City of Sculpture

City of Sculpture brings contemporary and traditional sculpture to iconic outdoor locations across the city in collaboration with artists and galleries from London and across the world. 

All successful applicants must apply for planning permission and exhibit at their own expense. In return, we offer the space free of charge.

We are currently inviting submissions for 2025 in the following locations: 

• Golden Square Garden
• Hanover Square Gardens
• Riverside Walk Gardens/Millbank

The deadline for submissions is Thursday 28 November 2024. After this date, ad hoc applications will be considered if space becomes available.

Scope

City of Sculpture accepts artwork that enhances its surroundings and is suitable for public display. 

We invite submissions from public and private galleries and artists from across the UK and internationally at all career stages and from a diversity of backgrounds. We welcome applications from new and emerging artists.

Proposals that include cultural engagement with local people, such as artist talks and workshops, will be considered favourably. Multiple sculptures will be considered where a suitable location is available.  

We are particularly keen to encourage applications from female artists in line with our cultural strategy to support public art that reflects our diverse communities.

Submitting your nomination

1. Please complete a submission form.
2. Submissions will be considered by an advisory panel that meets twice a year. We will contact you if your sculpture has been selected for one of the available sites. 
3. Informal stakeholder/freeholder engagement around successful submissions.
4. Submit a planning application for your sculpture. This will take a minimum of seven weeks.
5. Arrange installation on an agreed date. A risk assessment, sculpture insurance and public liability insurance must be in place ahead of installation and you will be asked to sign a licence agreement.

Locations

The following locations form part of City of Sculpture: 

• Berkeley Square Gardens, southeast quadrant (please note the sculpture lights are currently unavailable) - due to be occupied from late 2024 for 12 months
• Golden Square Gardens - available
• Hanover Square Gardens - available
• Lower Grosvenor Gardens - due to be occupied from early 2025
• Marble Arch Gardens, by the fountains - due to be occupied from late 2024/early 2025
• Park Lane, island six, opposite The Dorchester Hotel - occupied until late 2025
• Riverside Walk Gardens - available
• Soho Square Gardens - due to be occupied from spring 2025

Exhibiting

• Pop, Isabel H Langtry in Berkeley Square Gardens (until 14 November when a proposed new sculpture will be installed)
• Visitor V, David Breuer-Weil, on Park Lane, installed October 2024

Coming up

• New installations are planned for Marble Arch and Lower Grosvenor Gardens for late 2024/early 2025 
• Marshmallow Dew, Fingery Eyes and Terra Cappa, Camilla Bliss are due to be installed in Soho Square Gardens in spring 2025.

Temple Roof Gardens

Temple Roof Gardens has been transformed into an open air gallery, The Artist’s Garden, curated by the CoLAB. 

MARY MARY by nine women artists is exhibiting until September 2025, featuring commissioned works by Rong Bao, Candida Powell–Williams and Alice Wilson, adapted works by Lucy Gregory and LR Vandy and existing works by Olivia Bax, Frances Richardson, Holly Stevenson and Virginia Overton.

Visit thecolab.art/mary-mary to view the artwork and find out more.

Advisory panel

Submissions will be considered by an independent Advisory Panel.

Panel members are:

• Claire Mander, Director, CoLab
• Priyesh Mistry, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Projects, National Gallery
• Richard Parry, Creative Director, St James's Piccadilly
• Michelle Salerno, Cultural Policy Officer, Westminster City Council

Criteria

Aesthetic

• relevance to the immediate surroundings, the City of Westminster and the people who live and work here
• the level of emotional and intellectual impact
• originality, accessibility and artistic quality of work
• ability to create a sense of pride in communities and the city as a whole
• sculptures, artists and galleries exhibiting as part of City of Sculpture should reflect the diversity of our communities.

Physical

• suitability for outdoor display
• appropriateness to its surroundings in terms of scale, visibility and accessibility
• relationship between sculpture and landscape and its ability to enhance the built environment
• evidence of the structural safety of the sculpture must be provided, including a risk assessment and method statement for installation, maintenance and derig and sign off from a structural engineer
• the artwork must not pose a safety hazard or restrict the typical usage of the site
• proposals that include community engagement will be considered favourably.

Other requirements

• artwork must not be politically or culturally sensitive or likely to cause offence
• artwork must align with the council’s values of environmental considerations, accessibility and cultural inclusiveness
• artwork must be large enough that it is clearly visible and not likely to cause a trip hazard
• pieces that have already been on public display in Westminster are unlikely to be considered above new submissions.

Licence agreement

All City of Sculpture exhibitors must sign a licence agreement to cover the removal of the sculpture once planning permission has expired. We also require Public Liability Insurance ahead of installation. Please email us if you would like to see the agreement before submitting your proposal.

Contact

If you have any questions about City of Sculpture please email [email protected]