Setting Out: how public art actually gets commissioned
Setting Out is an independent, non-commercial reference published at a web address that a different organisation used in the past. It is not that organisation, has no connection to it and claims no continuity with it. It commissions nothing, represents no artist, and sells nothing.
Setting Out is a working reference on how public art is commissioned in the United Kingdom: what the process is, who is at the table, where the money comes from, and what the artist is actually being asked for. It is written for both sides of that table, and it is arranged the way a commission is arranged, as a set of numbered sheets you can read in order or open at the stage you are stuck on.
The process, sheet by sheet
Fourteen sheets, in the order the work happens. A permanent commission of any size normally takes about eighteen months to run through all of them.
Two numbers worth knowing before you start
The subject
- S-00Public art: what it is, and why anyone pays for itStart here
- S-01What is public art? A definition that survives contact with a real commissionpublic art definition
- S-02Types of public art: what actually gets commissionedtypes of public art
- S-03Public art examples: what a finished UK commission actually looks likepublic art examples
- S-04Why is public art important? The case, and the objections worth taking seriouslywhy public art is important
- S-05Public art, street art and graffiti: the difference is permissionpublic art vs street art
- S-06Commissioning a mural: what it costs, who has to agree, how long it lastscommission a mural
- S-07Commissioning sculpture: what makes it the most expensive thing to get wrongsculpture commission
- S-08Community art projects: consultation, co-design, and the difference between themcommunity art projects
- S-09Public art policy and strategy: the documents that decide what gets commissionedpublic art policy
The money
- M-00Paying for public art: where the money actually comes fromStart here
- M-01Percent for art: a share of the build cost, and why it is not a law herepercent for art
- M-02Section 106 and Section 75: how planning obligations pay for public artwhat is section 106
- M-03Creative Scotland funding: which route fits a public art commissioncreative scotland funding
- M-04Arts Council England funding: which programme a commission can actually usearts council england funding
- M-05Grants and trusts: the money that is not from an arts councilpublic art grants
The artist
- A-00For artists: how you actually get a public art commissionStart here
- A-01Open calls: where UK public art opportunities are actually publishedartist open calls
- A-02How to answer a public art brief: what selection panels reject firstis my art good enough for commissions
- A-03Artist fees: what the number in the brief is really paying forhow much do art commissions make
- A-04The artist statement and short bio: what a commissioning panel needs from thembrief artist statement examples
The table
- R-00Who is at the table when there is no public art company in chargeStart here
- R-01What does a public art consultant do? And can you run a commission without one?what is an art consultant
- R-02The local authority: planner, funder, landowner and eventual custodianpublic art committee
- R-03The artist on a public commission: designer, contractor, and public facepublic art artists
Looking for the other kind of art commission?
The phrase means two different things, and only one of them is this site. “Art commission” means two different things – here is which one you want sets the two side by side so you can see in a glance which one you want.