353 1 8722296E: [email protected]: www.sculptors-society.ie

Sustrans (Northern Ireland)Marquis Building89-91 Adelaide StreetBelfastBT2 8FET: 028 9043 4569W: www.sustrans.org.uk

Organizations listed below may beuseful in terms of providing adviceand information, and in the caseof publications avenues foradvertising commissions (the titlesof the publications are given inparenthesis); those marked withan asterisk (*) may be potentialsources of funding for public artin Northern Ireland.

Arts Council of Northern Ireland*MacNeice House77 Malone RoadBelfastBT9 6AQW: www.artscouncil-ni.org

Architecture and Public Art Officer:Paul HarronE: [email protected]: 028 9038 5203

Arts Council/An ChomairleEalaion70 Merrion Square Dublin 2IrelandT: +353 1 6180200E: [email protected]: www.artscouncil.ie

Arts Council England14 Great Peter StreetLondon SW1P 3NQT: 0845 300 6200F: 020 7973 6590E: [email protected]: www.artscouncil.org.uk

Arts Council of Wales9 Museum PlaceCardiffCF10 3NXT: 029 2037 6500F: 029 2022 1447W: www.artswales.org

Art & Architecture Journal(Art & Architecture Journal)70 Cowcross StreetLondonEC1M 6EJT: 01462 896688W: www.artandarchitecturejournal.com

Arts & Business Northern Ireland*53 Malone RoadBelfastBT9 6RYT: 028 9066 4736E: [email protected]: www.AandB.org.uk

A-N The Artists InformationCompany (a-n Magazine)First Floor7-15 Pink LaneNewcastle-upon-TyneEnglandNE1 5DWT: 0191 241 8000E: [email protected]: www.a-n.co.uk

Artworks Wales/Cywaith CymruCrichton House11-12 Mount Stuart SquareCardiffWalesCF10 5EET: 029 2048 9543W: www.cywaithcymru.org

CABE SpaceThe Tower Building11 York RoadLondonSE1 7NXT: 020 7960 2400F: 020 7960 2444E: [email protected] w: www.cabespace.org.uk

CIRCA (Circa)43/44 Temple BarDublin 2IrelandT: + 353 1 679 7388E: [email protected]: www.recirca.com

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There is a wide range ofpublications relating to public art,from theoretical discussions tocase studies of specific projects topolicy statements, reports andguidelines. The following is aselection of works which may actas useful starting reference points,particularly (though not exclusively)in the Northern Ireland context.Some publications, however, maynow be out of print.

Ards ArtsSculpture Symposium Sites 1999(Ards Borough Council, 1999)

A-N (The Artists InformationCompany)The Code of Practice for theVisual Arts

Arts Council of EnglandCommissioning Art Works(ACE, 1996)

Arts Council of Great BritainAn Urban Renaissance: 16 CaseStudies Showing the Role of theArts in Urban Regeneration(Arts Council, 1989)

Arts Council of Northern IrelandArchitecture and the BuiltEnvironment: Policies, Strategiesand Actions(ACNI, 2003)

Arts Council of Northern IrelandBuilding for the Arts: CelebratingTen Years of Lottery Funding(ACNI, 2004)

Art in the Public Interest(Da Capo Press, 1993)

Ballymun RegenerationBreaking Ground – Per Cent forArt Commissioning Programme(2002)

Ballymun RegenerationPer Cent for Art Strategy forBallymun 2001 to 2011(2001)

CABE/OPDMThe Value of Arts inRegeneration Practice(2002)

Causeway Health and SocialServices TrustCauseway Hospital ArtworksBrochure(CHSST, 2004)

Crookshank, Anne O.Irish Sculpture from 1600(Department of Foreign Affairs,1984)

Department of Arts, Sport andTourism (RoI)Public Art: Per Cent for ArtScheme General NationalGuidelines(2004)

Department of the EnvironmentArt for Architecture: A Handbookon Commissioning(HMSO, 1987)

Dickson, MalcolmArt with People(AN Publications, 1995)

Finkelpearl, TomDialogues in Public Art(MIT Press, 2001)

Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Councilof England, Crafts CouncilNew Art for the HistoricEnvironment(HLF; ACE; CC, 2002)

Hill, JudithIrish Public Sculpture: A History(Four Courts Press, 1998)

Jones, Susan (Ed.)Art in Public: What, Whyand How?(AN Publications, 1992)

Kelly, Liam/InternationalAssociation of Art Critics(Irish Section)The City as Art: Interrogatingthe Polis(IAAC, 1994)

Kelly, LiamThinking Long: ContemporaryArt in the North of Ireland(Gandon Editions, 1996)

Mater HospitalMater Hospital McAuley BuildingIntegrated Arts Project(2002)

Matzner, Florian (Ed.)Public Art – A Reader(2004)

McCartney, Annie (compiler)Arts Care: Art for Health(Blackstaff/ArtsCare, 2003)

Miles, MalcolmArt for Public Places: CriticalEssays(Winchester School of Art Press,Hampshire)

NHS EstatesImproving the PatientExperience: The Arts of GoodHealth, A Practical Handbook(The Stationery Office, 2002)

NHS EstatesImproving the PatientExperience: The Arts of GoodHealth, Using Visual Arts inHealthcare(The Stationery Office, 2002)

Office of Public Works/Government of IrelandOPW Art Management Handbook(TSO, 1998)

Public Art Commissions AgencyPublic: Art: Space – A Decade ofPublic Art Commissions Agency,1987-1997(Merrell Holberton Publishers, 1998)

Petherbridge, Deanna (Ed.)Art for Architecture(HMSO, 1987)

Roots, GarrisonDesigning the World’s BestPublic Art(The Images Publishing Group,2002)

The Royal HospitalsNew Art at the RVH(RVH, 2003)

Scottish HomesPublic Art and Housing:Physical Quality

Sculptors’ Society of IrelandA City Guide to Sculpture inDublin(SSI, 1999)

Sculptors’ Society of IrelandContemporary Sculpture inDublin – A Walker’s Guide(SSI, 1991)

Sligo County CouncilPlacing Art: A Pilot Public ArtProgramme(SCC, 2000)

Sligo County Council and SligoBorough CouncilPlacing Art: A Colloquium onPublic Art in Rural, Coastal andSmall Urban Environments(SCC, 2002)

Sligo County Council and SligoBorough CouncilA Report on the evaluation ofthe pilot public art programmePlacing Art by the Public ArtSteering Group(SCC, 2002)

Sligo County Council and SligoBorough CouncilA report by the Public ArtStrategy Group on the futureapplication of the Per Cent forArt Scheme by the Sligo LocalAuthorities(SCC, 2002)

TSWA Four Cities ProjectNew Works for Different Places(TSWA, 1991)

Verbal Arts CentreA Short Guide for Visitors tothe Centre

Visual Artists Association ofNorthern Ireland (VAANI)Public Art in Belfast – A Reportprepared by Una Walker(1998)

Wickers, DavidMillennium Miles: The Story ofthe National Cycle Network(Sustrans, 2000)

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ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND’SPUBLIC ART POLICYTHE ARTS: INSPIRING THE IMAGINATION,BUILDING THE FUTURE

STRATEGIC PRIORITIESThe Arts Council will give a priority to artists, arts organisations, artsinitiatives and partnerships which:

A increase opportunities for creative participation in the arts;B develop new audiences for the arts and build on existing ones;C extend opportunities for artists to develop their work and practice;D strengthen the capacity of arts organisations to deliver quality

experiences of the arts.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVESThe Arts Council is committed to:

1 increase opportunities for artists working to the highest standards and in innovative ways;

2 strengthen the arts infrastructure;3 engage with community arts to increase opportunities for creative

participation, to develop new audiences and to expand the range of contexts in which artists work;

4 engage with voluntary arts to increase opportunities for creative participation, to develop new audiences and expand the range of contexts in which artists work;

5 increase the quality of access for disabled people to the arts;6 enhance children and young people’s access to creative expression

through the arts, in contexts of their own choosing, and increase opportunities for participation as they grow and develop;

7 increase audiences for the arts.

INTRODUCTIONThough the public art movement in Northern Ireland has been slow tomature, the advent of National Lottery funding in 1995 accelerated thecommissioning of public art. Between 1995 and 2001, the Arts Councilallocated some £1.5 million to 45 art projects, ranging from large-scaleurban works to smaller-scale community and rural projects.

Besides providing funding for projects, the Council promotes the inclusionof public art in urban and rural regeneration projects, and in new buildand refurbishment capital projects. It welcomes and encouragescollaboration between architects, advocates the development of public artstrategies, and prioritises public art in its capital programme. Importantly,it is making the case for ‘Percent for Art’ policies to be adopted bygovernment. The Council welcomes the marked increase in public artcommissioning by District Councils and development corporations suchas Laganside.

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DEFINITIONSThe Council embraces a wide range of media and art forms as Public Art –painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video and new media,temporary works, crafts and applied arts.

The Council can advise on all aspects of the commissioning processfrom planning the commission, developing the brief, selecting artists,and drawing up contracts. When planning a commissioned artwork, thecommissioning body should contact the Arts Council before any workis undertaken. Although there are different approaches to commissioningartists – such as limited competitions or direct commissions – it isCouncil policy to prioritise projects which are decided through anopen application process.

FUNDINGPublic Art can be funded under these Lottery programmes:

Q Buildings (if it is a capital project with a Percent for Art built in)Q Access to the Arts (aimed at addressing the needs of communities in

areas of social and economic deprivation or supporting the involvement of children and young people)

Q New Work (if it is the creation of innovative original work)Q Awards for All (for projects under £5,000. Applicants should consult

www.awardsforall.com (Tel: 0845 600204)

FUNDING OBJECTIVESA concerted focus of attention on Public Art enables the Council to realiseits four Priorities and meet its seven Strategic Objectives.

Funding objectives are to:

Q give employment opportunities and recognition to artists (1)Q afford training and creative opportunities to artists (1)Q contribute to urban and rural regeneration (2, 7)Q foster and promote our artistic heritage (7)Q encourage community participation and civic pride (2, 3)Q make the arts widely accessible (3, 4, 7)

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ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND’SCOMMISSIONING POLICYEXCERPT RELATING TO PUBLIC ART

INTRODUCTIONThe Arts Council funds arts organisations across all disciplines tocommission new work from creative artists. It respects the diversemethodologies governing commissioning in each art form and does notseek to homogenise the processes but respond to and facilitate them.

DEFINITIONSThe Council does not fund self-commissioning. Constituted organisationscan commission individual artists through application to the New Workscheme. This is designed to take new work to people throughout NorthernIreland and can include the commissioning and production of originalfiction, poetry, plays, dance, visual art including public art, craft, music,opera and new field work in the traditional arts. Priority is given toinnovative, original work by artists living and working in Northern Ireland.

Visual artists and crafts people can be commissioned for the purposes ofexhibition programming and cataloguing. Due to the proliferation of visualarts practitioners and the Council’s priority to fund artists living andworking in Northern Ireland, commissioning Public Art is approachedthrough open competition.

FUNDINGNew Work is the main vehicle for the support of commissioning. Awardsfor All (for commissions and associated costs under £5,000. Applicantsshould consult www.awardsforall.com (T: 0845 600204)

FUNDING OBJECTIVESA concerted focus of attention on Commissioning enables the Council torealise its four Priorities and meet its seven Strategic Objectives.

Funding objectives are to:

Q confer endorsement and contribute to the conditions in society by which artists are valued (1, 2, 7)

Q assist innovation and creativity by investing in the work of creative artists (1, 3, 4)

Q support arts organisations to commission and produce new work (2, 7)Q increase awareness amongst the general public of innovative artistic

creativity (6, 7)Q increase employment opportunities and potential earnings for artists (1, 2)Q provide platforms for artists to showcase their work (1, 2)

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SUMMARY OF THE ARTS COUNCIL OFNORTHERN IRELAND’S ARCHITECTUREAND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT – POLICIES,STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS DOCUMENT(PUBLISHED JANUARY 2003)

AIMTo develop policy, strategies and actions to define the Arts Council ofNorthern Ireland’s role in raising awareness in the quality of architectureand the built environment, and to bring issues of national importance tothe attention of government.

OBJECTIVESQ To advocate and campaign actively for the creation of the highest quality

contemporary urban design, architecture, landscaping and infrastructureQ To ensure robust and sensitive conservation of the existing built and

natural environmentQ To promote public and political awareness of the social, cultural,

environmental and economic benefits of high quality architecture and urban design

Q To generate informed and critical debate and to promote greater interestand public involvement in the design of the built environment

Q To encourage higher quality of rural design

KEY ACTIONS FOR THE ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND

A Raise awarenessQ Create an Architecture and Public Art Officer post in the Arts Council

(In post since January 2003)Q Lobby media to cover architecture and the built environmentQ Develop education programmes through the Artist in Schools Scheme

and in partnership with providers of further and higher educationQ Support Government’s efforts to place creativity at the heart of the

education systemQ Develop awareness-raising programmes for the public, business, and

industry sectorsQ Ensure that quality of design and universal accessibility are key

components of procurement processes in capital building projectsQ Encourage the integration of high quality public art into buildings and

public spacesQ Introduce a mandatory Per Cent for Art programme for all Arts Council-

supported new-build capital projectsQ Support the establishment of an Architecture Centre to serve the whole

of Northern Ireland

B Promote critical debate and community participationQ Provide opportunities for critical debate and discussion through

seminars and conferencesQ Promote excellence in architectural design through individual and

civic awards

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Q Work with regeneration and community-based agencies to promote the

importance of the social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits of high-quality design and planning

Q Fund programmes of exhibitions, lectures and critical publications

RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNMENT

C Raise qualityQ A policy on architecture and the built environment should be developed

and adopted, one which supports high quality design and raises awareness among clients (public and private) and the wider public and through its own procurement processes.

Q Such a policy should include strategies to:

– ensure that projects funded by the public purse achieve the highest design quality;

– develop skills in urban and rural design;– identify and encourage locally-, nationally- and internationally-based

talented designers, to work in Northern Ireland;– review the planning process to develop planning models that are pro-

active, flexible and supportive of high quality contemporary design and sensitive conservation;

– establish a Built Environment Task Force for Northern Ireland;– establish a ‘Quality Watchdog’ based on existing European models;– put design quality and universal accessibility at the heart of

procurement processes;– afford the Arts Council an advisory role in all major planning applications;– encourage District Councils to adopt the government’s policy on

architecture and the built environment.

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