Bus Art Year of the Bus Sculpture Trail Artist Pack
Dear Artist, The Year of the Bus - a landmark celebration in the history of London Transport During 2014, we are marking a number of significant milestones for the bus industry through a series of events, activities and exhibitions which will re-connect Londoners with their bus network and highlight the role that London buses play in keeping the city moving 24 hours a day throughout the year. As part of the Year of the Bus celebrations, we are bringing the iconic London bus to the streets of the city in a series of one-off public art sculpture trails. Inspired by the New Routemaster bus designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the aim is to commission 60 painted and adorned bus sculptures that will be displayed in free and accessible locations across London s streets, parks and public spaces from September to November. Following the event, the artworks will be auctioned to raise invaluable funds for three charities; Kids Company, Transaid and London Transport Museum. We are delighted to be working in partnership with leading creative producers Wild in Art, whose spectacular, mass-appeal public art events bring together business and creative sectors with schools and local communities through the creation of citywide trails of uniquely painted sculptures. Since 2008, Wild in Art has delivered over 26 events including: London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Mascot trails; Gromit Unleashed in Bristol working with Aardman Animations and Wallace & Gromit s Grand Appeal; Go Superlambananas for Liverpool Capital of Culture 08; Mali in the City as part of Melbourne Zoo s 150th anniversary celebrations; and raised over 5m for charity partners. We are inviting design submissions in any art form, from traditional to new media, fine art to illustrations and mosaic. Whatever the art form, we are keen to add drama, fun and a creative flourish to the Year of the Bus Sculpture Trail. If you are commissioned, you will receive an honorarium of 900 upon completion of your artwork. With your involvement, we look forward to presenting a creative showcase which will engage and inspire the public through the enjoyment of art and creativity, raise awareness of the role of the bus and support three charities; Kids Company, Transaid and London Transport Museum. We look forward to receiving your designs. Simon Buxton Year of the Bus Team Transport for London
How to get involved? Whether you are a professional or aspiring artist, we welcome your design submissions. There are two ways you can get involved. You can: 1. Submit a design for one of the buses 2. Take a private sector commission from a business or organisation Please see the Artist Submission Form to indicate your preferences. Timeline and Fee 25 June: Closing date for artist submissions 09 July: Presentation of designs to sponsors and commissioners 14 July: Artists commissioned July - August: Buses created painting space available September - November: Buses displayed across London November: Charity Auction If your design is selected, an honorarium of 900 will be paid once your artwork has been completed. You will be acknowledged as the artist on a plaque attached to the concrete base of the bus and, where appropriate, in any Year of the Bus Sculpture Trail collateral including the official trail map, auction catalogue and event website. The Bus The Thomas Heatherwick designed New Routemaster bus creates an iconic canvas, a piece of cutting edge contemporary design, which is ready to be transformed and embellished showcasing the best in British art and design. The bus is a challenging and exciting canvas; already famous for its asymmetrical geometry, use of diagonal glass to enhance light and vision, its curves and flowing lines. Artists are encouraged to create work that highlights and showcases this unique style, while still using the form of the bus for their own self expression. Each bus sculpture is supplied white, primed and ready to receive its design (please see photographic images highlighted as an appendix in the Application Form). As shown in the artist s template the sculpture has a unifying pennant of traditional bus red colour on the front face elevation which is to be retained as part of all design submissions. The wheels of the bus are also to be delineated as a solid black colour. The paint for these elements will be supplied with each model along with the varnish top coat.
Sculpture Specification The buses are manufactured using a mixture of Class I fire retardant laminating resin and chopped roving fibreglass over an initial brushed-on layer of polyester gel coat. Each bus is finished with a primer and is ready to paint. Weight: 65kg Measurements: 246cm long x 51cm wide x 90cm high Bus Design Process When planning your design, please consider the following: 1. You may submit up to three designs but please be aware that, other than in exceptional circumstances, no more than two will be commissioned. 2. We will require you to sign our standard copyright agreement, included in the Artist Submission Form for each design you submit. 3. When planning your designs, due to the size and proportions of the bus sculpture you may find it helpful to enlarge our templates to A3 or above, giving you more space to create the detail of your design, however please submit your final designs at the A4 template size supplied. If using email, either jpg or pdf format is acceptable with individual file sizes of no more than 2MG @72dpi. Please ensure each individual submission is saved as; ArtistName_01, ArtistName_02 etc. Please also bear in mind that the designs should be appropriate for public display and that the audience will be broad-based and of all ages. Designs that are overtly religious, political or sexual in nature and graffiti-style will not be accepted. Additionally neither corporate logos nor advertising is allowed. 4. The Year of the Bus Sculpture Trail is an interactive event so please keep in mind your sculpture will be repeatedly touched by the public. Artists may attach items to the sculpture but unless secured very robustly, it is likely that they will be removed in a very short space of time. 5. Artists may alter the basic sculpture shape but if doing so, must ensure the finished work remains structurally intact. It is recommended that only artists experienced in working with fibreglass submit designs that use this process. 6. While it is strongly discouraged, occasionally members of the public will sit on the sculptures and therefore any attachments must be able to support the weight of an adult. 7. Transport for London will provide a painting space in London for you to create your bus. Should you wish to paint your sculpture in your own studio you will be responsible for collecting and returning it to the painting space.
8. While we welcome a range of art forms, experience has taught us that collage and/or sticking paper or paper based products onto the sculpture is not as effective as painting or mosaics. Please consider this before submitting your design. 9. When placed on the streets, each sculpture is bolted to a concrete base using fixings attached to the bottom of the bus. Artists are requested to keep the bottom of the bus clear of any attachments. 10. Artist materials are not provided. The use of acrylic paints is recommended although artificial resin paint or two-component paint can also be used to paint or spray a design. To complete your sculpture, it must be finished with a single coat of waterproof non-yellowing varnish provided by Wild in Art. Successful artists will be issued with more detailed painting guidelines on commission of their sculpture. 11. Artists will not be responsible for placing their sculpture on the streets or collecting them at the end of the event. We do, however, ask artists to be available during and after the event for any touch-up work that maybe required. If an artist is unavailable another artist will carry out this work. What Next? Please complete and sign the Artist Submission Form and send it to: Candida Boyes Artist Co-ordinator Wild in Art Warmbrook Barn Thornell Close Chapel-en-le-Frith SK23 0NR Postal submissions must include the original and two copies of each design you submit. Email submissions (individual pdf or jpeg files saved as ArtistName_01, ArtistName_02 etc and no larger than 2MB at 72dpi) should be sent to artists@wildinart.co.uk You may submit other examples of your work but please restrict them to no more than A4 in size. Wild in Art is unable to return any materials submitted. The closing date for submissions is 25 June 2014 Any Questions? Please contact artists@wildinart.co.uk if you have any questions. For all non-artist related queries regarding the Year of the Bus Sculpture Trail please contact sally-ann@wildinart.co.uk. More information will be available at www.wildinart.co.uk Wild in Art Ltd 2013. Any use, reproduction, or distribution of this publication is strictly forbidden without the express written consent of Wild in Art Ltd.