Worthing Coastal Office Mural Commission

Please note: Applications are now closed and under review. Thank you to all who applied.

Background

The Worthing Borough Council Coastal Office is working alongside Sussex Wildlife Trust and Blue Marine Foundation, who are heading up the 'Help our Kelp' campaign which aims to help bring back the Kelp forest that once thrived along Sussex. Kelp is vital to our marine ecosystem and helps bring many of our species currently under threat a habitat where they can flourish.

Sussex IFCA's near-shore trawling byelaw has now been signed off, meaning that it is now law, and trawling with bottom-towed fishing gear is illegal within the specified area around the coast of West Sussex. This is a landmark decision for the health of the Sussex coast and the Help Our Kelp Partnership are incredibly excited that the byelaw is finally in place!

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The Commission

We want to commission a mural on the promenade-facing side of our Coastal Office building on Worthing seafront - a prime position for locals and visitors to be exposed visually to what our native marine life is like under the waves, creating a narrative on the threats to this through the damage to kelp and a call to action on how to protect it.

We want an eye-catching mural to visually illustrate our underwater life off the Sussex coast which should include the kelp. The artwork should be realistic and replicate this marine life, featuring specific native species in detail that can be identified.

Quality is essential as the mural represents not only the underwater marine environment we are campaigning to protect but also a Coastal Office frontage which is a vital part of engaging with the public to start a dialogue on our marine habitat, the campaign work and the byelaw.

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Site information

The area we would be looking at is around 10.9m (36ft) long and 2.1m (7ft) high. The surface of the office is not flat - see detailed image below.

The mural is intended for the two sides of the Coastal Office visible from the Promenade:

Coastal Office, Worthing (old, before mural)

Surface detail:

Worthing Coastal Office - surface detail

Location of the Coastal Office on Worthing seafront (just to the east of The Lido):

Coastal Office location on Worthing seafront (just to the east of The Lido)

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Timescale

We want to build on the momentum of the Help Our Kelp campaign and the IFCA decision so the timeframe we would expect work to be completed would be within the summer of 2021.

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