Open Call for South Georgia Whaling Station

Dec. 10, 2019

The South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) is commissioning a site-specific work on the sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia. This commission will celebrate the whale through a reinterpretation of the former Flensing Plan, offering a message of hope for future generations by demonstrating how humankind can move from exploitation to conservation.

At Grytviken Whaling Station, the scale of destruction of whale species sowed the seeds of a paradigm shift in our view of nature and its exploitation in modern times. With a mandate (through its contract to manage the Grytviken Museum on behalf of GSGSSI) to bring the cultural heritage of South Georgia to an international audience, SGHT seeks to bring the message of hope for the future of the whale to the 15,000 international visitors now arriving by ship at South Georgia each year.

Grytviken Flensing Plan, View from Drone

Rather than simply restoring the early 20th century historic fabric of the site, SGHT and FOSGI, in partnership with GSGSSI, are inviting individuals, collaborative practices and organisations from varying artistic disciplines to submit ideas for a commission to celebrate the whale through a reinterpretation of the former Flensing Plan, the area at the heart of Grytviken Whaling Station.

This commission is open to individuals, collaborative partnerships or organisations from varying artistic disciplines. It is open for mid-career or established practitioners with a proven interest in one or more of the following areas – cultural heritage, the natural environment, ecological issues or conservation, with over five years experience practicing in your chosen proven art form and a track record of delivering large-scale projects on time and on budget. The artist commission fee is £50,000.00 (incl. of VAT if applicable).