As we celebrate 90 years of the Saltire Society, founded in 1936 to champion the cultural life of Scotland, we seek proposals from artists for small works engaging with commemoration & memorialisation in the public sphere (monuments, statuary, cultural objects, stories & sites). We are excited to invite artist perspectives to feed into broader conversations about modern Scotland’s values, and how we create and understand responsibilities and meanings. We are inspired by ‘Mactotem’, a previous initiative by a member of the Society: https://lanntair.com/virtual_exhibitions/mactotem-reviewing-the-duke-of-sutherland-monument-exhibition/

Commissioned artists will receive £1200 (an indicative £240/day x 5 days) to produce a work in any eligible format. NB there is no materials/travel budget.

You may wish to challenge existing memorials or create your own response to an individual, group, event etc. Work need not mark individuals/groups who have died; the achievements of the living are eligible.

As small commissions, we anticipate that some work may stand as indicative of larger pieces. These must be presented as works in their own right, i.e. written proposals are insufficient (part works or artworks illustrating larger plans are acceptable).

Rights & use
We seek to talk about the work and artists commissioned, and will require you to record/capture the work in a format that may be shared, and permit us to share through our channels and press for a period of not less than 1 year after the work is produced. Artists will retain copyright and there will be no restrictions on use provided the above is facilitated; i.e. you will be able to sell, exhibit, reproduce, perform, present to commissioners etc, it but we will require you to keep a record/copy available to us during the use period & any purchaser must agree.

To apply, you must be:
permanently resident in Scotland
18+
not in full-time education
eligible to work in the UK
able to evidence your practice
working (if using text) in English, Scots and/or Scottish Gaelic

Eligible forms include but are not limited to drawings, paintings, prints, sculpture maquettes/designs, fine art photography, short stories, poems, AV pieces, tunes/musical compositions, monologues or other scripts, dance pieces or craftworks. No journalism (written, AV, photography), research work without output or proposals from architects or architecture practices.