Public art piece being commissioned in Offaly

Offaly County Council is currently working to award a commission for a public art piece for Esker Arts, Tullamore, working in collaboration with Lough Boora Sculpture Park

The commission seeks professional artist or arts teams, to consider both sites and to develop a proposal that will have an iteration, whatever form that takes, in Esker Arts, and potentially Lough Boora Sculpture Park – the work will form part of the collection for Esker Arts.

The council is not seeking to site a permanent sculptural work within the Lough Boora Sculpture Park.

The overall budget for the project is €20,000 inclusive of all costs. The project will be managed by the Arts Office of Offaly County Council. The Per Cent for Art Scheme is made available through capital funding for Esker Arts, by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

The council said the successful proposal will demonstrate how the artist or artists will work collaboratively with communities of both Esker Arts and Lough Boora Sculpture Park.

Offaly County Council is looking for an imaginative project that demonstrates an innovative approach, enabling creative dialogue between stakeholders and communities, while representing best practice within the realm of public art practice. All art disciplines and practices including visual arts, dance, film, literature, music, theatre, digital arts, performance, live art, multimedia, video art, sound art, socially-engaged practice, participatory, research-based are eligible.

Engagement with stakeholders and community is a prerequisite and every effort should be made to involve communities as some aspect of the proposal.

It is expected the winner will be announced in late February, with the work to be completed by October.