Are you ready to bring a new project to life? Ready to make those bubbling ideas a reality? But, the problem is, you have absolutely no idea where to start…

Co-Director of Urban Wilderness, Isla Telford, knows a thing or two about commissioning new work and shares her ten top tips with Artsbank.

There are many reasons that your organisation might want to work with an artist to create something new. You might have a building or an outdoor space that you’d like to animate. A courtyard, a meeting room, a park.

There might be a social issue that you want to explore: climate change; racial inequality; disability access; mental health or something else. You might have an occasion you want to commemorate or celebrate: the opening of a new building; the launch of a programme; an important anniversary.

To help you with your commissioning ambitions, here are my 10 steps to commissioning new work:

1. Get ready to Collaborate!

Working with artists to create something new is incredibly exciting. Artists are likely to see things differently from how you might expect, be ready to take new ideas on board.

2. Check that you are ready – the paperwork

Before you start talking to artists or the community, check that you know what you need to get in place. Some things to think about include:

• Insurance – Public Liability Insurance and Employer’s Liability Insurance are both needed.

• Permissions – If you are working in a public space you are likely to need permission from the owner or manager of the land or building. Public spaces might need permission from the local authority. Playing music in a public venue might need a license. Performance – dance or music – will need a Temporary Event License from the Council. Be aware of what you need and how long it will take to get it.

• Time – If you want to develop new work with an artist you should allow enough time to recruit the right person and to develop the piece.

• Money – Artists are professionals. Advised day rates for artists are available through organisations that support or represent artists and might vary depending on an artists’ experience. (Artist’s Network for visual artists, Equity for theatre artists, Musicians Union for musician’s rates). An artist you work with is likely to be freelance, which means paid days cover all their unpaid time, and you might be surprised at what seem like high day rates. Make sure you know what is expected.

3. Decide – Direct Commission or Open Call?

Direct Commission:

You might have a really clear idea of what you want: a mural; a sculpture; a series of workshops working in a school that lead to a play – great! You might know an artist who does this well and is available for your schedule – excellent! I love it when I’m able to directly offer work to an artist that I respect.

Open Call:

Some of the reasons you might want to consider an Open Call are:

• You don’t know the right person yet

• You are open to new ideas

• You are trying working in a new way

The open call process might take around two to three months, so make sure you have enough time. It is time-consuming but worth it, I’ve met many fantastic artists through Open Call commissions.

4. Plan a brief

A clear brief will help an artist work confidently and writing it will help you understand what you are looking for. If you appoint directly, you can discuss the brief with the artist before you issue the contract. If you appoint through open call, the brief is likely to form part of the call out.

Include in the brief:

• The context – Why you want new art work. Where it is for. Is the input of a community important to you? Include any information that is essential: dates, location, and depending on the art form things like sizing or how the work will be shared.

• The brief – Are you looking to work with a visual artist, an audio artist, a dance artist? If you know, state it. Are you looking to commission work from an artist with a particular viewpoint – someone who identifies as D/deaf or disabled, or as belonging to a minority ethnic group?

• The budget – State if expenses for materials or travel are included. (Generally they are, but make sure the budget is properly costed to cover these)

• Timeframe – One month or six?

• Point of contact – Who will they work with?

• The selection process – If open call be transparent about how the application will be looked at and who will make the decision.

• Submission – closing dates, address and contacts.

• Contact names – for questions.

5. Find some money

The good news is in England you do not need to be an artist to apply to Arts Council England – you can be a community group, school, university, or even an individual. As long as you are paying artists you are eligible to apply.

The less good news is that the Arts Council only accept applications through their online portal. They have a really good telephone support service to help you through this process, but be prepared for it to take at least a month to complete an application. You will then have to wait a minimum of 6 weeks to hear if you have been successful.

6. Appoint!

Hooray! You got some money! The project can go ahead! If you are recruiting through open call you might want to review your brief, budget and timeline in case any thing has changed.

If you are directly commissioning an artist, you can give them a call and give them the good news!

Always confirm the working relationship with some formal written agreement. This could be a contract that includes the brief and the payment terms. It is common practice to give a portion of the fee up front for initial expenses and materials, and a portion on completion.

7. Let Go of your Expectations & Support the Process

So NOW the fun begins. Once your artist/s understand the brief you can let go a little bit. Artists have a variety of processes and it’s interesting to learn how different people work. The centre of any project is always the same: good relationships. If you can support without trying to control the outcome more than you need to, everyone will benefit. Be clear what support the artist might need – this might include introductions to community members, a history of the building, or they might want development meetings – and make an agreement about who will do what. Be clear where your role begins and ends.

8. Celebrate the Process

You can let people know that the work is going on while the artist is working. Social media is great for sharing images, or you can put out a press release to let The Sentinel or BBC Radio Stoke know and they might want to talk to you or the artist about the project. It can be a great way to talk about your organisation or your plans.

9. Share the results

Plan a launch, a celebration event, a sharing day, whatever is appropriate to engage people in the work. Enjoy!

10. Evaluate

This is also step 1 – 9. Make a note of everything you did –  what worked, what didn’t. Keep a track of what was spent and by whom. Keep a note of who saw the work, why they came. Ask for feedback – from your organisation, from the artist, from everyone. If you received funding to pay the artist your funder will be interested to find out what you did and what you learned. Evaluation is a valuable learning tool.

Written by

Isla Telford

Co-Director, Urban Wilderness

Isla Telford is an experienced arts producer with a strong track record of working with communities. Since 2018, she has been Co-Director of Urban Wilderness with Laurel Gallagher and Jenny Harper.