The new Dunbar Community Building will bring together a number of community led and Council run services and activities. It will be situated on The Bleachingfield site previously occupied by the Countess Youth & Community Centre and the Dunbar Scout Hall.

As a key element of the new centre, East Lothian Council wishes to commission artwork(s) which will fully integrate with and complement the internal and external design proposals for the centre and that will be an exemplar of good practice for commissioning public art within capital developments.

East Lothian Council is working with representatives of Dunbar Arts Trust to undertake the commissioning process. In order to achieve an integrated approach to the overall design, artists/makers are required to work with some of the existing proposed materials for the project (ie external paving, wooden beams, internal flooring, lighting, paint colour, tiling, etc). Artists/makers are required to consider the creative use of these materials within their design proposal and demonstrate how these materials can be enhanced with the introduction of new additional materials as specified by the artist/maker(s), and within the limits of the budget, in order to fully realise their design proposals.

Artists/makers may wish to apply for either or both parts of the commission as outlined below.

There are two areas for consideration:
1) The external area which surrounds the front elevation
2) The internal public spaces of the building.

Within this brief, there is space for artists/makers to consider the themes of landscape and place. These themes are specific to Dunbar and link with the aims of the new building, the town’s cultural heritage and environment.

East Lothian Council wishes to ensure that the commission is developed in genuine response to the themes of landscape and place and that it fully integrates with the proposed designs and future uses of the Centre. It is important that the work is respectful of and reflects the project aims.
For this reason, the selected artist/maker(s) will be required to undertake research and consultation with key stakeholders, design team members and user representatives that will inform the artist’s final design proposals.

For further information, please contact lsmith@eastlothian.gov.uk (Lesley Smith), or call 0131 665 9900.

The deadline is Friday 12 August 2011.