Call for artists
Estuary Festival - Castle Point Guide
Application Deadline: Midnight on Friday 6 December
Commission Budget: £3,000 Artist Fee + £2,000 Production / Print (including VAT)
Commission Brief
We are looking for an artist / artist collective to create a new, innovative, fun, engaging, family-friendly guide to Castle Point in South Essex, working with local young people and community groups. This guide will highlight activities in Castle Point across Spring/Summer 2025 and beyond, and will be published both online and in print at the end of March 2025.
The guide will include:
1) A set of new self-guided walks and local activities that are suitable for family audiences (parents/carers, grandparents, and appealing directly to young people themselves). We will invite local organisations to propose their events and activities to include in the guide - this could be a new event or a regular programme. The project will be an opportunity to bring together what’s already on offer in the Borough, including open green spaces and leisure / recreation services, and also to connect various groups and organisations to enable future collaborations.
2) Activities to engage with and explore new public art commissions in the Borough created for the Estuary 2025 festival. The artist producing the guide will work alongside artists commissioned for the festival to respond to the Estuary themes which include: local history and nature, nature and biodiversity, connecting with water, wind power, growing up and being confident.
The artist will work with local students and young people through youth groups, community settings, secondary schools, and during public workshops. Young people will be asked to consider the local history and landscape, discuss their favourite places and interests, and help them design walks and activities alongside these walks, around specific themes.
The new walks will be further activated during the Estuary 2025 festival (21-29 June 2025) when the participants will be invited to lead on the walks as volunteers.
By getting young people actively involved with the planning, this project aims to nurture and train future local creative and community leaders, by allowing young people to gain confidence and civic responsibility as well as further connect them with the local area.
Distribution
The guide will be printed and distributed via local schools, groups, libraries and venues, and shared online in its digital form.
We are also interested to explore how the walks can be additionally accessible online via a digital trail interface - this could be using google maps or another free-to-use online platform to be accessible beyond March 2025.
The production of the guide will look at sourcing carbon neutral printing and renewable sources for paper. We will also look towards carbon neutral digital activities.
About Estuary Festival
Estuary Festival is an arts organisation that has been working in Castle Point since 2021, working closely with community groups, organising community events and working with a range of local partners.
The next edition of Estuary Festival will take place between 21-29 June 2025 - for more information, see estuaryfestival.com. Estuary 2025 explores the theme of Vessels through an ambitious programme of participatory contemporary arts activities alongside South Essex and North Kent coastlines.
For this commission we will support the commissioned artist to engage a diverse range of young people and businesses to ensure that a multitude of voices and perspectives are reflected. This will include groups that are not usually involved in these types of local initiatives, for example:
Commission objectives
This commission needs to consider the following project objectives as set out by the programme funders, and linked to Castle Point Borough Council Corporate Plan:
Productivity: the project will attract families to use and visit businesses based in Castle Point linking to tourism ambitions for the borough. Many local community organisations, businesses and groups expressed an interest to be connected to Estuary 2025 festival and benefit from additional help promoting their activities
Business growth: the project will promote family-friendly businesses based in the borough. There is a need for a coordinated approach to promote activities attractive to local residents and those from further afield, to improve perception and pride in local provision of activities.
Skills: the project will develop new skills by working with local young people. There is a lack of young people involved in local community initiatives, with local voluntary groups reliant on an older generation of volunteers and lacking input from younger residents.
Community: the project will help develop a sense of community pride and family wellbeing – including free and affordable activities for local families.
Health and wellbeing: the project will promote walking routes and ways to interact with the natural environment of Castle Point.
Infrastructure: the project’s guide will create a lasting legacy with the opportunity for it to reach a larger regional/national/international audience during the Estuary 2025 festival in June 2025.
Timeline
Deadline: Midnight on Fri 6 December
Shortlisted artists notified: Tue 10 December 2024
Shortlisted artists online interviews: Thu 12 Dec (alternative dates available upon request)
Selected artist notified: Fri 13 December
Commission starts: 16 December
Guide printed and distributed: Mid-March
Commission ends: 31 March 2025
Budget
Artists Commission Fee £3,000 including VAT
Guide Design, digital and print production and distribution £2,000 including VAT
How to apply
Please apply HERE by midnight on 6 December.
We also accept video applications - you can record your answers instead and send them to us on [email protected].
Feedback can be provided upon request to both shortlisted and not shortlisted applicants.
If you require any access support, or have any other questions related to your application, please get in touch with us on [email protected].
This commission is supported by the Castle Point Borough Council UKSPF Community Grant Programme, Arts Council England and the National Highways.
You can download this call out as a word document here.
