CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: SCULPTURE IN THE CITY

Sculpture in the City has launched an open call for submissions for a 2D artwork that will be featured as part of a temporary site-specific installation within the public realm of the iconic Cheesegrater building in the City of London. The successful artwork will form part of the landmark 10th Anniversary edition of Sculpture in the City, which is due to launch summer 2021. The deadline for submissions is 19 February 2021.

This call for submissions offers a unique opportunity for artists, designers and illustrators to submit a graphic artwork for realisation on a large scale, which will be on view for a year within one of London’s most iconic buildings, also offering the opportunity to participate in the landmark 10th anniversary edition of Sculpture in the City.

Sculpture in the City is an annual, award-winning, urban sculpture park which traditionally launches each year in June. A cultural initiative delivered by the City of London in partnership with 13 local businesses, it is sited in the EC3 insurance district of the City, around the iconic towers of the Gherkin, Cheesegrater, Lloyd’s building and inside the historic Leadenhall Market. 

Over the years Sculpture in the City has showcased contemporary 3D artworks in a dynamic urban environment with successful installations which are in dialogue with the iconic contemporary architecture. The majority of the 114 artworks showcased to date have been freestanding sculpture works but there have also been opportunities to showcase artworks in less traditional ways. A great example is Mhairi Vari’s Support for a Cloud on the Lloyds building and two lamp posts.

To date we have also seen artworks shown in the Cheesegrater which include Lizi Sanchez’s Cadenetas hung in the trees; Kevin Killen’s Tipping Point, fixed to one on the columns and Thomas J Price’s Numen on the astroturf and currently, as part of the ninth edition extension; Laurence Wierner’s WITHIN A REALM OF RELATIVE FORM is installed on the glass wall (to be deinstalled April 2021).

For the landmark 10th anniversary edition of the project, Sculpture in the City is keen to consider the use of the underside of the two main escalators leading up into the iconic Cheesegrater as a canvas for a 2D artwork. The prominence of the two escalators in the public realm make them a perfect canvas for a graphic work to be experienced by the thousands of people who walk through the building on a daily basis.

This call for submissions is for a graphic 2D artwork to be reproduced / printed on vinyl. The site for this artwork are the two escalators in the iconic Cheesegrater building public realm. The site is covered but open to the elements and the two escalators are a dynamic addition to the cathedral like space. It is down to the artists discretion to select which one of the two escalators they are proposing the artwork for if not both. 

All graphic artworks submitted for consideration will need to be suitable for public display and with assets made available for distribution, publication and production from March 2021. The artwork will be on site from May 2021 to May 2022.

We highly recommend visiting the location to experience its unparalleled scale and the relationship of the escalators to the space. 

An artist fee of £750 will be offered in honorarium to the winning entry. Sculpture in the City will cover all other fees required to install the artwork i.e. reproduction, installation, insurance and the overall marketing and press campaign costs.  

"Art in a corporate setting has a bad rep. Show me a bank reception and I will show you a daffy, nondescript bronze selected mainly for being studiously uncontroversial. Sculpture in the City, however, is a different affair. Returning for its ninth edition, this large-scale open-air exhibition transforms the Square Mile into a giant sculpture park. And the best bit is that the art on show is genuinely worth seeing. […] All 21 works are a pleasingly disruptive addition to the slick City landscape."  Rosemary Waugh, Time Out 

Background

The aim of the project is to use the Square Mile as a contemporary urban gallery space and showcase cutting edge art in an area represented by the iconic contemporary towers as well as the layers of history nestled amongst these tall buildings. The project establishes a dialogue between contemporary art and contemporary architecture.

Sculpture in the City offers a unique opportunity for City workers and the local community to experience contemporary art and engage with their local environment in the context of the working day. 

Since the launch of the project in June 2011, the project has grown significantly in size and scope. The current exhibition, the extended ninth edition of the project includes 19 artists in 21 locations and is on show until April 2021. To date the project has shown 114 artworks, by 94 artists from 29 countries.

The current exhibition has achieved extensive press coverage, https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/press/, with a successful campaign led by Brunswick Arts, including Time Out London, The Times, Evening Standard, The Londonist and City Matters.

A film review of Sculpture in the City’s ninth edition can be viewed here https://youtu.be/41yKtuqprvA 

A dedicated website https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/  features images and information about all the artworks to date as well as a downloadable map of the current edition. 

"With works juxtaposed against the tall buildings in the Square Mile, this open-air exhibition not only enriches the workday experience of City workers but draws cultural visitors into this most ancient part of the City." Paul Robinson, Artlyst

Requirements

The artwork submitted needs to be suitable for exhibiting outdoors in a busy urban environment and available from May 2020 to May 2021.  

The proposed artworks need to be pre-existing as the project does not normally commission new works, with all digital assets print ready with final file sign-off by no later than April 2021. 

The project is sited in the public realm and seen by close to 500,000 visitors every year.

Artists shown to date include:

2011: Anish Kapoor, Julian Opie, Franz West, Kenneth Armitage

2012: Tracey Emin, Angus Fairhurst, Thomas Houseago, Michael Craig-Martin, Yayoi Kusama, Dan Graham

2013: Ryan Gander, Chapman Brothers, Robert Indiana, Antony Gormley, Keith Coventry, Petroc Sesti, Jim Lambie, Richard Wentworth, Shirazeh Housiary 

2014: Cerith Wyn-Evans, Jim Lambie, Richard Wentworth, Nigel Hall, Peter Randall-Page, Joao Onofre, Lynn Chadwick, Ben Long, Julian Wild, Paul Hosking

2015: Kris Martin, Laura Ford, Adam Chodzko, Folkert de Jong, Xavier Vielhan, Sigalit Landau, Ekkehard Altenburger, Tomoaki Suzuki, Keita Miyazaki, Ai Weiwei, Damien Hirst, Bruce Beasley, Shan Hur

2016: Anthony Caro, Gavin Turk, William Kentridge & Gerhard Marx, Lizi Sanchez, Ugo Rondinone, Recycle Group, Jurgen Partenheimer, Huma Bhabha, Petroc Sesti, Michael Lyons, Benedetto Pietromarchi, Enrico David, Jaume Plensa, Mat Collishaw, Sarah Lucas and Giuseppe Penone. 

2017: Daniel Buren, Fernando Casasempere, Martin Creed, Ryan Gander, Damien Hirst, Kevin Killen, Paul McCarthy, Nathaniel Rackowe, Peter Randall-Page RA, Recycle Group, Bosco Sodi, Karen Tang, Gavin Turk, Mhairi Vari, Mark Wallinger and Gary Webb.

2018: Marina Abramović, David Annesley, Shaun C Badham, Miroslaw Balka, Jyll Bradley, Tracey Emin CBE RA, Clare Jarrett, Juliana Cerqueira Leite, Gabriel Lester, Sarah Lucas, Amanda Lwin, Jean-Luc Moulène, Michail Pirgelis, Thomas J Price, Richard Rome, Nancy Rubins, Sean Scully RA, Do Ho Suh and Karen Tang. 

2019: Salvatore Arancio, Reza Aramesh, Elisa Artesero, Shaun C Badham, Jyll Bradley, Nathan Coley, Marisa Ferreira, Leo Fitzmaurice, Kevin Francis Gray, Clare Jarrett, Juliana Cerqueira Leite, Michael Lyons, Nancy Rubins, Nina Saunders, Jennifer Steinkamp, Do Ho Suh, Jonathan Trayte (Autumn 2019), Patrick Tuttofuoco and Lawrence Weiner.

Selection Process

Submissions will be presented to the Sculpture in the City Arts Advisory Group as below and a shortlist will be drawn up for presentation to the building owners, the Sculpture in the City Partner Board and the City of London City Arts Initiative for approval

Sculpture in the City Arts Advisory Group

Andrea Schlieker Tate Britain, Iwona Blazwick Whitechapel Gallery, Wendy Fisher Collector and Philanthropist, Whitney Hinz curator Hiscox, Jane Alison Barbican Art Gallery, Sepake Angiama INIVA  and Thomas J Price Guest artist. 

The shortlist is expected to be confirmed by March 2021.

Following shortlisting by the Arts Advisory Group each artist and/or gallerist is invited for a site visit with the Artistic Director and technical installation team to discuss the chosen escalator and have a more detailed conversation about the production requirements of the selected artwork.

We aim to confirm the successful submission in April 2021 and will work towards installation in May/June 2021, with the official project launch to take place in the summer of 2021. **Please note that this timeline is for indicative purposes and is subject to review in observance of government guidance and/or restrictions which may be in effect due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Conditions of participation

The reproduced artwork will be on display for 12 months (May 2021-May 2022) and must be suitable for outdoor display in the public realm for the entire period of display. The selected works will be subject to an agreement with the City of London Corporation.

Sculpture in the City covers printing and shipping within the UK (should this be applicable), installation, insurance and maintenance costs. 

Sculpture in the City works exclusively with MTEC who will produce, ship and install the artwork. 

All artists and galleries participating receive full credit on all marketing and press material.