Barnaby Air creative submissions

Barnaby have a small pot of seed funding for a micro-commission by an artist/creative/creative organisation/student from Macclesfield or the wider Cheshire region to deliver a piece of work that supports the aims of Barnaby AIR.

Barnaby AIR is a programme of consultation and micro-commissions looking at the function and potential of public art in Macclesfield. It’s funded by Macclesfield Town Council and Security in Place.

Public art can take many forms. It can be a static or a moving installation, a piece of sculpture, a soundscape, a picture, a trail. It can be based on heritage, on stories, on people, on places, on events. The possibilities are endless.

We’ve already asked some people of all ages what they would like to see and where, and we’ve had a variety of answers including ‘art on roundabouts’, ‘something that lights the dark’ and ‘a statue of a sunflower that makes people smile’.

We’ll be creating a digital map with artist Fabric Lenny to reflect the public art possibilities from our consultation, what public art exists already and cultural events that have happened in the past. We’ll also develop a manifesto which will be used to show others what types of public art we want in our town, where we want it and why.

Each town is unique, and none more so than Macclesfield. We want to ensure that the art on our streets and in our neighbourhoods is created by and with the town’s residents specifically for Macclesfield. Barnaby AIR gives people the power to influence what art we see every day.

Barnaby AIR aims:

• To define what types of public art the people of Macclesfield would like to see in their town and neighbourhoods
• To inform decisions on public art made by local authorities so that the wishes of the community are paramount in the decision making.
• To show the creativity of Macclesfield people
• To give Macc people a voice in what their town looks like
• To connect venues and spaces across Macclesfield
• Provide opportunities to create and show new work
• To start the conversation about developing community-focused programmes that support the wellbeing of residents, rebuild community engagement and cohesion, and help to build confidence levels of residents.

We’re looking for a micro-commission that:

• Develops the aims of Barnaby AIR
• Demonstrates the potential of public art in any of its forms
• Visualises different types of art in different places and spaces in Macclesfield
• Develops the idea or new ideas of community consultation and inclusion

Your commission can be in any art form you want. It could be 2d, 3d, audio, visual, digital, traditional. Work can be made for public display at a venue in town, for inclusion on the Barnaby Festival website or as part of Fabric Lenny’s digital map. What’s important is that we see quality and imagination.

To reflect the level of the budget available this is likely to be a work in progress which has the potential to grow in the future or an existing work which may need some level of development support to get it off the ground.

Details

• One successful projects will receive an all-inclusive budget of £500.

• Work can be shown between April and June 2022, but must be complete, fully financed and shown by June 30^th
• Submissions must include budget details and cover all associated costs.
• Submissions will reflect the AIMS of Barnaby AIR as listed above. If they don’t, they won’t be eligible for funding.

Timeline

Submission deadline                                                     Friday 1st April

Successful submissions informed                            Friday 8th April

Work shown                                                                      Between April and June 2022

Programme ends                                                             June 2022

Submissions of no longer than a side of A4 should include:

• A summary of your proposed idea and how it responds to the aims of Barnaby AIR. Please include timescales.
• Budget of all costs, including time and all materials, plus highlighting any in kind support (services, materials or venues offered free of charge)

Please also include a summary CV highlighting recent relevant projects.

This should be sent to info@thehamiltonproject.co.uk by Friday1st April 2022, 5pm.

Please include all your contact details.

If you have any questions about this commission or process, please email info@thehamiltonproject.co.uk