Galway City Council invites expressions of interest from artists for the creation of a new artwork to be situated at the new “Salmon Weir Pedestrian & Cycle Bridge”.

Galway City Council is pleased to invite artists to submit applications for a public art commission under the Per Cent for Art Scheme for the new Salmon Weir Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge. The new bridge is situated over the river Corrib, 24m south of the existing Salmon Weir Bridge (built in 1820).

This new bridge crosses three separate watercourses (Persse’s Distillery River, River Corrib, and Friar’s River Canal) spanning a total of 85m. The Salmon Weir Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge forms part of the Galway Transport Strategy (GTS). The objective of the GTS is to enhance sustainable travel within the city centre and reduce dependency on the private motor vehicle, in line with national transport and planning policies.

The design of the bridge is intended to be respectful to its neighbours, and sensitive to the beautiful surroundings, including the Convent, the existing Salmon Weir Bridge, wildlife and amenity areas, and the Galway Cathedral. The new bridge will draw pedestrians and cyclists and facilitate a seamless and natural flow from either side of the river, while creating an iconic focal point for locals and tourists alike to take in the views of the River Corrib, the Salmon Weir, the Cathedral, wildlife, and the natural & built heritage in the area – providing not only a piece of transport infrastructure, but an architectural and urban amenity space.

The new bridge will provide a new area of public space, for tourism, leisure, and amenity, as the bridge will be a pleasant link from the Cathedral to the city centre, with space for seating and watching the world go by. The Corrib River is among the shortest in Europe, with only a length of six kilometres from Lough Corrib to the Atlantic but has a dominating presence in Galway City. In the summer, shoals of salmon can be spotted making their way up to the spawning grounds of Lough Corrib in the clear river. The length of the river from the weir to the Salmon Weir Bridge is known as the Galway Fishery and is one of the most prolific salmon fisheries in Ireland.  It is also believed to be responsible for the name of the city. Some suggest that Galway derives from Galvia, a princess said to have drowned in these waters.

The geology of Galway City is quite complex. the city is formed on a small band of Metagabbro and Orthogenesis rock with Granite to the west of the city and Limestone to the east.

Galway City Council under the Per Cent for Art Scheme invite artist(s) to submit proposals for a public art commission.  Proposals are welcome from both individuals and collaborative artistic teams.   The purpose of the percent for art scheme is to commission artists to create new and ambitious work. The Commission is open to all art forms including that of visual arts, literature, music, theatre, digital arts, performance, live art, multimedia, video art, sound art, socially engaged, participatory and research based.

The total budget available for the artwork is up to €47,750 inclusive of Artist fee, VAT, labour, and materials).

This is a two-stage commission process;

Deadline for receipt of stage 1 submission           19/07/2023 @ 5pm

Deadline for receipt of Stage 2 submission          31/08/2023 @ 5pm

Please forward any queries to arts@galwaycity.ie with Per Cent for Art Scheme: Salmon Weir Pedestrian & Cycle Bridge in the subject line.

For further information: https://www.galwaycity.ie/public-art