The search is on for an artist to design and produce a statue of Leicester playwright Joe Orton in his home city after a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Celebrities who backed the campaign include Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry, Sir Matthew Bourne, Alison Steadman, Kenneth Cranham and Sheila Hancock.
The Joe Orton Statue Appeal CIC (Community Interest Company) is inviting an artist to develop a permanent work of three-dimensional art as a memorial to Orton in Leicester’s Orton Square, outside Curve theatre.
Leonie Orton, sister of the late playwright and administrator of the Joe Orton estate, said, “I hope that the statue will become a memorable and exciting addition to Leicester’s cultural landscape that raises awareness while celebrating his life, work and legacy.”
This will be the first statue of a self-identified, working-class homosexual man in Britain.
Artists are asked to submit expressions of interest by 31 May including a CV, examples of their work and information about how their design fulfils the brief.
A copy of the design brief can be downloaded from Google Drive.