Arts in Heritage: Spalding Gentlemen’s Society Commission
Story Tellers are delighted to share a new commissioning opportunity in partnership Spalding Gentlemen’s Society (SGS).
Spalding Gentlemen’s Society presents an exciting commissioning opportunity for an artist to respond to the Society’s history, collections and future development plans.
Commission details
SGS is Britain’s oldest provincial learned society and second-oldest museum. Founded in Spalding in 1710, SGS built up its collections for the benefit of the people of Spalding by drawing on the donations and interests of its global network of members. SGS’s ‘Original Collection’ of museum, library and archive holdings is an Arts Council England Designated Collection of national and international importance. After 300 years, SGS has embarked on a multi-year redevelopment centred on its founding ideals of experimentation, support for learning in all its forms, and the celebration of arts and culture of the past and present for the benefit of future generations.
This commission invites an artist to explore the stories, collections and history connected to SGS and the wider community of Spalding. We are looking for an imaginative response that brings one or more of the hidden histories of objects, individuals and/or ideas to life, that creates new connections between people and place, and that enables people to engage with these stories in new ways. SGS are looking for a digital outcome (film, animation, etc.) that can be presented in the museum galleries and/or online.
Overview
Location: Spalding Gentleman’s Society, Spalding
Commission Budget including artist fee: £5,000 inc VAT
Expression of Interest Deadline: End of Day Friday 23 October
Artist contracted by: Friday 6th November
Commission Timeline: November 2026 - March 2027.
Installation/ exhibition: March 2027
The Brief
Story Tellers is an arts and cultural programme bringing people together across East Lindsey, Boston and South Holland to celebrate local heritage and tell the stories of place in new and creative ways. Through its Arts in Heritage strand, the programme is supporting heritage organisations to develop their commissioning skills and artists to create new work inspired by local histories, communities and places.
The programme is generously funded through Story Teller’s Arts Council England funding.The commission is open to an artist working in any discipline and the process should include workshops, and collaboration and site-responsive activity.
Key prompts
The research and development for the commission has been undertaken through discussions, reflections and workshops with representatives from SGS, who will be the lead commissioning partner. Stories and themes you might want to respond to include:
Enlightenment – the spirit of experimentation and enthusiasm for the discovery and sharing of knowledge
Collecting and collections – how and why local people have contributed to the development of SGS’s collections
Local and global – how the collections and history of SGS reflect the relationship between Spalding and the wider world
History & story – the relationship between data and narrative in creating a sense of community and place
Accessibility – how museums, libraries and archives can welcome people in and provide space for everyone to share and develop their interests, and form communities of shared interest
These themes are intended as prompts rather than prescriptions, and artists are welcome to respond to one or several of them.
Key requirements
We are looking for an artist that can:
Work collaboratively with the commissioning partner and local communities, particularly those that haven’t previously engaged with the collections
Undertake workshops with SGS volunteers and/or schools locally
Create a digital outcome (film, animation, etc.) that can be presented in the museum galleries and/or online
Celebrate and raise the profile of SGS, its stories and people, engaging new audiences.
Contribute to the wider Story Tellers programme through a skills exchange/presentations.
Local connections and resources
The commissioning partner can help broker relationships with residents, and communities, local schools or other community organisations. Artists can also be connected with researchers, local historians, SGS staff, and specialist knowledge through the wider Story Tellers network where useful.
SGS has a number of resources that you can access to inform the commission and can provide training in collections handling and object- and archive-based research if desired. SGS staff members include specialists in the history of the Society and its members, and the wider membership of the Society includes a number of experts on local history and families, historic SGS members, and specific parts of the collections. SGS maintains close working relationships with other local, regional, national and international partners who may contribute information related to particular aspects of the collections or SGS’s historic membership.
Budget
The total commission budget is £5,000 inclusive of artist fees and VAT where applicable. This must cover all artist time, travel and accommodation, engagement activity, materials, production and installation/ showing of work. Artists should propose a realistic allocation of the budget appropriate to their approach.
We recognise this is a modest scale budget and we anticipate artists who are interested will therefore scale their proposals accordingly. We want this to be a nourishing / rewarding experience and not to overstretch.
Please be creative but be realistic. A&H, our programme partner will provide additional planning and production, feedback and evaluation support alongside marketing and documentation as well as forging key partnerships and relationships where needed and supporting these conversations.
How to Respond to this Brief
Please send us copy of up to 300 words telling us:
a little about your practice and why this opportunity interests you;
which themes, stories or aspects of SGS’s collections or history you might be interested in exploring;
an initial idea or approach to the commission. This is not expected to be a developed proposal.
Please also include:
A summary CV - maximum 2 sides. or weblink.
Your Access Document (if relevant) - the kinds of support that would make sure your needs are met on this commission. Up to 4 images (jpg format preferred) or up to 6 minutes of footage demonstrating your practice/previous projects (mp4 format preferred or clearly indicated Vimeo / YouTube link). Please don’t embed any other web links. Make sure your files are compatible with PC and Mac and can be easily downloaded or viewed online.
Please keep language accessible as your will be read by a people who may not be familiar with contemporary art language.
Timeline
Expression of Interest Deadline: End of Day Friday 23 October
Artist contracted by: Friday 6th November
Commission Timeline: November 2026 - March 2027.
Installation/ exhibition: March 2027
Access
If you have any Access Requirements, then please let us know and we will support you where needed through the process.