Watford COVID-19 Memorial

Watford Borough Council are seeking to commission a permanent piece of public art to serve as a memorial for those lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. This memorial will sit outside of Watford General Hospital, with agreement from West Hertfordshire Hospitals trust. The hospital sits on Vicarage Road and the sculpture will be placed in a spot around the main entrance.

The idea for the memorial is to be one of reflection and to show how Watford came together during the pandemic to help one another.

This commission is open to artists who have experience working with public or outside sculpture from concept to install. We are looking for a piece which shows Watford’s response to the pandemic, it has to be individual to Watford. With this in mind we would expect the artist to work with the local town and people whom we may suggest to get a clearer idea of Watford’s pandemic response.

In order to capture a genuine reflection of the desired theme, we do expect to see a level of community engagement. Part of this engagement will be visiting the exhibitions of artworks made/collected during the pandemic, which Watford Borough Council will be hosting or supporting on throughout the later part of 2020 or early 2021, as well as meeting potential focus groups or people the council have selected to speak to the artist. However, if there is a specific group or person that comes to the artist’s attention during their research of the town and the pandemic the council could possibly look at aiding the artist in meeting with them, if the council deems it beneficial.

This idea is to aid the artist in their own response but not to dictate a specific style. We will be looking at the artist’s written application to show how they plan to respond to the pandemic, as well as how they will respond/work with Watford to develop the final piece. Creative style is left open to the artist’s own choice.

The council would see the sculpture as fulfilling two central themes, one of remembrance and another of unity.

Materials
The sculptures will become permanent features and should be of high quality, whilst being aware of their surroundings, as the potential spot will be outside a hospital near a main road entrance. Please note that it is not planned to illuminate the artwork.
There are no specific requirements as to the materials and medium an artist chooses to use, however the works will need to be robustly produced to withstand the elements and potential vandalism risk, given their exposure outdoors.
The artwork will require planning permission and will be inspected by the Watford Borough Council’s Health & Safety Officer. Artists must be prepared to make changes to comply with planning requirements and any Health & Safety issues if necessary, and work will be withdrawn if the Health & Safety Officer is not satisfied. Artists may wish to consider obtaining pre-application planning advice from the Council’s planning officers and Health & Safety Officer.

Requirements of the Artist
It is expected that Phase 1 will commence with the appointment of the artist in January 2021 and will finish in April/May 2021.
For their bid submissions, artists will detail answers to the following questions:
• Do you have an artistic preference or style in mind for this commission?
• Detail a route with which the artist would be interested in taking with the community engagement part of this commission, as well as any risk assessments, site safety requirements and approach with specific outcomes.
( it may be too soon to request all of the below in the application process due to the design being dependant on the community engagement process?)
• Submit a fully costed proposal to include elements for:
• Materials
• Sketch design of the piece within the timetable period
• Prepare a fee estimate to include all necessary fees
• Produce an indication of this commission’s timetable and programme.
• An outline of your experience of similar projects including demonstrating your ability to meet this brief, in addition to a professional reference from a previous, relevant project or employment
• Supply details (names and CVs) of all personnel who will be working on the project, including details of their likely contribution to the work