Public art commission: Call for local and national artists

Call for artists to apply for new public art commission to celebrate Worcester’s historic former porcelain factory site.

Worcester City Council, Royal Porcelain Works and the Museum of Royal Worcester are seeking to commission an original work of public art to respond to the city’s world-renowned porcelain heritage. The funding has been provided by Berkeley Homes as part of a planning contribution for their successful Waterside residential development.

A £75,000 artist commission fee is available to create a prominent site-specific public artwork or artworks, near the Waterside site and the Museum of Royal Worcester. Artists are invited to use creative approaches to create an enduring piece of outdoor art which will celebrate Worcester porcelain, its history and special material qualities. Artists can spend time at the Museum of Royal Worcester to connect with the largest collection of Worcester porcelain in the world and the unique design and factory archive, to inspire and inform their ideas and the art installation. Artist applications must be submitted by 12pm on Monday 31st July 2023.

Sian Stroud, Corporate Director at Worcester City Council, said “This public art project will celebrate the world-class porcelain heritage that put Worcester on the international map, as well as raising the profile of our city’s porcelain quarter. We are grateful to Berkeley Homes and all our partners for helping us get this project off the ground. The talented artist who wins this commission will be able to connect with local residents, site tenants, former Royal Worcester factory workers and others at a Heritage Open Day event on the site on Saturday 16th September, to develop and inform the project. This new public art creation will also form part of a wider project that will include heritage interpretation boards and the oral histories of former Royal Worcester factory workers that will be shared on the Know Your Place Worcester website.”

Kathy Leather, General Manager of the Bransford Trust, said:

“The Bransford Trust is an independent grant-making charity that invested in the multi-million pound redevelopment of Worcester’s historic Royal Porcelain Works. We are thrilled to celebrate the regeneration of this ‘porcelain quarter’ to residential homes, arts and entertainment facilities and business. Five years ago, we opened Henry Sandon Hall to the public, regenerating the 1852 showroom, to become a flexible facility at the heart of the development encouraging increased participation in the arts and education. We are looking forward to being part of the selection process to choose the artist whose artwork will bring the heritage of the Royal Porcelain Works site to life.”

Sophie Heath, Museum Director said:

“The Museum of Royal Worcester is delighted to be supporting the commissioning process. We are excited to see artists proposals for one or more artworks across the Royal Porcelain Works site, acting asa striking and attractive signpost and creative response to the site’s porcelain heritage. We expect the artistic practice to in some way pick up on the distinctive visual, material and/or tactile qualities of Worcester porcelain and its forms or decoration. It is important that it embodies and expresses the beauty, skill and quality of the porcelain. It can be playful and we are interested in proposals with a tactile dimension.”

The successful artist or artist collective will be provided with:

• A £75,000 artist commission fee (funded from developer Section 106 monies) and the opportunity to create a prominent site-specific public artwork or artworks using creative approaches to celebrate Worcester porcelain, its history and special material qualities
• Time to engage with the largest collection of Worcester porcelain in the world and associated rich archive held at the Museum of Royal Worcester to inspire and inform their ideas and the resulting installation
• The opportunity to engage with local residents, site stakeholders, ex-factory workers and other networks to develop and inform the project.

Artist applications must be submitted by 12pm on Monday 31st July 2023.

For full details of the project, the commissioning process, and the terms and conditions, please visit the Worcester City Council website where full details, terms and how to apply can be found.