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Arts Council England and London 2012 today announced the shortlist for Artists taking the lead, one of the most ambitious and wide ranging art commissions in the UK, part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Five artists have been successfully short listed for the North West commission, with projects ranging from a sculpture in cloud for the Mersey skyline to the largest ever celebration of language in the arts. The artists and proposals are:

• Tony Trehy: The Language Moment

Building on the ideas behind the international Text Festival in Bury, Tony Trehy proposes to develop an international language festival featuring many of the world’s leading poets, sound and media artists. Held in Manchester in 2012, The Language Moment would be the largest ever celebration and dialogue of language in the arts. The festival would establish the North West of England as a global centre for linguistic art and poetry practice supported by an enhanced capacity to publish, produce and drive the continuing international dialogue.

Location: Manchester

• Ben Long: Brass Bandstand

Ben Long proposes to rework the archetypal bandstand by constructing it entirely from highly burnished brass, creating a monument to this iconic and municipal British structure that was once at the heart of civic life. On approach, the viewer will be confronted by many dazzling surface reflections; infinite mirroring between the floor and ceiling and reflections caused by the bandstand’s immediate environment. Brass Bandstand will be a fully usable piece of architecture as well as a sculptural object, staging live music and performances to audiences which will inspire people to actively participate in cultural celebration.

Location: North West

• Soup Collective: Transmissions

Transmissions proposes to stage a spectacular live event that will plot the course from the maritime beginnings of radio transmission through to the nationwide shutdown of analogue television signals and the advent of our ever-widening digital existence. Live performance, choreography, film, animation and archive material will tell this story, utilising holographics and immersive cinema using the unique waterfront skyline adjacent to MediaCity as an evolving backdrop. A programme of participatory work with local communities and artists will support the project, creating the development of a living archive that will leave a lasting legacy. This collaborative project will combine Soup Collective's history of film-work and live visual projects in collaboration with The Lowry, Imperial War Museum North, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, MediaCityUK and the University of Salford.

Location: Salford Quays

• Anthony McCall: Projected Column
  Projected Column is a slender, sinuous, spinning column of cloud rising into the sky from the surface of the water in the Liverpool Docklands. Extending vertically as far as the eye can see, and visible on a clear day from 20 km away, the column will disappear and re-appear in slow, structured sequences, exploiting the tension between its ephemerality and its monumental scale. A sculptural landmark based on pure energy, Projected Column echoes the dynamism of a city that has recently undergone major cultural and economic development as Capital of Culture in 2008. The project will be produced by FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) and Liverpool Biennial.

Location: Liverpool Docklands

• Kully Thiarai/Philip Osment: Requiem for Change

Kully Thiarai and Philip Osment propose to make an epic visual narrative to tell a universal story for our time combining elements of opera, Greek tragedy, gospel music, quawalis, choral singing and dialogue. Requiem for Change asks the audience to lay to rest visions of youth as dangerous and out of control. A haunting and uplifting piece that breathes life into a new vision: a world where the young are cherished rather than demonised, saluted rather than stigmatised, respected, seen and heard.

Location: North West

Artists were challenged to submit their ideas for twelve national commissions between 19 March and 29 May 2009, in which time a total of 2163 submissions were received from across the country. Independent panels of artists and producers in each nation and region then judged each of the applications and arrived at their shortlist.

The panel for the North West region comprises of:

· Stephen Snoddy - Director of The New Art Gallery, Walsall

· Sally Lai - Chief Executive of The Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester

· Naomi Kashiwagi - Regional artist recently awarded the Best of Manchester 2008 and Arts Council England art08 Individual Artist Awards

· Geoff Wood - Director of Working pArts Ltd public art consultancy

· Benji Reid - Dancer and Artistic Director of Manchester based hip hop theatre company Breaking Cycles

· Tanya Bryan - Visual Arts Officer: Design & Public Realm and London 2012 Lead Officer for Arts Council England, North West

· Debbi Lander - Northwest Creative Programmer for London 2012

Each of the short listed North West artists will now be eligible to receive a development grant of up to £5,000 to turn their initial proposals into comprehensive plan. They will present these to the artist panels in late September, who will then decide the final twelve commissions which will finally be announced in October 2009.

The twelve successful commissions will be developed across 2010 and 2011 in close collaboration and engagement with local communities. All twelve will take part in a final unifying celebration, prior to the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Aileen McEvoy, Interim Executive Director, Arts Council England, North West said: ‘It’s been a really tough job for our panel to choose a few of the many exceptional ideas that were submitted, but I’m wowed by the shortlist we’ve arrived at. I hope people will get involved with the projects and tell us what they think of them at www.artiststakingthelead.org.uk’

London 2012 Chairman Sebastian Coe commented: ‘I’m thrilled with the calibre of this shortlist. We want the Cultural Olympiad to bring art and sport together, inspiring and unlocking creativity and talent all round the country, and these projects do exactly that.’

Barbara Follett, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism said: ‘This remarkable shortlist shows the depth of artistic talent we have in the United Kingdom and how many people have been inspired to make their mark for London 2012. Through Artists Taking the Lead, every part of the country will get a new and exciting artwork which combines the sporting and cultural spirit of the 2012 Games.’

For further information see www.artiststakingthelead.org.uk

Ends

 

Notes to Editors:

Artists taking the lead is one of the major projects of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Arts Council England is managing the project on behalf of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Scottish Arts Council and the Arts Council of Wales.

Twelve commissions will be awarded, one in each of the English regions, and the Nations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The value of the commissions awarded to the chosen artists will be:
Nine English regions £500,000 each
Northern Ireland £190,000 (Lottery funded)
Scotland £460,000 (Lottery funded)
Wales £230,000 (Lottery funded)

The shortlist of 60 projects was selected by independent panels of artists in each nation and region with a range of experience in commissioning major arts events. They judged the submissions based on the quality of the ideas and how they met the four core aims:
• Ideas that are original and led by artists
• Ideas that reflect or are inspired by the location in which they will take shape
• Ideas that show a legacy for communities and artists beyond 2012
• Ideas that celebrate London 2012 and reflect the values of the Cultural Olympiad

For further information see http://www.artiststakingthelead.org.uk

Press contacts
For press information please contact: Stephen Baker, 0161 827 9239, stephen.baker@artsscouncil.org.uk, Neil Morrin, 0161 827 9256, neil.morrin@artsscouncil.org.uk or Lucinda Roberts, 07971 167531, lucinda.roberts@virgin.net

For press information on London 2012 please contact Joanna Manning-Cooper at LOCOG, 0203 2012 106 or jmc@london2012.com

About the Cultural Olympiad
The Cultural Olympiad is a national celebration of culture which is happening now and is about:
• Giving everyone in the country a chance to be part of London 2012
• Putting culture at the heart of the Olympic Games, in a way and on a scale which has never been done before
• Using the power of the Olympic Games to inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially amongst young people.
• Making a real impact which will leave a lasting legacy well beyond 2012

 

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Arts Council England

Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives.

As the national development agency for the arts, we support a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, and carnival to crafts.

Great art inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves, and the world around us. In short, it makes life better.

Between 2008 and 2011, we will invest £1.3 billion of public money from government and a further £0.3 billion from the National Lottery to create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country.