Hidden-History, Newham, paid public art comission

This commission is funded by Arts Council England as part of the Hidden Histories of Newham public art project.
The three artists will be selected through an open call process, and the commission forms the first phase of a two-stage process that will culminate in a significant public artwork in East London.
Following the Community Panel’s selection, the chosen artist will enter a second, separately contracted phase to develop and deliver a public artwork in East London.
This commission consists of two phases.
Phase 1: Community Research and Artist Booklet
Three artists will be selected and commissioned to undertake a community engagement and archival research process, focused on one of the following themes:
Working Class History
LGBTQ+ History
Global Majority Communities
Each artist will work directly with communities and with materials from the ECH archive, and will produce a small artist booklet. The booklet should document their research process, reflect on the archival material they have engaged with, present the communities they have worked with, and articulate a creative vision for a potential public art installation. The booklets will be presented to the Community Panel as part of the Phase 2 selection process and will be on display at local libraries in February/March 2027.

The production of the booklet will allow the panel to understand more about you and your processes; how you work with archives and communities, why you want to engage with the subject you propose and how you intend to do so. It will also allow you to develop a more detailed and concrete proposal based on the research you will do in this process.
Phase 2: Public Art Commission
Following the Community Panel’s selection, the chosen artist will enter a second, separately contracted phase to develop and deliver a public artwork in East London.
The intended timescale for Phase 2 is approximately six months from commission to completion.
The artwork’s location is not fixed in advance.