Open Call Löwenströmska hospital, judicial psychiatric wards
Region Stockholm is inviting professional artists to submit an Expression of Interest for an artwork commission. Registration will remain open until 10th of March 2025.
Invitation
Region Stockholm invites professional artists to register expressions of interest in two artistic commissions at Löwenströmska Hospital in Upplands Väsby.
The commissions concern sculpture-oriented artworks to be located mainly in outdoor sites and in a number of indoor sites in direct relation to judicial psychiatry’s healthcare wards. Artists will be asked to work with the production of artworks in park environments to be used by patients and staff.
The renovation of the hospital premises is expected to be completed in 2027.
Background
The judicial psychiatry healthcare wards at Löwenströmska Hospital are being rebuilt to meet new requirements due to the increased need for care places.
The artistic assignment
For both artistic commissions, it is of particular importance to consider safety perspectives. Because of the varying well-being of the patient group, it is important that the designs for the sculptural artworks are based on a detailed risk analysis.
That the environment is perceived as well-cared for and carefully designed is an important issue for both staff and patients. The specifications for these artistic commissions are founded on care and concern for a sensitive group of patients.
Since both artistic commissions will include work with sculpture outdoors, detailed specifications will be defined at the sketch stage, with a focus on durability and future maintenance.
The artists will receive support in these processes from the project management and from representatives for the healthcare providers.
The scope of the artistic assignments is illustrated in the attached drawings.
Please note that the various criteria for the artistic commission are described under the tabs. Click on the plus sign to read the text.
Application of Interest
If you are a professional artist, you can submit an expression of interest for the assignment. In the expression of interest, you must provide contact information and references to previous work.
In the expression of Interest, you must also provide confirmation that you have read all the requirements described in this announcement in order to be able to accept the assignment.
The Region Stockholm Culture Administration intends to allocate sketch assignments to two artists. The two artists granted sketch assignments will work with their artistic proposals during the spring. The allocation of the artistic commission to one of these artists will be made after an assessment of the completed sketches.
- The diary number for this Open Call is KN 2025/176.
- Application deadline: 2025-03-10 11.59PM
Site Conditions
It is necessary for the artists to maintain a close dialogue with the project manager and artistic adviser, healthcare representatives, architect and landscape architect about the best strategy for how art can enrich the care environment.
Both artistic commissions require a high degree of awareness of the architectural context, and appropriate sensitivity towards the patient group.
Commission 1 - Walking trail
The artist's task is to create artworks for outdoor environments adjacent to judicial psychiatry’s healthcare wards. Several artworks will be placed along a walking trail that encircles a number of buildings on the hospital grounds. Patients can thereby come into direct contact with the artworks when outdoors. The locations where the art can be installed are visible at a distance from the patients' care rooms. Street lighting will be installed in the areas marked for the placement of art, providing suitable illumination to the art project. The building project will prepare for the provision of electricity to the artworks’ locations and construct foundations / plinths for artworks where necessary.
Commission 2 – Café, day room and courtyard
The artist's task is to create artwork for areas both indoors in a café and day room, and outdoors in an enclosed courtyard. The intention of this commission is to connect interior and exterior environments. The parts of the commission that are placed indoors can function as a kind of visual framework for the café and the connecting day room. The areas in the courtyard where the art can be placed can be visited freely by patients and viewed from a distance from some care rooms. Street lighting will be installed in the areas marked for the placement of art, providing suitable illumination to the art project. The building project will prepare for the provision of electricity to the artworks’ locations and construct foundations / plinths for artworks where necessary.
Requirements
Region Stockholm’s Art Commissions are subject to the following requirements:
- The artwork(s) should be of high artistic value with sophisticated content, and contribute to a visually attractive environment.
- The artworks(s) should relate to the health care environment’s specific characteristics and conditions, such as physical safety and accessibility aspects, transportation flows, etc.
- The selection of materials and production methods should be guided by environmental sustainability. The artist awarded the commission is contractually bound to use as environmentally friendly materials as possible and to handle hazardous substances and waste products in an environmentally friendly way in compliance with current legislation. Chemicals not to be used are listed in Region Stockholm's document “Phase-out list for chemicals hazardous to the environment and human health”. The list will be provided when the sketch assignment is awarded.
- The art acquired for Region Stockholm’s health care environments should be well adapted in terms of maintenance. The artist must present solutions for how the artwork should be managed and maintained and ensure that a sufficiently high level of sustainability is achieved.
Budget
- The sketch fee for both artistic commissions is 50,000 SEK excluding VAT.
- The budget for the implementation of assignment 1 is 1,100,000 SEK excluding VAT.
- The budget for the implementation of assignment 2 is 1,000,000 SEK excluding VAT.
The artist is responsible for the budget
The budget must include all costs for the production of the artworks, including the artists' salaries, costs for the artwork's copyright, subcontractors/assistants, travel, transport, insurance, storage until installation can take place, and installation costs.
The building project will prepare for the provision of electricity to the artworks’ locations and construct foundations / plinths for artworks where necessary.
Timetable
- 2025-03-10 Application deadline at 23.59 hours
- 2025 – March - Decision on artist/-s that will be invited to a sketch assignment
- 2025 August - Artist selected for Art Commission
- 2025 August - The production of the artwork begins
- 2027 february - The artwork completed on site
The production of the artwork follows the construction project's general schedule. The timetable for the construction project is preliminary and may be subject to change.
Who can apply?
To be eligible for a public Art Commission for Region Stockholm, you must fulfil these following requirements:
- You must be a professional artist.
- When the commission is awarded to you, you must be able to send legally valid invoices in compliance with relevant tax regulations, for example by being registered for Swedish F-tax (as a sole trader or company).
Assessment of Submitted Applications of Interest
The artist’s Application of Interest with CV and visual material of previous artworks form the basis of assessment.
Based on the criteria in the Art Commission's open call, a selection of artists who are deemed to have the experience and expertise necessary for carrying out the requested task will be made.
Consistent with the diversity the visitors represent and the conditions of the site and the activities, four quality criteria will be taken into consideration in assessment situations:
- richness of variations
- content sustainability
- material sustainability
- accessibility
These four criteria will function as a tool in order to pose relevant and critical questions.
Awarding of a Sketch Assignment
Region Stockholm intends to invite four artists/artists groups to a sketch assignment. The sketch assignment does not automatically result in the awarding of the Art Commission. The artist is awarded the commission when the Agreement for the Implementation of a Public Art Commission has been signed.
The decision on which artists will be invited to a sketch assignment will be made by the Director of the Art Department, delegated by the Culture Committee. Artists who are invited to a sketch assignment will be notified by telephone or e-mail. Under current law, confidentiality applies for Region Stockholm until the decision on the awarding of the Art Commission has been made.
The decision on the awarding of the Art Commission will be published on Region Stockholm’s website in August, 2025.
Questions about the Open Call
For general information on our Art Commissions and requirements, please consult the webpage "Questions and Answers on Public Art Commission".
Specific questions concerning the project should be submitted in writing via the contact formular on this webpage. All questions received will be published together with the answers.
Submit your questions by December 1st, 2024 to receive an answer before the final application deadline.
Language and Commissioning Agency
Language
The open call of this Art Commission is conducted in Swedish. A non-binding translation of the open call is available in English. Application to the open call can be done in both Swedish and English.
Commissioning Agency
Region Stockholm is the Commissioning Agency and will be party to the agreements with the artists. Region Stockholm’s Culture Administration manages the art project, which includes the application and selection process.
Application of Interest
Go back to to Open Call in Swedish.
- Senast granskad: 14 februari 2025