Deadline Extended! - 10th Edition of Sculpture in the City

The works submitted for consideration need to be suitable for outdoor display and available for display May 2020 to May 2021.  

Deadline for submissions 22nd September 2019

‘Art in a corporate setting has a bad rep. Show me a bank reception and I will show you a daffy, nondescript bronze selected mainly for being studiously uncontroversial. Sculpture in the City, however, is a different affair. Returning for its ninth edition, this large-scale open-air exhibition transforms the Square Mile into a giant sculpture park. And the best bit is that the art on show is genuinely worth seeing. […] All works 21 works are a pleasingly disruptive addition to the slick City landscape.’  Rosemary Waugh, Time Out

Background

Sculpture in the City is an award-winning urban sculpture park which launches every year in June. A cultural initiative delivered by the City of London in partnership with 13 local businesses, it is sited in the EC3 (insurance district) area of the City, around the iconic towers of the Gherkin, the Cheesegrater, Lloyd’s building as well as inside Leadenhall Market.

The aim of the project is to use the Square Mile as a contemporary urban gallery space and showcase cutting edge art in an area represented by the iconic contemporary towers as well as the layers of history nestled amongst these tall buildings. The project establishes a dialogue between contemporary art and contemporary architecture.

Sculpture in the City offers a unique opportunity for City workers and the local community to experience contemporary art and engage with their local environment in the context of the working day.

Since the launch of the project in June 2011, the project has grown significantly in size and scope. The current, ninth, edition of Sculpture in the City is showcasing 19 artists in 21 locations and is on show until April 2020. To date the project has shown 112 artworks, by 94 artists from 29 countries.

The current exhibition has achieved extensive press coverage, https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/press/, with a successful campaign led by Brunswick Arts, including Time Out London, The Times, Evening Standard, The Londonist and City Matters.

A film review of Sculpture in the City’s ninth edition can be viewed here https://youtu.be/41yKtuqprvA

A dedicated website https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/ was launched in June 2018 featuring images and information about all the artworks to date as well as a downloadable map of the current edition.

‘With works juxtaposed against the tall buildings in the Square Mile, this open-air exhibition not only enriches the workday experience of City workers but draws cultural visitors into this most ancient part of the City’ Paul Robinson, Artlyst

Requirements

The artwork submitted needs to be suitable for exhibiting outdoors in a busy urban environment and available from May 2020 to May 2021.  

The proposed artworks need to be pre-existing as the project does not normally commission new works.

The artworks exhibited are primarily 3D. We have shown works in a broad variety of materials from marble, stone and metal to neon and light pieces as well as mixed media that may include fabric, ceramic and other contemporary materials. The works may be free-standing or may be shown suspended; for example hung in Leadenhall Market or in a tree, or fixed to a wall.  

However, we also encourage the submission of non 3D art. This could be time-based art, be it sound, film, digital or other media work. We have shown sound work in previous editions as well as film work which in the current edition is shown on the largest ceiling-mounted LED screen in Europe at ca. 180 sq feet at 10 Fenchurch Avenue.

We are also committed to including performance-related artworks. For the past two years, Sculpture in the City has been the associate programme partner to Whitechapel Gallery’s Nocturnal Creatures, a contemporary arts festival that brings together artist performances, music, films, talks and culinary experiences in the heart of the East End, especially the area between Whitechapel Gallery, Leadenhall Market and Liverpool Street. As part of the 2019 programme, Sculpture in the City commissioned ‘On Air’ a broadcast work by Graeme Miller and a social sculpture ‘Notice Me (LGBTQIA+ Walk)’ by Guillaume Vandame.

The exhibition does not have a specific set theme and artworks are selected based on their own merit and their suitability (in terms of material, scale and style) to the urban context.

The Arts Advisory Group is sensitive to the current cultural concerns as well as the wider social and political context in which the exhibition is shown. There is a desire from the Arts Advisory Group to address issues including gender and equality issues, freedom, democracy and representation, belonging and climate concerns.

The project is sited in the public realm and seen by close to 500,000 visitors every year.

There are many potential sites in the area of varying size and conditions. The scale of the surrounding tall buildings calls for large scale works which have been shown very successfully to date. The prevalence of shiny monochrome buildings provide an ideal context for bold colour work. In addition, there are sites, such as the churchyards, which make ideal sites for smaller works. Over the years we have also hung works in Leadenhall Market, in trees, in alleyways, across lampposts, on the Lloyd’s building and on the Cheesegrater. The scope of the project, and the urban context, allows for sculpture to be showcased in the most contemporary fashion.

Weight and installation ease are often a defining factor as not many of the spaces have large weight loading capacity and in some cases sites identified prove inaccessible.

How to submit work for consideration

Submissions have to be made online via CuratorSpace and should include, among other elements, photos, bio of the artist, information about the work proposed (inc. dimensions, weight and media) as well as confirmation that the work can be installed outdoors and an estimated cost of installation and crate storage.

We encourage artists considering submitting work to visit the current exhibition to experience the project’s dynamic urban context, as well as looking at past editions on the website.