Nelson City Council (NCC) wishes to commission a mural at The Nelson ReUse and Recycling Centre in Tahunanui Nelson/ Whakatū and is seeking expressions of interest.
For all queries relating to this project please contact Tom Ransom, Arts & Heritage Adviser | Kaitohutohu Toi me ngā Taonga Tuku Iho, Nelson City Council, email: [email protected].
​Note- All questions and their answers will be posted on the Arts Council Nelson website to allow for an open and fair submission process.
To lodge a submission for this project, email a submission form to [email protected]

Questions asked......
Question:
I wonder if this project could be done on sign writing vinyl? Or even on a billboard?  Or is it exclusively for direct paint? Could aspects protrude from the wall 3D (at a height)?                                                                                       Just wondering what the expectation is for this and the media?
 Response:
Council has priced an option to fix ACM panels to the wall allowing artists to vinyl the boards instead of direct painting onto the concrete. The cost for this proved to be prohibitive, much more than the budget for the current proposal. The expected maintenance free timeframe of the piece is 10 years. Billboards or printed materials are unlikely to meet that criteria. Similarly attaching items to the wall creates durability and potentially safety issues. While not completely closed to artists suggesting such concepts, for any submission to be successful it would need to clearly guarantee resolution to these and other fixing problems. In addition, the wall asset manager will need to agree to any fixings and lack of agreement in this area would weaken the submission.

Question:
Would a more sculptural approach be considered for this project? I would like to see a design made in steel relief. It looks like a strong concrete wall but I would want to check if it is capable of supporting such an artwork. Basically I just Chemset stainless steel rods into the wall and attached the steel panels to them. They are not all that heavy (3mm corten steel). The “bleed” from the steel, as it ages in the first six months, can discolour concrete below the work for a short time. It doesn’t tend to run down the wall when spaced out from it 40- 50mm.
Response:
Attaching items to the wall creates durability and potentially safety issues. While not completely closed to artists suggesting such concepts, for any submission to be successful it would need to clearly guarantee resolution to these and other fixing problems. In addition the wall asset manager will need to agree to any fixings .  This permission has not been discussed with the asset manager at this stage.

Question:            So, with the expressions of interest, it asks ;7.0 Concept/design representations/ideas Please provide any design representations/ideas for your proposal. This is to include a written statement explaining the concept of your design, drawings, photographs, etc. Image files (Max 5mb) can be attached to your submission in a separate document if desired, but it also says a detailed  picture would be requested later of selected artists. Are you after more so a sketch ? colour palette ? I have a few ideas should I submit separate proposals or is it ok to attach to the one.
Answer:               Yes, as well as a written concept, we are looking to see sketches/ideas/colour palettes/anything else to pictorially show how your idea might look on the wall. However, we do not yet need a full/confirmed/ final design (detailed design). A “detailed design” would be developed by artists over January 2022 if they were selected (and paid some funding) for that task.  Final selection of a commissioned artist would then follow. This current first tranche of selection is for “concept designs” so rough workings, ideas, broad but not necessarily detailed representations are ok.
 
 Question:           5.0 Price estimate excluding GST . You’ve presented and advertised a budget but would also like us to present one is that correct? Or am I reading it wrong and it’s for something separate?
Answer:               The price is shown as a “budget guideline” so artists can pitch higher or lower, but if higher by a substantial sum, artists may exclude themselves from selection.
 
Question:            Will there be water accessible to use?
Answer:               To reduce any impact on the working of the site are a recycling centre we ask for artists to be as autonomous as possible. However, water is serviced on site and could be available, particularly in smaller amounts. The amount available and systems of use for this, will though, need to be negotiated separately with recycling centre staff on site.
 
Question:                            • The painted mural artwork shall span the whole wall area as shown on the white arrowed photographs on page 4. of this document. Am I correct it looks like the middle part is selected with the arrows not behind the foliage ?
Answer:               The area for painting is shown in the two photographs as the area indicated by the white arrows. If you look closely at the photos, the horizontal arrows end at expansion joints in the concrete. This mostly means areas of the wall behind foliage do not need to be painted as part of the contract. The whole wall within the white lines should be painted as one complete /flowing design. The only reason the wall is shown in two pictures is for clarity’s sake.