Introduction
Wakefield Council Museum
Service has been successful in securing funding from Arts Council England for a
project to commission an artist or cultural organisation to create an open
display in Wakefield Museum’s Learning Zone. This display will contain objects
from the museums extensive handling collection and will be co-curated in
partnership with people who have not visited Wakefield Museum before.
We are looking for an
artist to use our handling collections as inspiration to create a beautifully
engaging display that incorporates the potential for visitors to interact with
the display. Combining artistic practice, be it sculpture or multi-media or
painting, with museum objects to wow, thrill and surprise our visitors. Take this opportunity to amaze us with ideas
that allow people to engage with museum collections in a different way.
Wakefield Council’s museum handling collection
Wakefield Council holds
over 110,000 historic objects, which tell the stories of the people, places,
events and activities of the residents of and visitors to the Wakefield
District, from prehistoric times to the present day. Part of the collection (around 4000 objects)
is designated as a ‘handling collection’.
This has objects as diverse as a lion’s skull, a Victorian mouse trap,
wind-up toys, household equipment and roman oil lamps.
Co-curation
The successful project
will work to co-curate the display with people who have not visited Wakefield
Museum before, bearing in mind the diverse nature of the Wakefield District and
those people who may face barriers accessing the museum. It will be the
responsibility of the selected artists / organisation to identify, recruit and
liaise with this group of people.
The Learning Zone is situated in Wakefield Library, in
Wakefield One. It is used by the Museums
learning team to deliver learning sessions to a wide range of audiences. The display will be placed by the glass wall
linking the Learning Zone to the library so needs to be viewable from both
sides, acting as a partial screen, and accessed from within the Learning Zone. We expect the installation to project into the
room no more than about 0.5m. An image of the space can be provided upon request.
Display Area: Learning Zone Windows |
Project timetable:
Display to open by the end of June 2017.
Project budget: up to £2500
This budget covers fee
and delivery of the following:
- Object selection (in conjunction with museum staff)
- The formation and construction of a visually interesting display using the selected museum objects (to include display materials)
- Recruitment of and sessions working with your selected group
- Graphic interpretation explaining the installation (text writing, proof reading, image selection and sourcing, graphic design and production)
- Text and image selection for marketing material (marketing material will be created by Wakefield Council)
- Regular updates of progress
- Installation of display, staff briefing.
Object selection, text content,
graphic design and display techniques to be signed off by Wakefield Council
museum team.
Please note that in the
interest of conservation you cannot:
- Dismantle objects without agreement
- Use non-conservation grade adhesives and fixings
How to apply:
If you are interested in
submitting a proposal please provide the following information:
- An outline of your idea, including what group of people you will be working with and how you will recruit them to the project.
- A breakdown of budget (including a clear indication of your fee).
- A delivery timeline, featuring key dates for object selection, text writing, graphic design, production and installation.
- An explanation as to how you would ensure the safe and appropriate display of the museum objects.
Email to by 5pm on Friday 17 February
If you require further information about the project please contact Maya Harrison, MayaHarrison@wakefield.gov.uk, 01924 305350.
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