Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) Art Project

Thie Darragh

The Department of Home Affairs and Manx Care are inviting expressions of interest from Isle of Man-based artists and artisans, to create a piece of art for the new Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) Thie Darragh ('Darragh' is Manx for 'oak').

Invitation to artists and artisans

The SARC Project Sponsors are seeking expressions of interest from Isle of Man-based Artists and Artisans for an inspirational and appropriate Wall Art piece for the entrance area of the new SARC Unit.

The Project Sponsors will be making a bid for financial support from the Isle of Man Arts Council for a maximum of £10,000 for the design, creation and installation of the Wall Art piece, and have commenced discussions in this respect. Bids made with a lesser budget will be welcome.

The deadline for the Project Sponsors’ initial submission to the IOM Arts Council was 21 June 2024, for which the team are currently awaiting a response.

In the meantime, in order to maximise the opportunity for all interested parties, the Project Sponsors are inviting Isle of Man-based Artists and Artisans to submit ‘Expressions of Interest’ with their initial sketch ideas for the Wall Art piece by Monday 22 July 2024.

The Project Sponsors will review the submissions, and if they wish to proceed with any of the proposals, will enter into discussions with the relevant party/parties as soon as the IOM Arts Council has confirmed whether the Project Sponsors have been successful in their Application for Funding Support.

Details of the proposed theme

The Project Sponsors have conceived the wall art to be a representation of an oak tree, bending in the wind, standing strong in a storm whilst also embracing the name ‘Thie Darragh’. It would represent the trauma and ‘storm’ individuals are likely to be dealing with as they enter the building, but would also represent the protection and safety they will find at the facility, as well as encouraging users to recognise that, like the oak, they have deep roots and with help can survive the ‘storm’.

The wall art piece is to be located on a wall facing the main entrance doors into the SARC building, and would need to be contained within a space no larger than 3600mm x 1500mm, to be presented on a wall adjacent to the proposed poem ('The Oak Tree', which can be found in the attached full brief). The Project Sponsors are open to the use of a range of materials, and to the wall art feature being ‘abstract’ or ‘impressionistic’.

The Sponsors would like the wall art feature to have some relief or possibly project from the wall. Preferred designs will be simple in concept. The use of natural or manufactured materials will be acceptable, as will the use of colour, provided this harmonises with the selected colour scheme for the building entrance. The attached full brief describes the elements of the scheme of art/colours throughout the building, which is the seasonal hues of oak leaves.

For artists and artisans

I'm interested – What do I do next

Please send an email as soon as possible to Julie Hatton, copied to Janette Freeland and John Payne (email addresses below) telling us that you are interested in submitting some ideas for the wall art piece in the new SARC Unit.

If possible, tell us the materials that you normally use as an artist/artisan, and what you are likely to base your design ideas around. Please feel free to send us any examples of your work or direct us to these online.

For more information, please see the attached artists brief.

What should I submit

You are free to submit sketches, images, details of materials etc. – whatever is required to explain your initial ideas, together with some written explanation if required outlining how you have interpreted the initial ideas communicated by the Project Sponsors.

The preference is that submissions are made by email, however if you wish to hand deliver or post your submission, please do so to the address below:

For the attention of:

Julie Hatton
Manx Care,
Crookall House,
Demesne Road,
Douglas,
Isle of Man,
IM1 3QA

All submissions must arrive by 5pm on Monday 22 July 2024.

When will I hear if my submission is of interest to the Development Team

If your submission is of interest to the Project Sponsors, they will enter into discussions with the relevant party/parties as soon as the IOM Arts Council has confirmed whether the Project Sponsors have been successful in their Application for Funding Support. They will also undertake discussions with the IOM Arts Council in relation to the submitted ideas with a view to finalising a more detailed brief for the Wall Art piece that is acceptable to all parties. The Project Sponsors will write to all applicants in due course advising them of the outcome of any selection and award process.

Contacts

The main contact for the SARC Project Sponsors is Julie Hatton who is contactable on:

Telephone: +44 1624 642826

Email: Julie.hatton@gov.im

Please note: Julie works part time but checks her email regularly during the week. 

The Architects for the project are part of the DOI Project Management Team and can be contacted as follows for any additional information about the building under construction:

Janette Freeland

Telephone: +44 1624 69578

Email: janette.freeland@gov.im 

John Payne

Telephone: +44 1624 685925

Email: john.payne@gov.im