For the new art commissions, briefs were co-developed with partners using the original 'Mapping Contemporary Art in the Heritage Experience' (MCAHE) artist briefs as a starting point. The briefs were then sent to an invited long list of artists, compiled through conversations with curators and arts organisations. This approach was taken rather than an Open Call due to the limited time available, capacity within the team, and the respective value of the commission. Ten artists submitted Expressions of Interest (EOI) in the project. From this longlist, a shortlist of artists were then invited to work up their ideas into full proposals, for which they were paid a fee. The shortlisted artists then presented their proposed projects to a panel with members of the project team, partners and lay members. The successful candidate was then awarded the commission. Originally we had anticipated only one new commission but due to the quality of the work proposed, funding was sought to support a second.

All the proposals were excellent and decision-making very difficult. In addition to our appointed artists - Hanna Tuulikki and Ruth Ewan - the two other shortlisted artists were: Ollie Dook who sought to explore notions of home through the lens of Bewick’s life and Cherryburn; and Henna Asikainen who focused on the motif of the nest (evocative of home, belonging, protection and sustainability), to draw parallels between Bewick’s work, redolent with his profound attachment to the North East landscape, and her own practice which engages with minority communities building a home in the North East and the climate emergency.