Call out: Mini commissions for digital content for families

by Julia Thomson-Smith, families engagement officer

We are looking for artists, designers and creative practitioners to produce some digital content to get families engaging with their well-being. If this sounds like something you could do, read on!

Background

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and M Shed are offering a number of micro commissions to local artists and creative practitioners.

We want to create inspiring and exciting content for social media and our website that will engage children (age 5-11) and families over the summer holidays and into early Autumn.

We would like these commissions to encourage children to take part in creative activities that could enhance their well-being. The content should be in a shareable format. For example, a social media style post accompanied with a digital resource (photo montage, video, activity sheet etc.).

We recognise that not all families have access to the internet or a computer so where possible we will print copies of the resource and work with local partners to distribute them to families in Bristol.

To date, the our digital family engagement has centred around a theme each week with activities that relate to that theme. The shift to almost entirely digital engagement has allowed a period of exploration. We’re now looking to build on this existing work and focus on producing well-being resources for families during this time of uncertainty.

The team will be using the micro commissions to outline a theme for the week and will create extra activities as necessary. As such, please also suggest a theme that fits with your proposed activity.

Timeline

The timeline for this project is as follows:

• 5 August – submissions close
• First week of August – all applicants will be contacted
• Early August – timelines and live dates for work will be agreed
• Mid August – work begins to go live

Important information

• As we are aiming to support local artists these commissions are only open to people living within the West of England Combined Authority. (Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset)
• The fee for these commissions is £250. This equates to one day of work.
• This work will appear across our digital channels (website, social media, newsletters). It may also be integrated into our physical engagement plan going forward

Key points/outcomes

• An engaging activity that can be shared on digital platforms
• Designed for children aged 5-11
• Specifically designed to enhance their well-being (utilising the ‘Five ways to well-being for children’)
• Accompanying digital presentation. For example, a Facebook post, photo montage, video (see existing social media resources for inspiration)
• A suggested theme that needs to be able to make connections to the museum collections
• Engaging for and with communities/areas across Bristol

Useful references

The five ways to wellbeing for children are:

1. Connect
2. Be active
3. Take notice
4. Keep learning
5. Creativity, imagination and play

Find out more about ways to well-being.

Visit M Shed’s Facebook page for examples of the thematic digital engagement we’ve done already.

Submission

Please submit an expression of interest to Julia Thomson Smith by Wednesday 5 August. Your submission needs to include:

• An introduction to you, including: name, postcode, preferred pronoun and how you heard about this opportunity
• An outline of your idea and suggested weekly theme
• Up to three examples of previous work
• A completed equality and diversity form.