M7 Per Cent for Art Commission - Artist Briefing
Artist Briefing facilitated by Kildare County Arts Officer Éilis Lavelle.
A unique opportunity for local, national and international artists to develop a proposal for a Kildare County Council Per Cent for Art Scheme commission for the M7 located at the Naas/Sallins Bypass roundabout at the N9a Junction Naas, Co. Kildare, Ireland. This commission represents a challenging and exciting opportunity to deliver a new site-specific artwork. We are seeking proposals for an imaginative, contemporary work to engage the public, sited on a prominent roundabout at the new Junction 9a on the M7 that has been developed as part of the M7 upgrade project.
The budget available to the successful artist or team for the project will be €80,000.
Stage 1 Proposals are due on Thursday, 18 June 2026, 12:00 PM
The selection process will take the form of a two-stage competition.
PROJECT BRIEF
The M7 Naas Bypass Motorway, County Kildare and the provision of the new Sallins Bypass (3.7 kilometres of Dual and Single Carriageway) to the west of Sallins provides traffic relief to Sallins Village and facilitates walking and cycleway journeys along the New Sallins Bypass and Sallins Bypass Link Road.Kildare County Council is now inviting proposals from artists to add a permanent feature to the M7 Motorway at the Sallins Bypass where the M7 crosses over the River Liffey at two locations and the Grand Canal at one location thereby providing amenity benefits for the pedestrians and cyclists who use the footpath/cycleway along the New Sallins Bypass. Applications are encouraged from all art disciplines and approaches including collaborative proposals.
COMMISSIONING PROCESS
The selection process will take the form of a Two Stage Open Competition. It is open to all interested professional artists or collaborative groups at any stage or career level who are interested in working on a commission that can reflect the considerations outlined above.Selection will be based on the information supplied by the artist(s) to establish the competence and artistic potential of the artist(s) and or creative team to carry out this commission and meet the expectations set out in the artists brief.No designs or detailed proposals are required at Stage 1. The above information is to inform the applying artists of the criteria for shortlisting and what will be expected should they be shortlisted to develop proposals.Stage 1Artists are invited to express their interest in being considered for this project at the first stage of this commission. Artists may do this by completing the application form and submission of their artists CV (or CV for each lead creative team member) and images / details of recent relevant works / projects.The closing date for receipt of Stage 1 completed application form together with supporting documentation and material is Thursday, 18 June 2026 at 12:00 PM.Stage 2From the completed Stage 1 applications; a shortlist of artists will be selected by panel. This panel, whose decision is final, has the right to clarify any issue which may arise in the course of selection. A proposal development fee of €1,000 will be paid to the shortlisted artists.A Stage 2 Artists Brief and any available necessary drawings will be made available to shortlisted artists to support the development of proposals.A clarification meeting will take place online Thursday, 23 July 2026 at 5:30 PM
Full details: https://kildarecocoarts.submit.com//show/399
QUERIES AND CLARIFICATIONS
For queries in relation to the online application platform contact:
Éilis Lavelle, Kildare County Arts Officer
Email: elavelle@kildarecoco.ie / Phone: 087 4342476
Image: Perpetual Motion, Rachel Joynt and Remco De Fouw