Open Empty Spaces is currently welcoming proposals from contemporary artists to undertake two temporary site-specific public art commissions for a project to take place in April 2011.

Two artists are required, one to work in Cardiff Market (Central Cardiff) and one to work in Ridley Road Market (Dalston, East London), both for up to a month.

Proposals are welcomed from artists producing any type of work including sculpture, performance, research based projects, interactive projects, events and ephemeral work. Think of what would inspire you, make you laugh or encourage you to get involved if you passed by it in the street.

The project intends to use one of the wooden booths in Cardiff Central Market and one of the white numbered pitches on Ridley Road Market (above) as a base from which artists can develop their ideas. The artists will be able to use this space as a location for their work but should not feel confined by this, and are welcome to branch out into other areas of the market to display work and interact with the public.

Proposals must connect, to the space, the history of the area and/ or the people who use the market. It must appeal to those who do not have an art education as well as those that do, being both aesthetically and conceptually interesting.

Artists are expected to be confident and experienced enough to lead their project and take charge of working with the people on the market if they wish to include interactive elements to their work. Open Empty Spaces will provide as much support as possible though and will source volunteers as and when needed.

Open Empty Spaces will provide extensive advertising for the project both in the local area and throughout the arts. Documentation of the project will appear on the website, and if possible in a small publication.

FEE FOR THE ARTISTS: £1000 (please note there is no separate budget for materials and the artists’ subsistence).

To apply please email your ideas for the space (under 500 words) and either an artist statement/ CV and up to 8 images of your work, or a link to a website including the same information to openemptyspaces@hotmail.com.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 17.00 Saturday 8th January 2011

Artists will be informed if they have been successful or not by the end of January.

Artists that work in any medium and are at any stage in their career are welcome to apply but due to the nature of their funding, Open Empty Spaces cannot accept proposals from those in full time education.

For more information: http://www.openemptyspaces.co.uk/

Image: Cardiff Market.