Artist Commission 2025: Lavenham Guildhall - Call for Proposals, Essex Cultural Diversity Project

Commission Budget: £10K
Timelines: July - December 2025 (Final Reporting early 2026)

Essex Cultural Diversity Project and the National Trust invite proposals from creative practitioners for a new commission responding to Lavenham Guildhall, a National Trust site in Suffolk. The Guildhall is of great historical significance, emphasised by its location within this renowned historical wool town, and today is enjoyed by around 25,000 visitors per year.

We are looking for a project that can connect the past, present and future of the Guildhall - one which recognises the significance of the building's unique history; explores its current relevance to the local context and can engage both existing and potential communities; and a project that can help articulate shared visions for the future.

The commission is an opportunity to explore the National Trust's role as a national institution and how this very often overlaps with its hyper-local relationships in places such as Lavenham. We'd like proposals to consider how the Trust can continue to engage productively with communities within Lavenham, strengthen its role as a good neighbour, and reach out further to engage new and diverse audiences of all ages.

This is an opportunity for us to learn and reflect on the significance of heritage buildings and their associated social, economic and cultural stories as being core to local identities and sense of place. Throughout this commission we want to be challenged and to ask the question - 'What is the purpose of the Guildhall now and in the future?'

Essex Cultural Diversity Project's 'place-based' commissioning programme helps artists explore diversity, and develop their participant-led, socially engaged practices. Commissions capture the spirit of place, connect communities, and give people a voice.

Read more at https://essexcdp.com/commission/lavenham/