Public Art Commission for Westport Town

Date: 13-04-2021

Mayo County Council is delighted to announce a public art opportunity in Westport town. This commission is a unique opportunity for a professional artist(s) to collaborate with the local community of Tubber Hill, Westport and the surrounding area on a public art project.

Proposals are welcome from both individuals and collaborative artistic teams. This commission is open to all art forms including visual art, dance, film, literature, music, theatre, digital arts, performance, live art, multimedia, video art, sound art, socially engaged, participatory, research based etc.

Proposed outcomes can be ephemeral, temporary, or semi-permanent in nature. Mayo County Council are seeking innovative and imaginative proposals that will involve artist(s) working with the local community to coproduce/ co-design a public artwork / project that will be made available for wider audiences to experience.

Tubber Hill Housing Development was built in two phases in 2008 and 2016. The development is adjacent to the new primary care centre, the Railway Walk (Westport Greenway) and located at one of the highest points of the town with views of Croagh Patrick and the surrounding landscape. The housing development was designed to be immediately accessible to off road walking and cycling routes into the town centre schools, recreational facilities and the Quay area.

The development was built with sustainability in mind; maximising on solar heat and light gain and they are also well insulated. The Tubber Hill development represents a merging of the old and new as it is located close to the original streets of the planned 18th century estate town. Westport has a strong vibrant community, there is a great sense of civic pride and volunteerism with many different voluntary groups. The Westport community work together to continuously improve the local environment. The town has an active arts, heritage and cultural community.

This commission is part of Mayo County Council’s Public Art Programme, funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under the Per Cent for Art Scheme. The purpose of the percent for art scheme is to commission artists to create new work.
There will be an online information session for artists on the 28th April. Those interested can register by emailing Aoife O’Toole, Acting Public Art Coordinator on aotoole@mayococo.ie. The application deadline is the 31st May 2021 and the successful artists will be announced in June 2021.

Further information and submission details can be found in the artist’s brief available online here.