NWQ Artwork

Tender description

In April of 2016, the Central Bank appointed an experienced art project management and curation team to manage and curate a site-specific permanent artwork on the Central Bank’s North Wall Quay premises. This project involved leading the procurement process, which followed the structure of the Office of Public Works (OPW) commissioning process as set out in the OPW Art Management Handbook. Article 32 (2)(b)(i) of the Directive 2014/24/EU states that the negotiated procedure without prior publication may be used where “the aim of the procurement is the creation or acquisition of a unique work of art or artistic performance”. This exemption has been invoked on the basis that it was clear from the outset that publication would not trigger more competition or better procurement outcomes, not least, because there was objectively only one economic operator that could perform the contract. This is the case for works of art, where the identity of the artist intrinsically determines the unique character and value of the art object itself. The steps in the procurement process to procure the artwork were as follows: 1. Select a long list of suitable artists 2. Establish a final shortlist or artists 3. Issue an Artistic Briefing document and an invitation to submit a proposal to the shortlisted candidates 4. Evaluate tenders from artists; and 5. Appointment of the preferred artist In March 2016, an assessment panel was established to consider the long list of artists and select a shortlist of suitable artists. The panel consisted of a mix of industry experts, the project manager and curators and representatives from the Central Bank’s Arts Working Group. Seven artists were appointed to the shortlist and the Invitation to Tender was issued and all responses received were evaluated in January 2017 under the following award criteria: • Artistic quality and distinctiveness of proposed artwork (30%) • Connection: suitability of the proposal to the context, in consideration of fresh, novel and innovative ways (25%) •