Designs invited for public artwork in Kelso

Artists and designers are invited to submit concept proposals for a new public artwork to be sited in the centre of Kelso.

The artwork, to be called ‘Kelsae’, will be the first public artwork in the town and will be located in front of the town hall, one of the town’s most prominent and historic public spaces.

The commission for the new artwork has been generously funded by Sainsbury’s, with a project budget of £40,000.  The completion date for installation of the artwork is March 2014.

The project to deliver a new artwork for the town is being developed by the Kelso Stakeholder Group through their Public Art Sub-group, with support from Scottish Borders Council and the Kelso Townscape Heritage Initiative.  The aim is to engage with the local community to ensure the process of selecting both an artist and a design takes account of the views from the public as well as local groups and organisations.

Whilst it is anticipated that the artwork will have a physical form in the space, Charlie Robertson, Chair of the Kelso Stakeholder Group, is keen to stress that the development of the design is open to interpretation by the individual artists: “The artist’s brief for this exciting project has been developed to allow artists the freedom to put forward ideas that embody the spirit of the town.”

Councillor Ron Smith, Executive Member for Planning and Environment, said: “We are grateful to Sainsbury’s for generously funding this project which provides a great opportunity for artists to compete for a commission to design a new public artwork for Kelso.  Local people will have a say in choosing the artist and artwork, which will form a lasting legacy and enhance the public space outside the town hall.”

The project involves a two-stage open competitive process to select the artist and design:

§         Stage 1 will see the selection panel draw up a shortlist of five artists / designers based on preliminary information submitted as concept proposals as outlined in the Artist Brief document.

§         Stage 2 involves the successful short listed artists / designers developing and costing design proposals. These developed proposals will form part of a public exhibition in the Kelso Sainsbury’s store at the end of June, encouraging public feedback and debate, prior to a final interview process and the announcement of the winning design in early July.

Each of the five shortlisted artists / designers will receive a fee of £500 upon completion and submission of their developed design proposals.

Kelso Town Hall. Image sourced here, taken by photographer Graham Riddell - his website here 

For more information please register on the Public Contracts Scotland web portal: www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk (click on ‘Browse Notices’ and search for ‘810 Kelso Public Art Commission’ in the advanced search option). Alternatively please contact: Paul Graham, Procurement Specialist, Scottish Borders Council, 01835 826762

For more information, contact the Corporate Communications Unit on 01835 826632 or communications@scotborders.gov.uk