Artists being sought for a £35,000 public artwork commission at Buckley War Memorial

A new £35,000 ‘public art’ installation is being commissioned for the War Memorial site in Buckley.

The war memorial situated on former Royal British Legion land is now home to an ALDI store, the memorial is still in place but is now surrounded by the supermarket’s car park.

Flintshire County Council and the Royal British Legion formed a steering group with other partners to redevelop the memorial site.

A process has now begun to find a design sensitive to the memorial’s purpose, it is open to professional artists or groups “that have sufficient proven experience to manage the process of design, fabrication, and installation of a work of public art.” according to crafts council website.

Proposals and now being sought for a “thought provoking yet sensitive” design, the brief asks for an eye catching landmark, which is not too ‘safe’ yet calming and child-friendly.

The artwork must include the current monument’s inscription and Prince of Wales feathers plaque which is also on the memorial.

The committee says the new artwork should not include any nudity, attract any vandalism, be aggressive, confrontational or unfriendly to children.

No seating areas should be included in the design, those designs which contain political or ‘other’ messages, are humorous or weird, too quirky or too clever will not be considered.

The inclusion of soldiers or arms should also be avoided the brief says.

The current war memorial which sits at the top of a small flight of steps and is flanked by a low brick wall could be completely replaced depending on the chosen winning design.

As part of the brief, the appointed artist is expected to host workshops engaging local children with the design of the new public art.

The deadline for proposals is September 22 from which a shortlist will then be selected, installation is expected to be completed in Summer 2018.