There is a specific kind of professional whiplash reserved for artists navigating the world of local council commissions.
Back in March, I poured my time into an Expression of Interest (EOI) for some murals at a local sporting facility. I curated my portfolio, formatted my CV, and tailored my creative vision to the brief. Then, the waiting game began.
I emailed the designated project contact for an update in April. Silence. I followed up again in mid-May, only to receive a polite, boilerplate response from the officer handling the applications: “We are currently still in the process of assessing the EOIs... I will hopefully have final decisions by end of May.”
So, being a professional, I held that space in my diary.
But just days later, on the 18th of May, I drove past the sporting grounds. There, with paint rollers and spray cans in hand- were artists. The murals were already physically being installed.
I looked at the walls, then looked at my phone, re-reading the email stating that decisions were "still being assessed". It was a bizarre, gaslighting moment. When I tried to get clarity (my initial contact was on leave) I tried contacting the council call centre- they couldn’t help me and would not transfer my call to anyone on the artist selection panel, instead urging me to call the local art gallery (also run by the council). The gallery contact told me they only helped advertise the project, and that the final decisions sat entirely with the council's project team.
When the project contact finally emailed back, the story changed: the Public Art Advisory Panel had already selected artists for a "few of the walls," but three remained under assessment until the end of May.
Now, June has arrived. The end-of-May deadline has sailed right past, and the promised update never came.
As creatives, we are often conditioned to accept this lack of transparency as "just part of the industry." But when you pull back the curtain on this specific timeline, the process reveals a deeper issue: the way councils handle EOIs has become entirely arbitrary to the reality of making a living as a working artist.
The Logistical Paradox: The Math Doesn't Add Up
To an administrative panel, an EOI process is a tidy paperwork exercise. To a working artist, it is an unpaid gamble with high stakes.
When councils use vague blanket statements to keep shortlisted artists on the hook, they reveal a complete disconnect from how public art is actually made. The math simply doesn't add up. For paint to be drying on a wall by mid-May, a massive logistical journey had to happen weeks, if not months, prior:
Contracts and Legals: Navigating council paperwork, public liability insurance, and risk assessments.
Concept and Colour Development: Designing the site-specific artwork, choosing palettes, and submitting detailed mock-ups.
Feedback Rounds: Presenting draft sketches to the Public Art Advisory Panel and making amendments.
Site Preparation: Securing permits, organising traffic management, and prepping the surface.
To claim an assessment is "still ongoing" while work has already commenced on-site is a logical paradox. It means the initial artists were locked in long before the rest of the applicant pool was given any inkling of where they stood.
When arts panels use blanket lines to keep artists on the hook as a "safety net" just in case a preferred contract falls through, they treat our time as an infinite, free resource. We cannot effectively book other commercial work, pitch to other clients, or manage our businesses while caught in a bureaucratic limbo. It reduces a professional career to an administrative guessing game.
How Councils and Arts Panels Can Do Better
Public art is meant to connect communities and celebrate culture, but the process of commissioning it shouldn't leave the local creative community feeling alienated. If local councils and establishments want to genuinely support the creative sector, they need to modernise and humanise the EOI process.
Here is how they can do better:
1. Own the Phased Approach
If a project is being rolled out or assessed in stages, be completely transparent about it. Sending an update that says, "We have finalised selections for the first round of walls, but your application is still under consideration for the remaining three" takes thirty seconds to type. It respects the artist's intelligence and maintains professional trust.
2. Introduce "Acknowledge and Release" Timelines
If an artist is no longer in the running for the primary slots, release them immediately. Do not hold an entire pool of talent hostage as an unconsenting backup plan. If you want to keep artists on a reserve list, ask them formally: "You are currently our runner-up choice; are you willing to hold your availability until [Date]?"
3. Align Administrative Communication with On-Site Reality
Don't tell an artist a decision hasn't been made when contractors are already on-site executing the work. Ensure the project managers on the ground are actually speaking to the administrators handling the emails to avoid damaging the credibility of the council's arts team.
4. Respect Your Own Deadlines
If you explicitly state you will have a final decision by the end of May, stick to it. If the timeline slips, send a proactive, one-sentence update. Leaving an artist with total silence into June—after months of chasing—is simply unprofessional.
Moving Forward
Artists are incredibly resilient. We deal with rejection routinely; it is an occupational hazard. What we object to is being managed with bureaucratic "lines" rather than logic and basic professional courtesy.
By demanding a higher standard of transparency from funding bodies and local councils, we can hopefully nudge the public arts sector toward a culture that respects the working artist just as much as the finished artwork.
Thanks for reading,
love and gratitude
Alex
