The Merchant City Initiative wishes to appoint a researcher/writer/photographer to map, the often hidden or uncelebrated public art.
within Glasgow???s Merchant City.

The Merchant City is widely regarded as the cultural and creative heart of Glasgow with numerous artists, performers, craftspeople and designers taking up residence in its many studios and galleries.
The public realm of the area also shows the influence of their work and patronage from sculpture to light installations. Other work is planned over 2010/11 together with a pilot public art programme planned for later this year.

The Initiative has a number of motives in seeking to produce a Public Art Trail.

??? It wishes to celebrate the rich legacy of public art the area already boasts and is seeking to add to and enhance over time
??? It wishes to use the trail as a visitor and educational tool for local and tourist enjoyment and participation
??? It wishes to more explicitly interpret and stimulate debate about the role of public art in the City
??? It wishes to lay the foundations for a new programme of public art commissions in Merchant City

The role of the appointee(s) is as follows:

??? Map and research all incidents of public art in the Merchant City and its immediate environs; questions such as what is the formal boundary of the study area and what constitutes public art will be established and agreed early in the process but will allow for a flexible interpretation by both parties in dialogue.
??? For agreed entries the researcher/writer will require to establish (as far as possible) the following baseline information:

Location
Title of artwork
Date
Materials
Artist
Commissioning body/client
Cost
Funders
Background History
Concept statement/Description

This information will be held by way of a database on the MCI website (www.glasgowmerchantcity.net) but a more succinct version of this will appear on a specially produced Public Art Trail leaflet to be written by the appointee and published to coincide with
the launch of the Merchant City Festival in July 2010.

The appointee(s) will also require to produce publication quality images of the artworks for inclusion on the website and in the leaflet; the fee for this will be included in the overall commission.

The selected person/persons will work closely with the Initiative???s graphic designer to provide material for the leaflet; the cost of graphics and publications will be met outwith the fee for this commission.

TIMESCALE
The following dates are milestone for this project.
Response to advert
14.05.2010
Commission awarded
16.05.2010
Research stage
17.05.2010 ??? 04.06.2010
Photography
31.05.2010 ??? 04.06.2010
Editorial stage
07.06.2010 ??? 25.06.2010
Graphic design
05.06.2010
Final check graphics and editorial
09.07.2010
Printing and publishing
14.07.2010
Launch
23.07.2010

Some of the above stage may overlap and/or run concurrently e.g. research and editorial given the time constraints of the project.

BUDGET
The Initiative is working to a very tight budget for this project.
The appointee is asked to submit on the attached form, their costed* proposal for the project described above including ??? research, editorial, photography and final proofreading for the Merchant City Public Art Trail to:

Liz Davidson
Project Director
Merchant City Initiative
50 Bell Street
Merchant City
Glasgow G1 1LQ

e.mail: liz.davidson@drs.glasgow.gov.uk

tel: 0141.552.6060

by- Friday 14 th
May 2010

*The fee proposal should exclude graphic design and printing and publication costs as these will be met separately

PLEASE CONTACT THE ABOVE FOR MORE INFORMATION.