Richard Seager Arts Award Commission 2018

In 2018, Butterfly Conservation will celebrate their 50th anniversary as the national charity dedicated to the conservation of butterflies and moths. As part of events being held to celebrate this milestone, the Richard Seager Annual Arts Award is delighted that Butterfly Conservation has agreed to be the recipient of the 2018 commission. This is a charity which Richard Seager supported for many years, and would also have marked his 100th birthday – an event he would be very annoyed to have missed.

Butterfly Conservation has decided that the most appropriate commission would be a new entrance gate in to the main part of their Rough Bank reserve in Gloucestershire. This will be set into a newly built Cotswold stone wall which was completed in 2016 by The Cotswold Voluntary Wardens together with local contractors, as a project funded by the Gloucestershire Environmental Trust and the Summerfield Charitable Trust, in addition to a memorial donation.

The Award Package:

The winner will receive:

a commission to make their winning design
£3,000 towards their costs
bespoke business mentoring either during the making of the commission, or after completion of the commission, depending on their individual preference
Butterfly Conservation will organise an event to celebrate the completion of the commission and its installation on site. This will be held in late June/early July (date to be confirmed)
Butterfly Conservation’s members’ magazine, Butterfly, will include an article about the winner, their design and the Richard Seager Annual Arts Award after the event celebrating the installation of the gate at the Rough Bank reserve.
The winner will work closely with staff and volunteers at Butterfly Conservation throughout the construction process.

The finalists will receive:

£100 to enable them to undertake additional work on their applications prior to interview with the Judges
The names of the finalists, and information about their business will be published on the Award website
Butterfly Conservation will promote the commission via social media and email, including 800 Gloucestershire branch members and local craft organisations. The winning design will be featured in Butterfly magazine, which is sent to over 33,000 members, as well as corporate supporters and conservation organisations. Promotion will link directly to the Richard Seager Annual Arts Award website.

Key Dates

1 December 2017 – open call for applications
31 January 2018 – application closing date
9 February 2018 – finalists notified by email
10-25 February 2018 – optional reserve visit for finalists, escorted by Butterfly Conservation staff/volunteers
26 February 2018 – finalists interviewed at Kingston School of Art, part of Kingston University London
2 March 2018 – winner announced
31 May 2018 – commission completed and installed at reserve
Late June/early July 2018 – official opening event at reserve

Application Closing Date

31 January 2018

Eligibility

The Award is open to individuals or groups who:

are students in the United Kingdom at a specialist school, further education college or university
has completed a further education course or graduated (including MA, Phd and Research Fellows) within the last 3 years

Details Of The Commission For Butterfly Conservation

Purpose of the gate:

The gate will be installed in an existing aperture in the drystone wall that has been left specifically for this purpose. This aperture could be framed with large timber upright posts and a header beam, made from a mature felled oak that grew on the reserve, or the winning design may instead choose to incorporate its own frame. This gateway will be part of the main (recommended) entrance to the key habitat area of the reserve and is about 400 metres along a track from the reserve car park. It will lead the visitor from the open grassy trackway of the “Access Strip” into and through a corner of the shady woodland of veteran beech and tall ash trees before they emerge again onto the sunny slope of The Bank. This steeply sloping bluff opens out above the narrow valley of the Dillay Brook – the head of the Slad Valley. This is the landscape that was Laurie Lee’s childhood playground.

Technical Specification

The gate should be:

in keeping with the natural beauty of the surrounding area, possibly incorporating a decorative arch, and may be made of any material or combination of materials
able to become an iconic part of the reserve’s identity: attracting visitors outside of the butterfly flying season and enriching their experience of the site
made to the specified minimum dimensions, self-closing with a strong latch, which is easy to operate from both inside and outside of the reserve
hinged on the right-hand side, it must open inwards to the Access Strip and when closed be able to withstand cattle leaning and rubbing against it
of sturdy construction, able to withstand varying weather conditions over a long period of time and requiring minimal maintenance
a minimum of 1200 mm high with ground clearance of 75-100 mm to keep grazing cattle in the Access Strip
suitable for public access by pedestrians and mobility scooters. There is a separate stock gate for cattle further along the wall
compliant with BS5709 relating to standards for footpath gates (although this is not on a Right of Way).

Additional Information

There is a car park at the entrance to the reserve, and access to the gate site by a 4-wheel drive type vehicle is possible via the bridleway through Little Myers. Cattle graze throughout the whole site (Great Myers, Little Myers and Rough Bank) at various stages during each year, but can be kept out of the Access Strip when necessary.

As part of the land management of the site, oak has been felled, which could be used in the construction of the gate/gateposts. Green chestnut may also be available from another reserve. Any applicant wishing to use this resource should contact Becky Miners at Butterfly Conservation (by email at bminers@butterfly-conservation.org, or by phone on 01929 406043) to arrange a site visit to check whether the wood available is suitable and the practicalities involved in moving it.

The reserve is open to members of the public. However, if an applicant feels that they would benefit from visiting the reserve with a member of Butterfly Conservation, please contact Becky Miners (by email at bminers@butterfly-conservation.org, or by phone on 01929 406043) to arrange a mutually convenient appointment.

For More Information

www.artscraftanddesignaward.co.uk

To Apply

Submit applications to

valerie@artscraftanddesignaward.co.uk