2026 marks two decades of Visit County Durham shaping and supporting the county’s successful and thriving visitor economy, and we are seeking to commission a County Durham based artist to capture this milestone moment.

Background
Visit County Durham (VCD) is the destination management organisation for County Durham and one of a portfolio of nationally supported, strategic, and high-performing accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships. We provide strong local leadership and governance, and are committed to the promotion, management, and development of County Durham as a great place to live, work, visit and do business.

We work in partnership locally, regionally, and nationally on shared priorities and targets, and our mission is to support and grow the visitor economy through robust destination management, strong stakeholder relationships and clear planning.

Our vision is to create the conditions for our residents, businesses, and the environment to benefit from sustainable growth in our visitor economy. By supporting and marketing our distinctive heritage, landscapes, culture and warm welcome, we will grow both day and overnight visits and make County Durham a compelling, global destination for tourism, culture, and business.

Brief
Visit County Durham is celebrating 20 years in 2026, with a stakeholder celebration taking place at our annual Garden Party in July. We will be engaging with the industry to gather suggestions of key moments in tourism over the last two decades, and to record this we are seeking to commission an artist to produce a painting, based on the suggestions made. We would like to feature the creation/completion of the artwork as part of the Garden Party event.

Venue and timings
Raby Castle, 8 July, 4-7pm

Process
Visit County Durham will manage the stakeholder engagement to obtain ‘key moments’ that will form the basis of the artwork. This information will be provided to the artist 2 weeks ahead of the Visit County Durham Garden Party, which is where the final elements of the artwork will be completed live. Depending on the selected artist’s process, the artwork can be started in their own studio, and completed at the event, or produced fully at the event. A safe and secure space will be provided for the live painting element, a pre-event visit can also be arranged if required, with access for set up from 12 noon on the day of the event.

Medium and size
Medium will be artist’s choice, size to be discussed and agreed with the successful artist.

Press and PR
A videographer and photographer will be present at the event, and there will be a requirement to be featured in the assets created, as well as in a short piece to camera to discuss the piece. A quote will also be requested, with all of these assets utilised across Visit County Durham online channels and used for press and PR purposes.

Artwork usage
The copyright for the finished artwork will belong to Visit County Durham for it’s sole use, and without any commercial element. This could include sharing the image in Visit County Durham print and on its online channels.