Our Values, Our World: Artist Brief
We are seeking an outstanding public artist to work with our children on a whole-school sculpture project during October/November2014.
The Downley School
We are a large primary school serving a village community close to High Wycombe in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Staff and pupils work hard to maintain our Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ status. We pursue a values-based curriculum, through which each month we explore a different guiding principle such as Hope, Kindness, Equality or Courage, giving the children an ethical vocabulary and a basis for moral behaviour. Our school vision statement is ‘Learning, Growing and Succeeding Together’.
Our outdoor environment takes your breath away, with extensive views over the valley beyond our grounds and red kites constantly wheeling in the sky. Outdoor Learning is an important part of our curriculum, with a designated Outdoor Learning leader, systematic recording of activity and explicit staff targets. As well as our two large playgrounds, we have a huge grassed area, an outdoor classroom, a story telling area (with wooden toadstools to sit on), an adventure trail, a beautiful pond area and our very own woodland dell. Our four school teams are named after common local tree species: Ash, Oak, Beech and Sycamore.
The Project
In September 2014, a new national Curriculum is launched. This is an exciting time as the government has encouraged schools to develop their own currriculum which embeds the National Curriculum, but which also allows for an individualised curriculum. We have worked hard at The Downely School with all of our stakeholders (pupils, staff, governors and families) to identify the ‘drivers’ which we will use to create our new curriculum. We have shared the following statement with all of them, following evaluatiion of our surveys:
Where do we want to go?
• We all wish for every child to enjoy their learning, feel successful and confident, make good progress and develop more skills in creative thinking, independent learning and resilience
• Our curriculum needs to be values based and have a large emphasis on outdoor learning/the environment , the Arts (visual art, music, drama, dance), sports, ICT and knowledge of the world
• Visits and visitors motivate children and give meaningful experiences and opportunities for deep learning. We need lots of these!
Our lessons are going to be based on the Project Based Learning methodology and we plan to use the ‘TASC’ Wheel (http://tascwheel.com/) to encourage a more ‘child centred’ approach. In the summer term, we piloted a project in every year group – with great success! Please see the website for showcases - http://www.downley.bucks.sch.uk/page/?title=Learning+in+Year+Groups&pid=40
From September onwards, we need to be underpinning lessons/projects with opportunities to learn about our local history, geology, wildlife and conservation. We also want pupils to learn about how public art can contribute to local distinctiveness. We want our pupils to commission a sculpture for our school entrance, leading the entire process of selecting an artist and working with an artist to co-design and co-create a permanent public art work.
Proposed site for sculpture
We envisage a process of creative outdoor learning, with children working alongside a professional artist to explore how the sculpture might reflect our inner and outer worlds – the values that guide our behaviour, and the way in which we care for the land as a consequence of these values. We want our children to learn specific new skills and knowledge about how public art is made, thinking about how to respond artfully and sensitively to a location, and also to make explicit connections between the values we discuss in school and the impact of our actions in the wider community around us.
Although the final design of the artwork will be decided by the children and the artist, a suggestion favoured by many is to incorporate a tree form in some way – as a symbol of our four teams, of growing together, of the values that give us roots, of the natural world around us that we care for. But more important than the final product is the process of getting there – how the children will grow in terms of their skills, knowledge and deeper understanding. With this in mind, we will need to find an excellent artist with sound expertise in facilitating creativity in others, experience of making public art and solid technical art skills they can share with our children.
Artist Specification: skills and experience required
· Excellent at working in partnership with primary aged children and teachers
· Experience of producing high quality 3D public art
· Able to engage with our values and ethos
Indicative Budget
Item / Details / Amount (£)Artists fees – contact time with children / 14 – 21 days @ £250 per day / £3,500 – 5,250
Artist fees – preparation, planning, independent making, installation, launch event, evaluation / 7 days @ £250 per day / £1,750
Materials / Maximum / £2,000
Total budget / £9,000
We appreciate that this is a tight budget for a project with high expectations of participation and a permanent outdoor outcome: the successful candidate will be happy to go the extra mile to complete the project to a high standard within our budget.
Timetable
Friday 12th September 2014 Deadline for expressions of interest
w/c 22nd September 2014 Interviews at The Downley School
w/c 6th October 2014 Project planning days
20th Oct – 7th Nov PROJECT (2 weeks in school, half term week in between)
14th November 2014 Deadline for installation of sculpture and launch event
Response Instructions
To register your interest, please email
by 9am on Friday 12th September 2014.
A visit to the school before expression of interest is submitted is very much encouraged.
You should include:
· CV / Biography showing experience of public art and participation
· Links to images of your work
· No more than 1 side of A4 explaining your interest in this project and how you would approach it
Thank you for your interest in this commission.
Mrs Sue Webb
(Headteacher)