St Andrews Wall Mural

The wall is located on St Andrew’s Road, Northampton, NN1 2RW, is easily and freely accessible as it sits alongside a main road that connects Northampton Train Station to Northampton Town Centre.

The selected artist will engage with local community groups in the design of the mural. The mural itself must be created directly on the wall, appropriately reflecting the history of the area. This is a load bearing wall of approximately 90ft in length, therefore no weight can be added to it.

We want to ensure the design is respectful of the rich heritage of the area and compliments the existing surroundings. The story being told also needs to be easily interpretable. Otherwise and at this stage we do not want to be prescriptive about proposed works as artists have the best ideas and we are keen to hear them.

At an appropriate point in the project, the selected artist will deliver a talk with BA (Hons) Fine Art students at University of Northampton, plus an additional day providing hands-on experience of a live public art commission with selected students.

The commissioned artist will also spend up to 7 days working with local schools, community groups and historians to gather ideas, stories, and imagery to incorporate into the mural’s design.

Fermynwoods Contemporary Art will provide direct support and management to the selected artist throughout this commission, managing the artist selection process, overseeing workshops, and ensuring a creative response that balances artistic quality and community input.

FEE
Artist Fee – £4,000 (50% of the fee payable at the point of commissioning and 50% at project completion)
Production Costs – £3,000
Anti-graffiti Coating – £1,000
Artist Travel – up to £500
Artist Accommodation – up to £1,000
A further £350 is available for workshop materials when engaging local community groups.

All fees are inclusive of VAT.

The selected artist will be responsible for managing their own tax obligations, including National Insurance contributions.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Please send a short proposal in any format outlining how you intend to approach this commission, including visuals.

Tell us what your practice is about, why this project is of interest to you and where you have experience of working in the public realm.

Please also include a CV and examples of previous work.

Please contact us if these ways of applying are not accessible for you in order to discuss alternative ways of submitting your application.

Send to: james@fermynwoods.org before Midnight, 31 March 2025

ANTICIPATED TIMESCALE

W/C 5 May 2025 – Initial site visit and discussion with heritage groups

W/C 12 May 2025 – Community/schools engagement

W/C 16 June 2025 – Installation

July 2025 – Launch

September 2025 – Potential talk at University of Northampton

We recognise that artists often have diverse portfolio careers, balancing multiple commitments and projects. With this in mind, we will endeavour to provide as much flexibility as possible within the framework of the project. While adhering to key milestones and deadlines, we will work collaboratively with the selected artist to accommodate their schedule where feasible, ensuring a productive and supportive working environment. Our goal is to foster a creative process that allows for high-quality artistic output while respecting the artist’s professional commitments.