Rossall Beach Commission
Artists Brief
Sept 2015
We are looking for proposals from artists to create a temporary intervention in the Rossall Beach area of the Fylde coast in North West England, in the spring of 2016. The work will be commissioned by Rossall Beach Community Group, supported by LeftCoast.
What we are commissioning…
We would like to commission an artist to work on the development of a new piece of work within the unique location of Rossall Beach. At this stage we are not being prescriptive about what form we see this commission taking, we are looking for proposals across all mediums, from sound and visual art to performance and theatre. Ultimately what we want is something that engages the people that live here in a creative conservation and highlights the beach to both local people and those outside of the area. The work will seek to celebrate this unique area of coast, explore its creative potential, engage a new audience and take inspiration from the community group who looks after this stretch of coast line. Although temporary the work will create a legacy which can be built on through future projects. There are a number of narratives that could provide a lead, more details are outlined in section three.
The work could be something on the beach, something in the sea, a new way of exploring the area, it might be an event, or a month long intervention. It will definitely be temporary but we hope the benefits are far reaching and will inspire future creative work. At our disposal we have a wealth of local knowledge, a very active community group, support from the Leftcoast team and links to the local authority, Wyre Borough Council.
The area...
Rossall Beach is an area of the Fylde coast located on the boundaries between Cleveleys and Fleetwood. The beach is a sand and shingle/pebble beach above the high water line, unique in that it always has a dry section of beach.
It is also unusual and popular with visitors in that there is a long line of parking spaces facing the beach directly with uninterrupted views, whatever the weather this has potential for an 'audience' who can keep warm and dry.
As described by Visit Cleveleys...
These sea defences are considered to be the most stable of the Wyre coastline, and as such they aren’t in line to be replaced in the near future. The beach is banked up, with pebbles and shingle forming a natural sea defence that saps the energy out of the incoming waves. As the coastline gently curves inwards, the very high top sections of the beach stay dry at high tide in all but the worst of the high tides.
The beach material is graded with the biggest of the pebbles in the high reaches of beach, filtering down to smaller ones as you approach the golden sand that lays beyond. At a glance it looks like quite an inhospitable environment, but it's actually a rich resource for wildlife, and supports many sea birds all through the year.
The beach here gets lots of flotsam and jetsam washed up by the tide, although very little rubbish is actually deposited by visitors, and a number of interesting things can be found here, particularly after a high tide and strong winds
What the community group say…
The Rossall Beach Community group have used their knowledge of the area to identify three elements that could form the inspiration for this work:
Memorials – many people use the beach as a place to remember people and mark a special life.
Myths and stories – there are many stories about this stretch of coast, one of which includes a sunken village just off Rossall, a ghost that watches for her husbands return and the Rossall hoard.
Sound – the sound of the sea is a very powerful experience which dominates the area.
Stuff – the things that are found there and have come from unknown places.
Alongside this the group have made a list of ten things that make the area and the group special which might help you find a line of enquiry to pursue:
- Community/ friendship – being part of a group
- Light and space (sun sets)
- Sea – therapeutic, makes you feel young
- Pride of place and sense of pride
- Public appreciation
- Sense of peace – uplifting
- Access – very accessible beach
- Wildlife
- Other groups – kite surfers/ fishing/ canoes/ dog walkers/ families/ horses
- Wanting to achieve something
The process...
We are inviting proposals from interested artists who feel that their practice fits with our aims and objectives. We would like to see:
- Information about your practice
- Three examples of previous work that you feel are relevant to this brief
- Why you are interested in this opportunity
- How you feel your practice would fit with the brief
- How you would envisage working with the Rossall Beach Community Group
(Please limit your responses to 500 words maximum for each section)
From this initial call out we will interview 5 artist and then invite a short-list of three artists who we will invite to the area to work up a detailed proposal (there will be a fee for each of these artists).
Please send your applications to researchingrossall@gmail.com by 5pm on the 16th Oct.
Budget...
The total budget for the lead commission is £16,200. This will need to include all artist fees, travel, materials, and infrastructure. There is a separate budget for marketing and communications.
More information...
About Rossall Beach Community Group...
The Rossall Beach Community Group aim to:
Educate the public and secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of features of natural history, and of historic and public interest in Rossall Beach
Advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of the area of benefit by whatever the charitable means the trustees think fit.
About LeftCoast...
LeftCoast is a programme of arts and creative activity happening across Blackpool and Wyre. They are all about creating amazing art on your doorstep. From jaw-dropping spectacle to intimate experinces in your neighbourhood, they want to make art happen. In the process they hope to inspire and support creatives who live, work and study here.
LeftCoast has been brought together by a local partnership of organisations including Blackpool Coastal Housing, Blackpool Council, Wyre Council, Blackpool Grand Theatre and Merlin Entertainments. We’re funded by Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places Programme.
Find out more about Creative People and Places at www.creativepeopleplaces.org.uk
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