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IN CONTEXT 4 - IN OUR TIME 2016-2019 built upon the principles and experience of previous public art programmes, IN CONTEXT 1, 2 and 3. It called upon the artists' imagination by inviting proposals, under an open submission process, to two distinct strands: the Project Awards and the Evaluation Commission. Through these two pathways, artists were invited to drive an agenda for public art that would unsettle assumed, contemporary attitudes of what is possible in our world today.

The Open Call aimed to attract extraordinary, ground-breaking and radical artists’ approaches across all of the contemporary art forms. New artistic commissions selected for IN CONTEXT 4 explored the triangular relationship between artist, people and placee and considered the future: imagining it for, and with, the diverse communities of people and place who make-up South Dublin County. At its centre, IN CONTEXT 4 embraced ideas about citizenship, community and identity.

In Context 3, 2006-2009, built on the principles underpinning and learnings gained from the previous two phases of commissioning public art under the In Context programme, and was informed by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism’s General National Guidelines for delivery of Per Cent for Art Schemes, published in 2004.

It sought high levels of community engagement, awareness of different audiences, diversity and excellence in all artistic disciplines and art forms, site or non-site specific and permanent or temporary work, and a sensitivity to context. Inherent to In Context 3 was a marked openness with regard to artistic outcomes; and essential to this openness is the programme’s emphasis on TIME enabling artists to explore ideas and realise projects within a supportive environment. The programme was comprised of three commissioning strands: Residencies, Roads, Mediation and Evaluation.

The second phase of In Context, 1999-2003, continued the accomplishments of the In Context 1 Public Art Programme. It was the largest local authority art commissioning programme of its time, and subsequently was held as a model of good practice in Public Art programming. Through In Context 2, South Dublin County Council, advised by consultants Artworking, delivered a diverse series of projects under the auspices of the Per Cent for Art Scheme and funded through the Department of the Environment. This provided both emerging and established artists with an opportunity to engage with the community and to incorporate art into the public domain in new and interesting ways.

For the first phase of In Context, 1997-1999, South Dublin County Council responded to the challenge of expanding the scope of public art programming with a series of distinctive commissions. These commissions involved working with curators and appointed artists, and taking a fresh approach to public art programming in support of new arts practice.