Art project at the Flaxmill Maltings

The Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings are calling on artists to take part in a project to decorate the fencing around the Car Park at the site with original commissioned art works. 

The Main Mill and adjacent Kiln are presently undergoing four years of renovation and development during which time a significant part of the site is closed to public view. In order to ensure that the local community and visitors retain and develop a positive attitude towards the site, the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings wish to commission six pieces of art which will be printed as large panels to display initially on the fencing surrounding the car park and eventually as an integral part of the site itself. An additional panel will serve as interpretation for this art project and activity. 

The vision for the project is two-fold, as it is envisaged that along with providing a number of striking focal art pieces displayed on the fencing, the artists commissioned will work alongside school and community organizations to design and create the works.

In their submission for this project, artists must present a vision and expertise in their chosen medium to facilitate creating the final displays through which both individual and community acknowledgment can be achieved.

The theme is for artwork is “Innovation, renovation and revolution”. This can be expressed through either abstract or literal representation, drawing on this unique and exciting heritage site and the numerous stories derived from it.

The final pieces will be printed for display onto lightweight matte aluminum panels at 2.4m x 1.2m (8’ x 4’). This opens up a variety of art mediums for the commission to include conventional 2D and 3D pieces, photography and digital artwork. The only stipulation being that the final pieces are clearly understood where narrative is involved, or striking if in the abstract, and that they depict the heritage site, its interpretation or stories.

The budget for the creation of each piece will be £2,000, which should be allocated by Artists to materials and time, both for facilitating and creating the commissions.

Any artists interested in knowing more about this project, and applying to take part, should download the full artists brief as a PDF here 

or contact the Friends on [email protected] using 'Artists brief' as the subject line.