Artist Commission Public Art Work at the Marks and Spencer site, Sevenoaks Town

Artist Commission
Public Art Work at the Marks and Spencer site, Sevenoaks
Town
£17,000 all‐inclusive fee

Sevenoaks District Council Public Realm Commission is seeking an experienced
artist/designer to design, install and deliver a new public art at the Marks and Spencer
site, located in the heart of Sevenoaks Town.

The site and area

The town of Sevenoaks itself has much to offer, with an excellent variety of shops
and restaurants, as well as a long history which has left a wealth of heritage. You’ll
find The Vine Cricket Ground, founded in the late 1700s and one of the oldest in the
country and the estate of Knole Park with its calendar house and rich history. Famous
visitors and residents of the town in the past, many of them literary, include Jane

Austen, John Donne (who was rector of St Nicholas Church), Vita Sackville‐West and
Virginia Woolf, Edith Nesbit and H G Wells.
Today, Sevenoaks Town is home to many independent businesses, alongside a good
selection of chain stores and restaurants, as well as The Stag Community Arts Centre.
Bligh’s Meadow shopping centre is open air and the neighbouring Marks and Spencer
superstore and car park.

About the tender

We are seeking an experienced artist to work with us to produce a public artwork to
be installed on the at the location shown at Appendix 1.

Because of its prominence, the artwork will need to be appropriate and sensitive to
the location and we are looking for something that has narrative meaning to the area.

Drawings for the approved site application can be found at Appendix 1. The budget
is an all‐inclusive fee of £17,000, which includes, but is not limited to design, health
and safety assessments, site permissions, installation, delivery and a maintenance
plan.

Within the overall fee, £1,000 is allocated towards delivering a community
engagement programme to ensure local involvement and ownership in the final
artwork. However, we would welcome suggestions from applicants about how to
expand the budget through sponsorship, grants, etc.

The artwork should aim to be accessible, sustainable and environmentally conscious.
It is important that the final artwork is sustainable, robust and of low or no
maintenance, with a minimum lifespan of 20 years.

You will be expected to work closely with Sevenoaks District Council, the Sevenoaks
District Public Realm Commission and other local stakeholders.

The schedule

This first round of calls is an invitation to express your interest for the project and will
be assessed by the Sevenoaks District Public Realm Commission – which will include
representatives from Sevenoaks District Council (communities and planning officers),
arts organisations, members from the local community and businesses.

At this stage you are not expected to deliver final designs. We are looking for
indicative ideas; a rationale, how you would approach the project, thoughts on
materials, and to demonstrate a relevant portfolio of previous work and experience.

The Public Realm Commission will short‐list four submissions, based on the artist’s
initial thoughts, along with a proven track‐record and portfolio, who will then be
invited to develop their idea further and present to the Commission on Wednesday

17 February 2021. There will be a fee of £500 for each short‐listed artist for this
stage.

Please note that all short‐listed submissions will be used for publicity for the project,
with the understanding that the unsuccessful short‐listed submissions will retain their
intellectual property with the artist. The successful submission will be expected to
hand‐over rights of the artwork to Sevenoaks District Council when complete and
fully paid for. All unsuccessful submissions for this first stage will be informed soon
after the first round and the short‐list selection has been made.

Expressions of interest should be emailed by Friday 29 January 2021, to
communities@sevenoaks.gov.uk. Files should be no larger than 20Mb (or send a
downloadable link).

1.   Artist brief issued: Friday 18 December 2020

2.   Expressions of interest to be returned by Friday 29 January 2021 – 12 noon to
     communities@sevenoaks.gov.uk. Files should be no larger than 20Mb (or send a
     downloadable link)
     Following the artist brief, respond with indicative idea, rationale, how you would
     approach the project, thoughts on materials, and to demonstrate a portfolio of
     previous work and experience.

3.   Shortlisting by Panel w/c 15 February 2021

4.   Short‐list candidates informed by Friday 26 February 2021
     Up to four candidates will be shortlisted to develop their ideas further and attend
     interview to present approach and design/art visuals. Fee of £500 per short‐listed
     artist.

5.   Short‐list presentations Wednesday 24 March 2021

6.   Public consultation: Monday 12 April 2021‐ Friday 7 May 2021

7.   Public Realm Commission inform selected artist informed by Wednesday 19
     May 2021

8.   Community Engagement programme delivered and public artwork installed by
     30 November 2021

If you have any questions or would like clarity on any part of this brief please
contact communities@sevenoaks.gov.uk

Useful references and further reading

    Sevenoaks District Local Plan – Current Local Plan details can also be found
     about the emerging Local Plan Emerging Local Plan

   Sevenoaks Neighbourhood Plan sets a 15 ‐20 year vision for the town which
    embraces seven themes. Theme Five promotes culture and community, with
    objective 12 establishing the ambitions to: develop and promote a cultural
    quarter in the town centre, enhance the town’s cultural offer and improve
    access to existing cultural assets.
   A Cultural Strategy has been produced by Sevenoaks Town Council, which is
    appropriate background reading for this project Sevenoaks A Thriving Cultural
    Town
   Sevenoaks Historical Society
   The Sevenoaks Society

Appendix 1: Site location, Blight’s Meadow Shopping Centre, London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 1AT
The site is highlighted in yellow on the plan below and a close up image is shown to the right.