Public Art Commissions
CORRIB DRIVE /. RIVERWALK , SHANNON, CO.CLARE
Through an urban renewal scheme, Clare County Council wish to commission an artwork from a professional artist which will augment the development of the Riverwalk in Shannon at Corrib Drive, one of the more mature housing estates in the town.
Shannon
Shannon is Clare's newest town. It is also an important industrial location
and the site of the world's first duty free airport. The history of the area
is as old as that of most other parts of the county. However, in no other
place have the changes been so profound and so sudden. The change from flat
marshy ground populated mainly by snipes and hares to the present hub of
international travel and trade has taken less than 45 years.
Early man in Ireland would have travelled mainly by water and along the edges
of rivers, and would have lived close to these routes due to the heavy forestation.
The townlands now occupied by the Shannon complex, are all easily accessible
from the river and must have been relatively highly populated from earliest
times. Tradition has it that it was the Vikings who built the first river banks
in the area, thus salvaging much of the land now occupied by Shannon.
During some early work at the airport in 1941 an ancient roadway had to be
destroyed, but an English sixpence of Elizabeth I dated 1586 was found. In
1959 during construction work on the main jet runway, two forts were excavated
which yielded evidence of habitation during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
Urban Renewal Scheme
Clare
County Council is upgrading the location of Corrib Drive to Riverwalk in
Shannon as part of
an urban renewal scheme. This location is primarily residential
in nature, situated in a mature housing development and adjacent to St. Senan’s
N.S. school and Mary Immaculate Church. The front of Corrib Drive is clearly
visible from the main airport route. The commissioned piece will take place
amongst other ancillary works in the area, new paving and landscaping. This
work will take place under the Urban and Village Renewal under the National
Development Plan and is co funded by the EU.
Context for the Commission
Shannon is a vibrant town with a young and rapidly growing population. Much
of the towns names (town lands, roads, estates etc.) refer to the local environment
and nature. Previous sculptures have encapsulated the environmental theme
and have been designed with the young population in mind.
To this end, the council are interested in proposals from professional visual artists to submit proposals that are attractive to young people, deal with elements of the local wildlife / lagoon / estuary and that will make the river walk a more attractive place for local people. Projects which involve community participation and / or include working with the local school are welcome.
Artists should submit
a) proposed ideas / sketches and or
b) maquettes
which are sympathetic in scale and theme to the revitalisation of this area.
Specifications
Budget
The budget for this project is €25,000.
This includes second stage artist fees if the commissioning body deems it necessary
to seek further information from artists.
It also includes artist’s fees, documentation costs, travel, materials,
transport, design, fabrication, installation costs, lighting, signage, insurance
and VAT.
Artwork Specifications
Artworks in all media will be considered. Consideration will be given to maintenance
and durability of proposed materials.
Timescale
The artwork must be in place by September 30th, 2006 at the latest. Artists
should indicate a proposed time scale for artwork.
Site Visit
A site visit to Shannon will take place on Friday, November 4th, 2005.
Artists should meet at the Lidl Carpark in Shannon at 10 am where the County Arts Officer and a representative from the planning section will be in attendance.
Please inform the Arts Office at 065-6846267 or email: arts@clarelibrary.ie if you wish to attend at the site visit.
Eligibility
Artists should be able to demonstrate a professional standard of arts practice.
Applications
All applications should be marked Corrib Drive RS and sent to The Arts Office,
County Library, Mill Road, Ennis, Co. Clare no later than Friday, November
18th, 2005.