Deadline: 16 April 2012.
Artists, arts and craftsmen, and affiliated groups are hereby invited to prequalify for the provision of art to the new Culture Quarter in Bodø, Norway.
Bodø is situated just north of the Arctic Circle. It is Northern Norway’s second largest city and is an important communication point for travellers and tourists, including to the famous Lofoten Islands. Both the city and the region have long cultural traditions, upholding and producing works and events of international note. Historically, they have been home to, amongst others, the Nobel laureate Knut Hamsun. Today the region is well known for Lofoten International Art Festival and the Nordland Music Festival, attracting the best of Norwegian and international artists and performers.
The Culture Quarter is focused around two buildings; a city library and a concert hall and theatre. The project is located in the heart of the city of Bodø, adjacent to the harbour promenade. The surrounding cityscape will also be upgraded. Together, and in conjunction with changes to the urban landscape and harbour frontage, the buildings will create a new cultural focus for Bodø. They will be ‘living rooms’ for the city. The buildings are designed by DRDH Architects, London, and will officially open in 2014.
The commissioned artworks will contribute to the Culture Quarter’s ambition to become a venue for exciting and challenging contemporary art and performance, across genres. The Art Committee looks for art that is deliberately located and situated in the Culture Quarter – art that references, in a critical and enquiring manner, Norway’s long tradition of cultural expression that relates to issues of place, landscape and nature.
The purpose of this prequalification round is to find artists who will participate in a closed competition alongside two directly invited artists, Mari Slaattelid (NO) and Mark Dion (US). The closed competition will take place during the summer of 2012. Applications from young or emerging artists are encouraged.
The project consists of four parts, situated across four sites: one outdoor in the main street and three inside the buildings. Artists will also be able to offer a reasoned and documented alternative proposal, in relation to these suggested placements. However, for this prequalification round, we request only a presentation document from interested artists and do not require concrete ideas or sketches for possible solutions to the project.
The total contract provided has a budget of NOK 3,200.000, and is intended to cover all expenses related to the art project; such as the production of the works, artist fee, etc. For the closed competition, there will in addition be an honorarium for the participating artists of NOK 50.000 each. More information about the project can be downloaded from http://www.koro.no/en/projects/competitions/bodo_culture_precinct/.
The presentation document can be a maximum of ten A4 pages. It should include a short statement of motivation, a CV, a statement of relevant expertise and documentation of previous projects. Applications should be collected and submitted digitally as one PDF-file (no larger than 10MB) to 2014.kulturkvartalet@gmail.com
Deadline on the 16 April 2012.
Public Art Norway – KORO is a specialized government body for public art and the country’s major producer of artworks. The planning, implementation and quality assurance of art projects form the core of KORO’s activities. KORO emphasizes diversity and innovation in its art production, which reaches a wide-ranging audience in cities and rural areas across the country. The artworks constitute Norway’s largest and highest-profiled art collection, which KORO strives to manage according to appropriate standards. Public information about KORO’s art projects and the development of a discourse in the field of public art are prioritized focus areas.
