Art students from across Scotland have been invited to create the design for the new Commemorative Plaque scheme in a competition launched on 5 September 2012) by Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs.
Invitations have been issued to all art and design schools in Scotland, giving one of their students the opportunity to create the winning design for the new scheme and receive a £500 prize.
The chosen design will be used as the official plaque that will be fixed to homes linked with the historical figures chosen to be honoured by the scheme.
Designs have to be submitted to hs.grants@scotland.gsi.gov.uk by 31 October 2012. The six best designs will then be judged by Historic Scotland, with the final decision being made by Ms Hyslop.
There is no strict criteria for the design, however students should consider the following when creating their designs:
· The plaque needs to be easily fixed to buildings with screws etc,
· It is expected that the plaque will manufactured in traditional materials,
· The words on the plaque would need to contain the name of the person and the reason for being commemorated.
Entrants should include details of the materials they are proposing, the colour of the plaque and what form of wording they feel is appropriate for the scheme.
Fiona Hyslop said: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for art students to design the Commemorative Plaques for Scotland, which will celebrate the life and achievements of significant historic figures. I have always been enormously impressed with the wealth of artistic talent here and It is particularly appropriate that this competition is being launched in the Year of Creative Scotland 2012.’
People are invited to submit their nominations for the historic figures they would like to put forward by filling in an application form on Historic Scotland’s website with up to 1,000 words on two questions explaining why their chosen person is appropriate for a Commemorative Plaque. As the scheme has been launched in the Year of Creative Scotland 2012, nominations for historic figures in Scotland’s arts and creative fields are being sought for this year’s scheme, with annual themes being announced each year.
There will be a maximum of 12 plaques awarded each year. These will be decided by an independent academic panel which is still to be announced.
For details and nominations see: LINK
