Expressions of interest for The SAY Award Design Commission 2024 are NOW OPEN!
Each year, The SAY Award Design Commission sees an artist, designer or maker create bespoke prizes for the bands and artists recognised at The SAY Award Ceremony, highlighting the enduring links between music, art and design in Scotland. As part of The SAY Award’s host city partnership with Stirling, the artist or designer selected for 2024’s commission will be based in the Stirling Council area.
The SAY Award Design Commission offers a fee of £2,500 for the design and manufacture (including materials) of the awards. The artist/designer who secures the commission will also secure a month-long exhibition of the winning artist/maker’s work at The Tolbooth Gallery.
The prizes will be showcased at this year’s SAY Award , taking place on Thursday 24 October at The Albert Halls in Stirling. A short video package on the commission will be screened to all attendees before the prizes are presented to some of Scotland’s most outstanding musical talent.
Underpinning The SAY Award Design Commission is the theme of sustainability, so we’re particularly interested to hear from those developing innovative ideas and processes which focus on circular design, ethical considerations and a zero-waste approach.
Last year we commissioned Stirling-based Brutal Concrete Workshop who created unique prizes made from low-carbon concrete. Appearing to have been sculpted organically by wind, rain and other natural forces, the statuesque concrete totems were bejeweled with recycled glass terrazzo. We’re excited to return to questions around what an “award“ is in the context of the climate emergency, whilst recognising the importance of both music and design to our cultural lives.
If you'd like to be considered, please read the below brief and register your interest before midnight on Monday 5 August.
BRIEF
We are looking for a designer/artist/maker based in the Stirling Council area to create bespoke prizes for the bands and artists recognised as part of this year’s Scottish Album of the Year Award. At this stage, we are not asking for ideas/sketches or concepts.
The person or studio we commission will be tasked with thinking about the concept of a prize/award with sustainability at the forefront of the design process. Past commissions include:
Brutal Concrete Workshop (2023) bejewelled low-carbon concrete with recycled glass terrazzo to create statuesque totems cast from recycled moulds. You can learn more by watching this short video:
ART FUTURO (2022) who fused natural slate veneer with technology to create bespoke trophies that were both sculptural and useful. You can learn more by watching this short video:
Still Life (2021) who used 21kg of waste plastic to create 2021’s prizes, challenging and changing perceptions around what we consider as waste altogether. You can learn more by watching this short video:
For The SAY Design Commission 2024, we require the production of 14 awards in total:
- The winner of The SAY Award 2024 will receive a bespoke prize/trophy.
- The 9 other SAY Award Shortlisted finalists will each receive runner-up awards (all the same design).
- The winners of our two additional prizes – the Modern Scottish Classic Award and The Sound of Young Scotland Award – will each receive a bespoke award/trophy.
- We also require two replicas of The SAY Award winner trophy for the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA).
Following receiving all expressions of interest, our Design Commission panel will select the artist/maker/designer we’d like to undertake the commission. We will work with you to discuss and confirm your ideas before you bring them to life.
Please see the project timeline below and ensure you would have the capacity to deliver what is required before submitting your expression of interest.
Project Timeline:
Check out examples of other trophies/prizes created as part of The SAY Design Commission over the years: https://www.localheroes.design/project/say-award-design-commission
