The search for a new Liverpool Plinth sculptor is on

The search is on for the fourth artist to have their work installed on The Liverpool Plinth. Liverpool BID Company and dot-art are looking for a sculptor, who must live and work in the North of England, will see their work displayed on the site within Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage waterfront at Liverpool Parish Church.

The Grade II listed Liverpool Parish Church, the Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, has been a place of worship since the 13th century and overlooks the city’s famous Three Graces. The Liverpool Plinth is installed on the Chapel Street side of the church and is part of an annual project to enrich public spaces and use art to add colour and excitement to the public realm. Bringing together Liverpool BID Company, the Parish Church and dot-art, as part of the Public Art Strategy in place within the city’s Commercial District.

The current work installed on The Liverpool Plinth is Gail Dooley’s Tidal Shame. The piece, created by the Yorkshire based artist, depicts a ceramic gannet, a seabird common in Liverpool, entangled by authentic sea plastic and detritus collected on beach shores across the UK and Merseyside.

The new sculpture will be chosen by the same process as the previous three; via Open Call. It is available to any artist working primarily in sculpture based in the north of England to submit existing work. The application process opens on Monday 18th January and closes on Friday 19th March at 23.59. The selected artist will also receive a £1,000 prize.

Previous winner, Gold Lame by Tony Heaton

The application form is here.

Lucy Byrne, Director of dot-art, says:

“At dot-art we are passionate about championing artists and bringing art to people in accessible ways. We’ve seen, so powerfully this past year, how art can communicate ideas and bring people together like nothing else. We are looking for artworks that inspire, that challenge, that inform or that cast light onto a little-known topic.”

The Rector of Liverpool, the Revd Canon Dr Crispin Pailing, says:

“The Liverpool Plinth continues to be an exciting project for us and we look forward to the 2021 sculpture. Each sculpture has been so different, provoking conversation and exploring new ideas. The Church has a long history promoting the visual arts, and Liverpool Parish Church continues to do that in the 21st Century.”

What a strange year #Liverpool. Not our usual end of year highlights video, but we've tried to sum it up in 2 minutes as best we can.

There's been highs and there's been lows, but also more love & kindness than ever. ❤️?

Here's to the future, & to this great city. ? pic.twitter.com/wD0ga5GVqf

— The Guide Liverpool (@TheGuideLpool) December 30, 2020

Bill Addy, chief executive of Liverpool BID Company and chair of LVEN (Liverpool Visitor Economy Network), says:

“Public art is such a vital ingredient of our work at Liverpool BID Company and our Public Art Strategy for the Commercial District animates public spaces but it also encourages people to come and visit. Public art has been a major highlight for people on their walks in 2020 and it has helped us to discover new corners and new stories about our city. That’s exactly what it is for.

The Liverpool Plinth is a vital place for us to champion artists across the North of England, in a year when they need more support than ever before. We are delighted to be inviting an artist to come and write a new chapter in the everlasting story of Liverpool”.

Gail Dooley, sculptor of Tidal Shame and the current inhabitant of The Liverpool Plinth says:

“I would urge any artist to submit their work for consideration for The Liverpool Plinth. The Parish Church is such a beautiful location and the support of public art, in one of the North of England’s most cultural cities, is something to be proud of. I am delighted Tidal Shame, and the ideas and provocations around the artwork, have been able to reach a new and curious audience in the city”.