A working page for your next conversation
Start with what you know.
Six prompts to clarify your place, purpose, responsibilities and next decision before a project inquiry.
Short answers are enough. Mark unknowns openly and distinguish confirmed information from assumptions. Use a printed copy or download the text version to complete in your own editor.
Project working title
01
Purpose & people
What should this project contribute to the place? Who uses it now, who should benefit, and whose perspective needs to inform the brief? Write one outcome you would use to judge a direction.
02
Place & permission
Name the proposed site and who controls it. Describe access, public use and known physical constraints. List the plans, surveys or permissions already available, and mark any site assumption that has not been checked.
03
Artistic direction
Are you exploring an artist commission, an existing work, a temporary exhibition or an open question? Add links to a few references and explain what matters about each. A reference need not mean that particular work is available.
04
Funding & timing
State the funding range, if known, and whether it is approved, conditional or still being sought. Say what it must cover. Separate fixed dates from preferences, and identify any approval that controls when work could begin.
05
Decisions & responsibilities
Who can approve the brief, spending and artistic direction? Who will manage the site and care for the work? Identify the people who need to review technical, procurement or contractual questions without assuming those roles are already appointed.
06
Unknowns & next step
List the three questions that most affect whether the project should proceed. Say what help you want now: artistic research, production feasibility, placement planning or commissioning support. Describe the decision you want that help to make possible.