Liberty Producing Partner

Primary Objectives

• To deliver Liberty in Wandsworth as per GLA’s Vision Paper (available on request) and in alignment with Wandsworth Arts & Culture Strategy 2021-2031.
• To co-design and deliver a fantastic showcase of D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent-led work of exceptional quality created for both indoor and outdoor spaces across artforms and with a diversity of types of engagement.
• To take over the management of the £70,000 for R&D (see Appendix 2).
• To work closely with Battersea Arts Centre to deliver a vibrant and inclusive festival hub.
• To design a cross-borough programme including leading cultural organisations, professional artists, youth voice and community groups.
• To ensure the relevance and reach of the festival across the whole borough of Wandsworth, by securing and programming subsidiary spaces in different parts of the borough as part of the festival outreach programme.
• To manage the call outs, programming and contracting to a high standard.
• To supply and coordinate production services, staffing, security and stewarding, infrastructure, and technical facilities to stage this festival, including all legal and licencing requirements, health and safety, crowd management, waste, fire, and medical provision.
• To create an engagement plan to build D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent participation in the borough. This could be through outreach with interest groups, charities or SEND schools for example.
• To create and deliver an accessibility plan which ensures Liberty is accessible to all audiences, its artists, team and partner organisations.
• To work in conjunction with Wandsworth Borough and Greater London Authority to produce and deliver a comprehensive integrated marketing and audience development campaign for Liberty which promotes the inclusive nature of the London Borough of Culture.
• To convene the Wandsworth Liberty Steering Group, update them on the progress of the programme and action their decisions.
• To consult and update both Wandsworth Council and the GLA’s Liberty Advisory Group, whose role is to provide collective oversight of Liberty, including its strategic direction, accessibility and artistic programme.
• To support the evaluation process with partners, artists and audiences.

Secondary Objectives

• To support staff, volunteers and venues with a platform for learning in advance of the festival (e.g. Disability Equality training) and in the programming of the festival (e.g. BSL sign language workshop). 
• To explore opportunities for partnerships and/or further funding.
• To conduct all finance matters to a high standard and share all relevant financial information in an auditable fashion.
• To maximise the opportunities of cross-promotional opportunities across the wider London Borough of Culture Programme.
• To encourage participating venues to become accredited to the Dementia Friendly Venues Charter where possible.
• To support internships, volunteering and skills development opportunities, particularly for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people.
• To support and help build the legacy of Liberty, to ensure the needs of D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent artists, participants and audiences remain central to delivering high quality accessible mainstream events.

Budget

• Wandsworth Council will provide a maximum budget of up to £230,000, which includes contributions from the Mayor of London National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), and other funders. Wandsworth Council, the Mayor of London, NLHF and other funders all need to be credited as funders of the event on all marketing assets.
• This budget covers the schools engagement and audience development programme, the festival weekend (including all management, artistic, operational and access costs), an artist residency at the Royal Hospital of Neuro-Disability’s Archive department, Communications & Marketing, Evaluation, and possibly a Take-Over of Battersea Arts Centre by Wandsworth Liberty Working Group (composed of Action Space, The Baked Bean Charity, Blink Dance Theatre, Oily Cart and Sound Minds plus Battersea Arts Centre).
• An additional £70,000 will be invested in R&D (see Appendix 2), which will be managed by the Producing Partner (although some elements will already be in train when this contract starts).
• The Producing fee to deliver against the above objectives is £30,000.
• Should the Producer not be in a position to deliver on every single one of those objectives but still be interested in producing the festival, they should apply, specifying the elements that they are offering to deliver upon and reflecting their level of delivery in their Producing fee.
• The Producing Partner may seek to expand this budget and their producing fee via further fund-raising and sponsorship. Additional resources provided by the event producing partner, potentially via sponsorship and/or in-kind, should be indicated in the budget response as expected or confirmed.
• The Producing Partner is responsible for drafting and submitting a final reconciled budget to the Wandsworth Council. Copies of supplier invoices, evidencing spend against expenditure lines, may also be requested by the Council and/or the GLA.
• We expect London Living Wage to be paid and Arts Council guidance for working with freelancers and practitioners to be followed.

Support from Wandsworth Council and GLA

• A dedicated lead officer from Wandsworth Council will offer check-ins and support as required, and contribute to agenda setting.
• A dedicated support officer from Wandsworth Council will offer secretarial support during steering group meetings.
• GLA Officers will also be available for guidance, both directly and through liaison with the Liberty Advisory Group.
• Marketing and Communications support.
• Transport for London connections through GLA.
• Support in making links with other Council teams and GLA related programmes where relevant.

Who can apply

We welcome applications from cultural organisations, independent producers or collectives.

Priority will be given to disabled-led applicants. If the applicant is not disabled or a disabled-led organisation, then they must demonstrate how they will ensure disabled control of the curatorial process.

You must have the right to work or operate in England.

How to apply

Provide a creative and production response for Liberty 2025 in Wandsworth. This is to specify production, infrastructure and management services required to deliver a safe and successful festival that realises the creative proposal and clearly indicates how Liberty 2025 will be embedded as part of both Wandsworth’s Arts & Culture Strategy and the London Borough of Culture Programme.

The response should include:

• Details of experience of delivering similar projects
• Costed response to the objectives, including daily fees and spread of working days
• Delivery team and structure
• Approach to programming, training and delivery
• Engagement plan
• Access and welfare plans
• Delivery timeline
• Sustainability measures
• Evaluation methods

You should submit your application by returning the application form and supporting documents to culture@wandsworth.gov.uk by midday on 2 December 2024.

Next steps

Should you be invited for interview on Thurs 12th December, you will be required to prepare a live presentation to the steering group, covering:

• Your creative vision, including format options and example programme content
• Partnership working
• Expected challenges and creative solutions
• Audience development plan
• Internships & Volunteer involvement

Indicative timeframe

Please note timings are indicative and subject to change.