DICE, Artists, commission
'If we want to rewrite economics, we need to redraw its pictures too, because we stand little chance of telling a new story if we stick to the old illustrations.'  Kate Raworth, Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist

We are delighted to be working with 12 artists who have secured a commission to illustrate a forthcoming publication by Professor JP Singh.

The text is titled The Cultural Relations of Negotiating Development: Developing Inclusive and Creative Economies at the British Council, and it will be published in May 2021. 

The commissioned works of art will bring Professor Singh's work to life visually for readers interested in the role of, and connections between, arts, entrepreneurship, the Sustainable Development Goals, cultural relations and international development.

We have included information about the artists and examples of their work in the Artists Biographies, which is available for download below.

You will also find further information about the artist commission and Professor Singh’s paper below. 

About the commission

'Everybody’s saying it: we need a new economic story, a narrative of our shared economic future that is fit for the twenty-first century. I agree. But let’s not forget one thing: The most powerful stories throughout history have been the one told with pictures. If we want to rewrite economics, we need to redraw its pictures too, because we stand little chance of telling a new story if we stick to the old illustrations.'  Kate Raworth, Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist

The commission will comprise:

  • a briefing and dialogue with the DICE Team and Professor JP Singh and the artists who have been commissioned
  • further discussion about the text with the artists to explore what aspects they would be interested in visualizing - both as a group and individually
  • two rounds of submissions from the artist – with feedback provided by the DICE team 
  • publication of your work in the text. The full report and visualisations will be shared widely with the international development community, arts commissioners and investors, and the British Council networks.

The budget available for each artist’s commission is £450 – £2,500. This includes the time spent in the briefing session, two rounds of artistic submissions and the cost of materials. 

To undertake the commission, we selected artists who are:

  • working in one or more of the following media: illustration, painting, graphic design, animation, poetry, graphic novel, comic strips, etc.  
  • excited by the DICE programme ideas 
  • interested in interpreting this academic paper visually and prepared to grapple with its complex ideas
  • able to create wonderful works of art that help tell a story / show a perspective on DICE and JP Singh's analysis
  • proficient, native or fluent in reading English (so as to be able to navigate the text)
  • comfortable with and mindful of deadlines 
  • welcoming of constructive criticism with respect to their work
  • able to attend a briefing workshop with other commissioned artists, the DICE team and Prof. JP Singh
  • able to create and deliver in February - March 2021.

 

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