Artist Call Out – ‘Together our planet, together our future’ Community Mural

Would you like to work closely with a small community, helping them to make a positive mark on the neighbourhood? Are you passionate about climate action? Do you have experience in mural design or painting?

The Green Meadows team is inviting street artists and mural artists to transform The Meadows community’s vision into a local Community Mural. With the theme of ‘Together our planet, together our future’, the mural will be the first step in Green Meadows’ mission to bringing our community together to take action on the Climate Crisis.

We welcome artists from Nottingham and further afield in the UK to take part in our competition.

About the Green Meadows:

Building on the ambitions of the people of The Meadows to live sustainably, Green Meadows aims to demonstrate how an inner-city area can take on the challenge of the Climate Crisis as a community. Funded by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund, the 5-year project will equip the people of The Meadows with the knowledge, skills and support required to overcome the barriers towards achieving carbon neutrality.

About the Community Mural project:

The Community Mural project celebrates the launch of Green Meadows. Since April 2021, the team has engaged the local community to share their ideas in response to the theme ‘Together our planet, together our future’ – these will be made available to the artists to inform their interpretations for the mural design. The team has particularly encouraged ideas from children at the local Primary Schools, The Meadows community groups, and the local Foodbank service users. Mark, a Meadows resident who is part of the Green Meadows Community Mural working group said about this project “I hope the mural and wider project will be an example to the rest of Nottingham and the UK, especially as we are not an affluent area but we still are actively helping build a better future together.” We would like the local community to be engaged in the design and be proud of the final result. Please see the process of the Community Mural below for more information on the project and the role of the artist.

The chosen location for the Mural will be the end wall of a terraced home in The Meadows (the exact location is yet to be confirmed). The mural will be a vibrant piece of public art and a reminder of the opportunities Green Meadows will offer over the next 5 years. It will be a symbol of the lasting change the project will have on the relationship between the local community and the Climate Crisis. As the wall will be externally insulated prior to the mural being created, we will ask the artists to be flexible regarding the materials they use - such as using breathable paint - and the application method, based on the requirements of the chosen insulation system.

Prizes for the winning and runner up designs:

Successful applicants will be shortlisted to the final group of 6 artists, who will then be invited to complete an artist interpretation. From the final 6, there will be three prizes for the Winner, Second and Third place. The winner will receive a contract for the execution of the mural, £5,000 fee and £2,000 expenses for materials. The 2nd and 3rd placed mural designs will receive cheques for £500 and £350 respectively.

The Community Mural is just one of many initiatives that the Green Meadows is undertaking in Nottingham City throughout the next five years. Promotional activities will be taking place throughout this time and, if shortlisted, your artwork will be used to raise awareness of Climate Crisis within the local community – always with credit to the artist.

How to apply:

Head over to our online portal to complete the form. We will ask you for:

·         Information about your practice and experience, including links to your website or social media channels (in 300 words)

·         Image examples and short descriptions of 2-3 murals you have executed relevant to this project

·         Details of experience of working with communities and your motivation for wanting to get involved in this project (in 300 words)

·         A statement about the sustainable practices you undertake in your work (in 300 words)

·         Details of Public Liability Insurance or a statement of willingness to take appropriate insurance out for the final installation work.

·         A statement of willingness to visit The Meadows (restrictions allowing) if you are shortlisted

The deadline for the application is 5pm, 30th July 2021

If you’re struggling with the online form, or find your files too large to attach, get in touch with us at mural@greenmeadows.uk, noting “ARTIST CALL OUT – Your name” in the subject line.

The suggested times & process of the project:

1.       July 2021 - Submit the Artist Call Out application form before 5pm, 30th July 2021.

2.       August 2021 - Once the deadline passes, the Mural Working Group will shortlist 6 artists to go forward with the development of ideas.

3.       August 2021 - The selected 6 artists will be invited to attend an Introduction Day to the Green Meadows. This will be at The Meadows, Nottingham – dates to be confirmed. All travel and food expenses will be paid for/provided (within agreed limitations). and They will be a walking tour, meet members of the community and a presentation of the wider Green Meadows. Most importantly, the artists will be shown the contributions received from the community groups as inspiration for the Mural design. Each of the shortlisted artists will receive an information pack containing:

·         Drawings, photographs and details of the chosen site

·         General information on The Meadows

·         Details of what will be provided by the Mural Working Group to enable the installation to take place (insulation, scaffolding etc.).

·         A sample contract for the installation work.

·         A proposed programme for the project.

4.       September to November 2021 - The shortlisted artists will be asked to submit an artist interpretation of the communities’ vision for the mural. This will include:

·         An artist interpretation of the community input and an explanation of the proposal in short video/audio or written form.

·         High resolution JPG or PDF files of the proposal

·         Details of insurances held - a minimum Public Liability Insurance cover of £2 million will be required)

·         An outline specification for the mural including materials and preparation

·         Any requirements from the project over and above those in the competition guidelines.

·         Any specific requirements for the scaffolding

·         Confirmation that the mural can be executed within the fee and materials allowance

·         A proposed hourly rate for maintenance of the mural, should it be required. (Materials etc. excluded)

·         Suggestions for anti-graffiti measures.

5.       November 2021 - The artist interpretations will be exhibited locally, giving a chance for The Meadows community to vote and comment on the artworks. The public vote will provide a further shortlist of 3 murals.

6.       December 2021 - Following the public vote, a judging panel made up of a range of stakeholders and invited experts will make the final decision as to the winning artist and mural design. The panel will be looking for:

·         How well the design reflects the overall message of the Green Meadows project

·         How well the design fits in the local community and reflects the community’s ideas

·         How well the execution reflects the sustainable practices of the project e.g. using breathable paint for the artwork

·         How realistic is the proposal in relation to the fee and materials allowance.

7.       March-April 2022 – The insulation is installed and the Mural artist begins their work.

Copyright and Publicity:

We invite all of our shortlisted artists to take part in mutual promotion, and to support the project further by contributing to our documentation of the process – be it through photographs, short videos or testimonials. Within the winning artists contract will be an agreement to allow the Green Meadows to have free use of the winning images/entry materials and the executed mural for publicity and academic purposes for the period of the project 2021- 2026. During that period the winning artist will also be required to attend two workshop sessions around the project, held in The Meadows.

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Meadows Big Day Out

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Community Open Call for mural ideas