Sharrow Signposts brief

Background:
As part of the Distinctive Sharrow Toolkit, a small amount of funding has been made available to develop the creative part of a ‘Welcome to Sharrow’ signposts project. It is hoped that if well considered, this could be taken forward to produce the signage with support from Sheffield City Council.

Project Outcomes:
Stage 1, Design
· To develop a design for a ‘Welcome to Sharrow’ sign or signs that respond to the identity(ies) of Sharrow. The design should be very ambitious in terms of quality and concept. Adventurous, playful and critical ideas will be favoured.
· To consider where the sign(s) may be placed to have maximum impact. This may include considering what the boundaries of Sharrow are or key connections that should be made. Critical to this aspect of the project is consideration to who owns the land on which it is to be placed/ permissions required to erect it and how it fits with legislation governing highways, planning permission, and the like. Some initial research into this has been carried out, however it will be the basis for the feasibility of the project so must be thoroughly researched and relationships formed.
· To consider how and through whom the sign(s) will be manufactured. The artist will be responsible for the design fabrication and installation of the work and will work with to develop the details of the construction. The work must be durable, responding to the public environment in which it is placed.
· To cost the production/ installation of the signage and an outline idea of any maintenance that may be involved. This may include conversations with streetforce.

Stage 2, Manufacture and Installation (not included in this bid)
· The artist is required to manufacture the work and install it on site. There will be no other works on site and the artist is required to provide all equipment materials and welfare facilities. The artist will make provision to ensure that proper Health and Safety (particularly Construction, Design and Management regulations (2007) if they are deemed to apply) and working practices are observed.

Project Objectives:
To develop the identity of Sharrow as seen by those living and working in the area and within Sheffield.
To make relationships between Sharrow Community Forum, Distinctive Sharrow Action Group, local artists and the council, in order that procedures for commissioning further creative projects are explored and the council can have confidence in the process.
To work with local people or as part of a collective of local artists; these projects should be Sharrow led and develop skills within the area.

Selection Criteria
The commission will be advertised locally and nationally and three artists will be shortlisted by the panel which includes members of the Distinctive Sharrow Action Group, Sharrow community forum, Sharrow partnership and Sheffield United Football Club. The shortlisted artists will be invited to attend an interview. Applications are invited from individual artists or artist teams.

The entries will be judged by the Distinctive Sharrow Action Group and on the flowing criteria:
How the proposal responds to the brief, including the principles outlined and the findings of the Distinctive Sharrow project and the exploration of identity in the area
The feasibility of the project in terms of all aspects of its implementation such as planning permission, manufacture, cost of manufacture etc
The value that the bid is seen to represent

Commissioning Panel
The commissioning panel will consist of one member of Sharrow Community Forum, one member of Sharrow Partnership or relevant service provider associated with that particular brief (in this case could be streetforce) and two members of the Distinctive Sharrow Action Group.

Process and Timescales:

All submissions of interest to arrive by: Monday 1st December

Shortlistsing: Tuesday 2nd- Friday 12th December

Interviews of shortlisted entrants: Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th December

Project programme: Six weeks, commencing 2nd January 2009

Indicative Budget for Stage 1:
£3,000 including VAT, materials and expenses

Application process:
To register an expression of interest, please send:

· A letter of application which clearly states why you are interested in this project, your experience of this type of work and how you would approach the commission and any partnerships/ collaboration which you may be interested in creating to carry out the project. Max 1,000 words
· Breakdown of costs for the first stage of the project.
· Up to five images with descriptions of recent relevant work. This could either be in electronic or hard format.
· Details of two referees
· An SAE if you require the material to be returned

This material should be sent by post (hard copy of written documents and CD or hard copy of images) rather that by email to:

Julia Udall
Sharrow Community Forum
The Old Junior School
South View Road
Sharrow
S7 1BD

This material should be received no later than: 1st December 2008