Public Art Commission

The aim of the project is to commission an artwork which captures George Melly’s sense of fun, his mistress jazz, his interest in Surrealist art and his passion for fishing. The challenge will be to depict in static 3D form the outrageous larger-than-life character of George Melly, his unconventionality and exuberance.
We are not looking to commission a statue or portrait of George Melly. We are looking to commission a work of art of high quality which becomes an important landmark in Brecon; a sculpture that the residents of Brecon will be proud of and which will draw visitors to the town.
The Process
An artist’s brief has been written and will be advertised throughout the UK in the summer. A short-list of three artists will be selected to develop a design concept for the artwork and the Artist Selection Panel will choose one artist to take forward their design idea, consult with the local community and create a 3d model of the proposed sculpture.
The project will happen in three phases.
Phase 1: The selected artist will engage the community in the project through workshops and consultation meetings. Art workshops with school children and community groups will introduce people to the project and the issues to do with capturing a person’s life in an artwork and representing jazz through visual art. To stimulate debate about jazz and art and to enliven the workshop events we hope to appoint a jazz musician to play music and to explain how jazz music is constructed. In addition it is hoped that a local painter will also support the selected artist with facilitating the workshops.
As well as ‘hands on’ art workshops the selected artist will hold a public consultation meeting to introduce him/herself to the town, to show previous work and to discuss the possibilities of the George Melly commission.
Phase 2: The selected artist will finalise the initial design concept presented during the design competition and create a 3D model. The model will be launched and displayed publicly in Brecon and will be used to fundraise further for the project.
Phase 3: When our fund-raising is complete the selected artist will be commissioned to create the artwork.
Location
Not only was George Melly instrumental in setting up the first Brecon Jazz Festival but he and his wife Diana also had a home just outside Brecon for nearly 30 years. We believe that his strong connections with Brecon make it the best place to site an artwork in his name.
George Melly was also a keen fisherman and the location chosen for the artwork is at the Promenade in Brecon at the confluence of the rivers Usk and Hondu.