Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      The Broadway Junction Art Piece project has been taken forward, since 2005, through a partnership between the Department for Regional Development (Roads Service), Belfast City Centre Regeneration Directorate (Department for Social Development), the Arts Council for Northern Ireland (ACNI) and Belfast City Council (BCC).  The Roads Service is responsible for the ongoing structural work relating to the roundabout/junction which is part of the M1/Westlink improvement scheme, and the Arts Council and DSD are providing the majority of funding for the project.

      The commission was awarded through an international competition and a two stage selection process.  Phase 1 involved an invitation of expressions of interest from potential artists, from which seven were selected, and Phase 2 involved the shortlisted artists responding with design concepts to a detailed project brief. The BCC Artist-in-Residence consulted with community groups in the formulation of this brief.

      The Development (Arts) Sub-Committee was advised on 5 October 2005 that Ed Carpenter, an American artist, had been selected by the judging panel (which included invited Community representatives) to carry out the commission. 

      The Development Committee of 16 November 2005 agreed BelfastCity Council would take on responsibility for the future maintenance of the art piece; and at the Development Committee meeting of Wednesday 14 February 2007 it was agreed :

-     That the Project Management Unit undertake the project management role up to a cost of £50K spread over the 07/08 and 08/09 financial years.

-     To commit to a contribution of £20K to the capital cost of the project during the 08/09 financial year.

      The construction of the Art Piece was to be coordinated within the programme for the construction of the roundabout over the M1/Westlink tunnel, which was initially due to be completed in Autumn 2009 but was subsequently brought forward to Spring 2009.

      In the period since the selection of the Artist, the roles and associated responsibilities and level of financial project commitments from the project partners has been clarified.

Also within this period:

-     BCC undertook an Economic Appraisal (funded by DSD) carried out by KPMG in June 2007 approved by DFP in October 2007;

-     The financial contribution from DSD was confirmed as £300k;

-     Further resources were secured from the ACNI to meet the shortfall in the projected budget of £400,000 (excluding in kind costs);

-     Progression of the project was to include continued community engagement.

      The Development Committee of Wednesday 12 December 2007, approved the terms of reference for the Broadway Junction Public Art Board and Steering Panel and agreed that the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman (or their Nominees), together with one Councillor from each of the Balmoral and Lower Falls Electoral Areas, be appointed to the project Board.

Key Issues

      Project Update

      The Broadway Project Board met  on 17 June 2008 where it was confirmed that due to a significant increase in the costs of construction materials (steel, in particular) since the commission was originally awarded in 2005, the total estimated project cost for the Trillian proposal was now at least £625,000, which is some 34% in excess of the available budget. It was therefore proposed to explore two options to secure the continuation of Trillian.

-     Approach Arts & Business to seek opportunities of attracting Business sponsorship for the project;

-     Request the artist to explore rescaling the Trillian sculpture in order to reduce costs.

      The Broadway Project Board met again on 4 July 2008 and received an update from the artist, Ed Carpenter, who had rescaled the Trillian sculpture down by one third of the original proposal. However, this served to only reduce the overall costs by approx 10%-20% which would not be sufficient to be delivered within the available budget.

      Arts and Business also reported that they had been unsuccessful with a proposal to a major city Company to provide sponsorship for the project. In the context of most business sponsorship agreements averaging out at £20k-30k, it was agreed that it was unlikely at this time that adequate business sponsorship to supplement the budget could be secured.

      The Arts Council of Northern Ireland advised that their financial contribution is time bound and will be required to be allocated by September ‘08 with a possible short extension available. Therefore, this will necessitate the project being initiated by the Autumn.

      In light of the above considerations, the Project Board regrettably but unanimously agreed to abandon the current Trillan proposal from the selected artist Ed Carpenter, and to relaunch the project as a new open competition, with a fixed total budget of £400k.It also agreed that the Project’s terms of reference should be reviewed to take into account the changed environment within the city over the last few years.

      This new competition was advertised on 11 July ‘08 and 1 August 08 in the Belfast Telegraph, Newsletter, Irish News and Visual Arts Ireland. The invitation was also placed on BelfastCity Council’s and other various relevant websites. In addition, a press release was issued on the 18 July 2008 outlining the cancellation of Trillan and the reopening of the competition. The deadline for expressions of interest is 3pm on Friday 22 of August 2008.

      It is anticipated that the project will be completed by March 09.

Resource Implications

      With the construction now anticipated to follow closely after the relaunched procurement process, it is estimated that the project can still be delivered within the overall available budget of £450,000 (including in kind contributions).

      This budget comprises the following amounts:

ACNI                 £80,000

DSD                  £300,000

BCC                  £70,000 (including in kind Project

                          Management costs)

Total Budget   £450,000

Recommendations

      It is recommended that Committee note the above changes to the Broadway Junction Public Art Project”

            After discussion, the Committee noted the information provided in the foregoing report.