Artists Invited to Submit Proposals for Projected Artwork for Island City

5th July 2023

Cork City Council is calling on artists to submit proposals for a new large-scale, time-based artwork that will be projection mapped onto Triskel Christchurch on South Main Street in Cork city. This artwork will be one of a series of five new works that together form Island City - Cork’s Urban Sculpture Trail. The sculptures are part of a unique cultural trail for locals and visitors intended to enhance the city centre by providing an experience that is arresting, intriguing and playful whilst illuminating the city’s unique heritage.

The first of the five sculptures, Sentinels [flew through the ages in the shape of birds], by Irish artist Niamh McCann was unveiled on Carey’s Lane last week with the other three to be installed over the coming months on the Exchange Building on Princes Street, Cook Street, and The Coal Quay. The projected artwork on Triskel Christchurch will be the fifth and final sculpture and will be unveiled later in the year.

The new artwork for Triskel Christchurch will be a large-scale, digitally mapped, moving image artwork projected onto the South Main Street façade of the 300 year old Georgian building. Artists have creative freedom to choose their own theme or concept but the artwork should be

artistically ambitious and aesthetically compelling, contribute to the animation of the urban realm and should complement the unique location. The moving visuals  projection (no sound) should be 10 minutes long with the ability to be looped. 

The artwork will be projected each evening from dusk for a period of up to eight months a year, for a minimum of 1 year, and up to 5 years comprising the full duration of Island City - Cork’s Urban Sculpture Trail. The budget available to the successful artist for this commission is up to a maximum of €40,000. The projection equipment will be provided by Cork City Council and is separate from the commission budget. This is a single stage open call process. 

Michelle Carew, Arts Officer, Cork City Council, “This is a very exciting project both for artists and for the city. The Triskel Christchurch is an iconic building and important cultural venue in the city and we can’t wait to see it brought to life in a new dimension with this projected artwork. As part of Island City - Cork’s Urban Sculpture Trail, we hope that it will encourage locals and visitors to explore new areas of the city as they discover the new artworks.”

Important dates to note: 

• Register for the site visit by Wednesday 12th July by emailing emma_devery@corkcity.ie 
• Final date for all proposal queries relating to the commission is Monday 24th July 2023 at 4pm
• Final proposals are due Tuesday 1 August 2023 at 4pm in soft copy via email or WeTransfer to info@nationalsculpturefactory.com with the subject title “Christchurch Commission”.
• The artwork will be completed and installed by Monday 27 November 2023  

Further technical, design, site and budgetary information as well as selection criteria and details of how to submit can be found in the Commission Brief available on the Art in the Public Realm section of the Cork City Council website.

Island City, Cork’s Urban Sculpture Trail is a Cork City Council project funded by Fáilte Ireland under the Urban Animation Scheme, with commissioning support by National Sculpture Factory.

To learn more about Island City, follow @IslandCityCorkSculpture on Instagram.