The Community engagement phase of the Memorial project has now been completed (10 October 2024). The engagement phase went well, with live-streamed, face to face workshops conducted around the country, several online workshops and briefings completed, and bespoke presentations given at the RN and RAF single service LGBT network conferences. An online briefing was also made available to the Army network. The survey itself generated around 300 responses, with a rough split of 2/3 Veterans and 1/3 serving community and a breakdown by service of approximately 50% Army, 27% RAF and 23% RN. Key data from the survey have been used to develop the Design Brief for artists.
We are now seeking artists who want to submit a design for the memorial. For the selection process we’re using the Curatorspace online portal where the Design Brief is posted. The link to the RSS competition portal is here: https://sculptors.org.uk/awards/lgbt-armed-forces-community-memorial
We’re working closely with the Royal Society of Sculptors (RSS), who have lots of experience in managing design competitions like this. Artists wanting to submit a design will be invited to submit an outline “expression of interest” by mid-November and the judging panel will then whittle all the submissions down to a shortlist in early December, based on agreed judging criteria. The shortlisted artists will have a month to complete a detailed design and manufacture a scale model and will then be interviewed by the judging panel in January, when a final design will be chosen.
The judging panel comprises LGBT Veterans and junior serving personnel, and senior reps from the National Memorial Arboretum and Royal British Legion, together with an artistic advisor and a senior trustee from the RSS who is an experienced sculptor and well versed in the full design process.
Once the final design is chosen it will be announced as part of the events marking the 25th anniversary of the lifting of the ban (12 Jan 2025).
When we have a chosen design, we’ll be into the design, build and install phase, with a very tight timeline. We want everything completed by late August 2025 to enable an unveiling in late October, in time for Remembrance commemorations in November. We’re starting to look at the unveiling ceremony itself and will keep everyone updated as plans firm up next year.
The WordCloud image, part of the Design Brief, distils the survey inputs. 300 people listed around 1,000 words. About 300 unique words were in that list, and these unique words were grouped together where they had similar meanings. These 26 words and word groupings represent 85% of the input from the survey.
You can learn more about the project here
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