Supporting the Arts in the City

Dublin City Public Art Programme

The second Dublin City Public Art Programme offers opportunities to create interconnections between public, art and the city.

Overview
Introduction
Invitation
Public Engagement
Budgets
Timeframe
Briefing Meeting
Commissioning Process and Selection
Submitting Proposals for Strand 2
Conditions
APPLY
APPENDIX 1
APPENDIX 2
APPENDIX 3
Leagan Gaeilge

OVERVIEW
Dublin City Public Art Programme (2021-2026) offers opportunities to commission new artwork across all artforms. The Programme has three strands PUBLIC + ART + CITY. Individually, these strands have distinct characteristics but when combined are intended to offer a cohesive approach to Dublin City Public Art Programme. The programme will create connections and collaboration between different areas of the Dublin City Council’s work and interconnection between public, art and city. The approach of the programme is to embrace the diversity of public art practice while being deeply committed to consultation and engagement with communities and localities. Dublin City Public Art Programme will be in place for five years.

STRAND 1 – PUBLIC
Dublin City Council is committed to reinforcing the links between art commissions and the public. The intentions of STRAND 1 - PUBLIC is to develop an approach to public art commissioning which is focused on socially engaged practice including collaborative and participatory practice. This strand is focused on developing a new approach to public art which intends to place communities and neighbourhoods at the centre of public art commissioning processes. Titled Citizen Commissioners the key principles are to encourage inclusion and diversity and to enable communities to participate as equals in this collaborative commissioning process. The intentions are to embed artistic practice in communities through the establishment of ‘public art hubs’ and that the commissioned work will be of high artistic quality. As this is a developmental and innovative model of commissioning practice, Dublin City Council is undertaking three pilot projects in different social and economic contexts across the city.

STRAND 2 - ART
Dublin City Council values the contribution which artists make to the city and this strand will offer opportunities for artists to make connections between communities and localities in the city while interacting with Dublin City Council. There is a broad understanding of the term ‘communities’ and they can be communities of interest or place. The focus will be on new work and on an openness towards different ways of art-making and expression. In addition to the work of individual artists there is scope for collaborations, collective responses and interdisciplinary practices. There is also respect for different forms of art expression and their duration, encompassing temporary, time-based or permanent work. Curators, artistic directors and creative producers can also make proposals. This gives opportunities for proposals which reflect contemporary artistic practice. The programme will be organised to spread the commissions across the five electoral areas of the city. This strand will be organised through an open-call competition two stage process.

STRAND 3 – CITY
STRAND 3 - CITY is designed to respond to once off opportunities which arise through partnership within Dublin City Council or with external partners where funding is made available for a specific commissioning context. Examples of external partners could include the OPW, Fáilte Ireland, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, National Transport Authority, etc. All artforms and artistic practices will be considered and the selection of artform and process will directly relate to the focus and strategic objective of the proposed commission and how best to achieve it. All proposals for commission under Strand 3 will have to demonstrate a clear relationship and relevance to Dublin City Council’s core values and objectives. Commissions will be devised and developed from the outset in partnership with the City Arts Office and will have artistic ambition and strive for excellence and originality.

Dublin City Public Art Programme is funded under the Government of Ireland Per Cent for Art Scheme.

INTRODUCTION
The Dublin City Public Art Programme, launched in 2012, was the first programmatic approach to public art by Dublin City Council. The second Dublin City Public Art Programme will be in place for five years and will offer opportunities to create interconnections between art, public, and the city. The Programme has three strands PUBLIC + ART + CITY. Individually, these strands have distinct characteristics but when combined are intended to offer a cohesive approach to the new public art programme. The intention of the programme is to embrace the diversity of public art practice while being deeply committed to consultation and engagement with communities and localities. STRAND 2 - ART incorporates commissions undertaken with funding from the Per Cent for Art Scheme through the Department of the Housing, Local Government and Heritage and funding from Dublin City Council capital developments.

INVITATION
Dublin, while having the status of the capital city is also a city of communities and localities reaching from the inner city to outer suburbs. As the social geography of the capital has changed and developed in recent decades so have the demographics of the city. There is a broad understanding of the term ‘communities’ which can include communities of practice, interest or place. Artists are invited to propose commissions which make connections between communities and localities across the city.

It is the intention of the Dublin City Public Art Programme to offer opportunities across all art forms as defined in the Arts Act 2003; architecture, dance, film, literature, music, opera, poetry, street art, street spectacle and circus, theatre, verbal arts, and visual art; including all aspects of contemporary arts practice such as performance, live art, multimedia, video art, sound art, etc. The focus will be on new work and there is an openness to different ways of art-making and expression. In addition to the work of individual artists there is scope for collaborations, collective responses and interdisciplinary practices.

Commissions can be achieved through one-off interventions, residencies, collaborative projects, interdisciplinary responses, time based work, etc. In line with the principles of the Per Cent for Art Scheme, the proposed process must involve artists making new work as a central aspect of the commission. Curators, artistic directors and creative producers can also make proposals. This gives opportunities for proposals which reflect a wide range of contemporary art practices while also offering potential for the development of new ideas and projects.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Dublin City Council is committed to reinforcing the links between art commissions and public(s). In this spirit Dublin City Council will support a public engagement programme for each commission in the Public Art Programme. There is an understanding that not all practices and proposals for STRAND 2 – ART will incorporate public engagement as an element of the process in making and delivering the commission. In this case, commissioned artists and teams will be required to work with Dublin City Council in devising or advising on how a public engagement programme can be delivered alongside the commission.

An area-based approach
In order to ensure that STRAND 2 – ART commissions are not all concentrated in one part of the city, artists will be asked to indicate the type of place, context or situation in which they would like to work. The programme will be organised to spread the commissions across different areas of the city. The Arts Office (and where relevant other City Council staff) will be consulted in this process, as will shortlisted artists. See map of Dublin City Council Areas in Appendix 1.

COVID 19
Dublin City Council is particularly conscious of the impact that the COVID 19 pandemic has had on artists and the arts sector. We understand that restrictions relating to the pandemic might remain in place for some time and that selected commissions will have to adhere to guidelines in place at the time of the production and realisation of the commission. However, it is intended and hoped that this call for proposals will offer a path for artists to create new work.

BUDGETS
In recognition of the fact that art does not necessarily come in neatly bundled packages, there is flexibility for those making proposals. Artists or teams may request budgets of between €20,000 and €100,000. This gives scope for budgets to be related to the scale and nature of the proposed commission. Proposed budgets must include all costs relating to the individual commissions.
See Submissions below for more detailed information.

Funding from other sources can be added to the total funding requested from the Dublin City Public Art Programme but clear indication of the sources and methods of gaining these funds is required in Stage 1 submissions.

TIMEFRAME
Submissions for STRAND 2 – ART commissions can range from one-off interventions and events to longer, process-based proposals. Artists making proposals are asked to define the intended time frame for their art commission at the submission stage. While there will be scope for some flexibility, it is intended that commissions should be fulfilled within 18 months / two years of signing of contracts.

Selected commissions may be rolled out on a phased basis over the five-year lifespan of the Dublin City Public Art Programme.

Documentation and Evaluation
Each commission will be comprehensively documented to facilitate public engagement and also as a legacy and record of the work. Ongoing evaluation of the programme will be undertaken to assess areas of achievement or potential improvement.

Copyright and Ownership
Copyright is in accordance with the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 (No.28 of 2000).1 While copyright may vary for particular artforms, generally copyright will remain with the artist/s who devise the original ideas for the work. In the case of permanent public sculpture or structural work, Dublin City Council will own the physical artwork while the intellectual copyright will remain with the artist.

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COMISSIONING PROCESS AND SELECTION
STRAND 2 - ART is organised as a two-stage open competition. The first stage invites submissions that outline the proposed commissions and how they will be created and brought to the public. Artists and teams will also be required to provide biographies of key team members and examples of previous work. Further details of submission requirements are outlined below.

Stage 1
An initial selection process will be undertaken by public art specialists with extensive experience in assessing artists’ proposals and with understanding of the breadth and depth of public art commissioning practices across artforms. These specialists will select a long-list of proposals from the first stage submissions. This longlist will then be considered by a selection panel composed of further arts specialists, elected representatives, city officials and, where relevant, community representatives, who will shortlist up to ten proposals for further research and development.

Stage 2
Shortlisted artists and teams will be invited to undertake further research and development of their proposals and fees will be paid for this work. Artists or teams selected for Stage 2 can be asked to specifically address certain ideas or issues in their proposals. This stage of development is primarily focused on refining the artistic proposal but is also used to demonstrate that the commission is feasible in terms of development and presentation, project management, technical and financial detail, etc.

Final Agreement
Artists or teams selected for commissions will be invited to agree and sign a contract with Dublin City Council before the commission proceeds. In preparation for this, artists or teams will agree the total fee and finances for the commission as well as a proposed time frame, work-plan and stages of payment for the commission, etc.

Briefing Meeting (Available to watch below)
A briefing meeting was arranged for interested artists, curators, creative producers and artistic directors. A question and answer session formed an important part of this meeting. The meeting took place ONLINE on Tuesday 20th July 2021 at 1.00pm. The briefing was filmed and is available to watch below:

[1]Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 (No.28 of 2000) http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2000/act/28/enacted/en/html

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SUBMITTING PROPOSALS FOR STRAND 2
Criteria for Stage 1
Proposals will be assessed using the following criteria:

Queries
Artists or teams are welcome to submit queries to the Public Art Officer. Contact publicart@dublincity.ie. The closing date for queries is 19th August 2021 at 12 noon.

Closing Date for Submissions
The closing date for Stage 1 proposals is Thursday 2nd September, 2021 at 4.00pm. Late submissions will not be accepted.

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Submitting Proposals for Stage 1

Submissions
Proposals may only be submitted online and uploaded to the Dublin City Council Arts Office website at www.dublincityartsoffice.ie/publicart . Please note that the maximum file size for each PDF is 25MB

Artists or teams should complete the online registration form plus provide the following information in three separate PDFs.

Registration Form

Contact details including: name, postal address, email address and phone number of the artist or team leader.
Title of Proposal.
Summary of Proposal: One line which describes what you want to do and why (approx. 50 words).
Summary Description: A 500 word outline of your project to be entered into the online form.
Proposed Funding Request: The amount requested from Dublin City Council to undertake the commission.

Proposal in PDF format to be no longer than four A4 pages using Calibri 12 point font size. This PDF must include text and where relevant: images and visuals; a maximum five links to video or audio content; specific pages on artist’s websites; etc. The proposal should particularly focus on the following:

Artistic concept and intentions
Context or proposed nature of place/s for the proposed commission
Intended process/nature of presentation or intervention, etc. 2
How the commission will be achieved. This should include an outline of known / projected technical issues and how it is intended to address these. This aspect of the proposal should also identify creative risks involved in the proposed commission
Total value of proposed commission
Funding requested from Dublin City Council and elsewhere (if relevant)

2 Links to video or audio content should not exceed twenty (20) minutes in total length.

Proposed outline budget which should include, where relevant:

Artist’s/team member fees 3
Production Manager (where relevant)
Development costs
Production and presentation costs
Interaction with communities/localities
Insurances, and other related costs
Contingency at 5%

3 It is Dublin City Council Policy that artists are paid equitably for work undertaken.

Support Material in PDF format: Maximum of five examples of relevant work to be uploaded in one PDF. Links to audio recordings or video (maximum length 5 minutes each) including show-reels should be embedded into this PDF.

CV(s) or Biographies in PDF format. Summary biographies of team members and CVs (no longer than 3 pages per CV) to include all key members of the team if applicable. These CVs and Biographies should be uploaded in one PDF.

CONDITIONS
Submissions

Submissions may only be made online. Emailed submissions will not be accepted.
Late submissions will not be accepted.
Feedback will not be provided at Stage 1 due to the nature of the Open Competition.
Assessors will not be asked to view or listen to more than a maximum of 20 minutes of media (audio or visual) files. Applicants should ensure that links to media files are in formats which are readily accessible, such as YouTube, Vimeo, mp3, mp4, etc.
The selection panel, whose decision is final, has the right to clarify any issue which may arise in the course of selection.
Artists may be asked to supply the names and contact details of referees as part of the selection process.
Dublin City Council reserves the right not to award commissions and, in this instance, reserves the right to pursue other selection processes.
Attendance at the Briefing Meeting, which is to be filmed, is taken as agreement to be included in the film either intentionally or incidentally.

Terms and Conditions

Commissioned artists or teams will agree and sign a contract between Dublin City Council before commencing the public art commission.
Dublin City Council reserves the right to offer a financial fee which differs from that sought for in proposals.
Teams who are awarded commissions will have to nominate one person who represents the team.
The successful Artist/Team will be required to have the following insurances prior to contract signing and for the duration of the commission. Insurances must state that the policies are valid in the Republic of Ireland.
a. Public Liability with an indemnity to Dublin City Council insurance cover of €6.5 million any one occurrence with an indemnity to Dublin City Council, project partners etc.
b. Employers Liability with an indemnity to Dublin City Council of €13 million any one occurrence where employees are engaged to work on the commission, project partners etc.
The proposed commission and development process must comply with Health and Safety legislation. The successful submission will be subject to Health and Safety checks.
Child and Vulnerable Adults Protection: Artists or teams interacting with children, young people and/or vulnerable adults as part of their commissions will be required to follow national policy and legislation and where applicable undergo training in this area, as per national requirements.
The appointed artist or team will have to supply an up to date Tax Clearance Certificate or access number prior to signing of contract and for the duration of the commission.
Applicants should note that all commissions awarded are VAT inclusive (whether VAT liability lies with the artist or with Dublin City Council as commissioner).
Non-resident artists from EU and non-EU countries must be aware of any tax or VAT implications arising from the commission and ensure any costs arising from this are included in their proposed budget.
Dublin City Council is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 1997, 2003. If you consider that any of the information supplied by you is either commercially sensitive or confidential in nature, this should be highlighted and the reasons for the sensitivity specified. In such cases, the relevant material will, in response to the FOI request, be examined in the light of the exemptions provided for in the Acts.

GDPR Compliance
The purpose for processing the data you provide is for the selection of new public art commissions for the Dublin City Public Art Programme. The information you provide will be accessed by staff of Dublin City Arts Office and invited external specialists and may be shared with relevant Dublin City Council staff. Your information will be retained for 6 years if successful and 1 year if unsuccessful with your application. This process is being undertaken in accordance with the Arts Act 2003.

If you do not furnish the personal data requested, Dublin City Council will not be able to process your application. You have the following rights, in certain circumstances and subject to applicable exemptions, in relation to your personal data:

The right to access the personal data that we hold about you, together with other information about our processing of that personal data.
The right to require us to rectify any inaccuracies in your personal data.
The right to require us to erase your personal data.
The right to request that we no longer process your personal data for particular purposes.
The right to object to our use of your personal data or the way in which we process it.

Please note that to help protect your privacy; we take steps to verify your identity before granting access to personal data. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please submit a request to our Data Protection Officer outlining the specific details of the request: Email: dataprotection@dublincity.ie Tel: 01 2223775. All valid requests will be processed without undue delay and in any event within one month of receipt of the request. This period may be extended by up to two further months where necessary.

APPLY Online through Submittable below