1. Introduction
Artspace invites Indigenous artists from Turtle Island to submit mural proposals for our Maker Space, to be installed over between August 12 and August 25, 2024. This call is open to individual artists (emerging and established), as well as artist teams and collectives.
This call aims to work with an Indigenous artist(s) to install a semi-permanent mural at Artspace that creates visual recognition and a daily reminder that we operate on Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg Territory. Our intention with this project is to honor this truth, and further our commitment to solidarity with Indigenous peoples, decolonization, and building a more just future in this place.
Project Background and Vision
Artspace is a charitable, non-profit, artist-run centre that supports artists in presenting new work and acts as a regional hub for professional development in the arts community. Our exhibitions and public programming foster a stronger appreciation for Canadian contemporary art and serve as a knowledge-building and community-building platform for artists and art appreciators.
In 2022, Artspace received a Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to expand our Media Lab into a more substantial and accessible Maker Space! Today it is a welcoming, low-barrier space where community members access a broad range of equipment, tools, and materials for art-making, creative exploration, and relationship-building.
As the Maker Space enters its second year of operation, we are eager to grow and develop the space to ensure it reflects the needs, experiences, and perspectives of artists and art appreciators in our community. As we celebrate Artspace’s 50th year, we are also diving deep into questions of whose voices, art, and perspectives are underrepresented in Artspace’s history, and whose voices are important to center now, and in years to come. In this spirit, the Maker Space Mural project offers a unique opportunity to bring new meaning, life, and color, and meaning to a lively but relatively plainly painted space.
This project invites thoughtful, dynamic, and innovative proposals grounded in the recognition and honouring of place, revolving around themes of storytelling, the Land, relationship, and community. Additionally, we welcome proposals that expand upon these criteria. We look forward to a range of approaches.
Submission Deadline: Friday, June 21, 5 PM EST.
2. Project Details
Who Can Apply?
This opportunity is open to Indigenous artists of all disciplines from Turtle Island. As stated in the introduction, part of our intention with this project is to create visual recognition that Artspace exists and operates on Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg Territory. Therefore, special consideration will be given to artists with ancestral and/or relational ties to this region.
We welcome applications from solo, emerging, and established artists. Artists and cultural practitioners from the Hiawatha, Alderville, and Curve Lake First Nations are especially encouraged to apply.
Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
Location
The artist is invited to complete the work on panels in the main Gallery, which will then be mounted in the Maker Space. We are located at 378 Aylmer St N in Nogojiwanong (Peterborough), Ontario.
The site measures 34 inches tall, by 32 feet wide
Artist Visit
Artspace will host a Proposal Information and Q&A session on May 17, 2024, 6:30-7:30 PM.
Artists interested in applying are also welcome and encouraged to visit Artspace during regular hours of operation to familiarize themselves with the mural site. Virtual viewings can also be arranged with Artspace staff.
Materials, Paint, & Colour Options
Paint and painting supplies will be provided by Artspace. Artists will be asked to choose from three limited colour palettes, providing the unique challenge of ensuring the finished work complements the aesthetic of the space and Artspace branding.
The successful candidate will paint directly onto a series of birch plywood panels, to be mounted into position on the wall. This will enable Artspace to preserve, care for, and relocate the work in the future if needed.
Paint & Colour Options
Artists will be provided with a selection of 3 colour palettes, from which they may choose 3 colours to use in addition to black and white. The limited colour palette will provide a unique challenge to the artist, while ensuring the finished work compliments the aesthetic of the space, and Artspace branding.
Click here to view the 3 pre-selected colour palettes for this project.
The paint required for the project will be obtained by Artspace through consultation with the selected artist to complete the work.
Compensation
$2500 in remuneration will be awarded to the selected solo artist or designated lead of a group of artists, plus mileage for candidates based outside of Nogojiwanong (Peterborough)
Accommodation & Accessibility
Artspace is committed to open, fair, and transparent processes. We are here to assist you and answer questions you may have about the application process. To get in contact with us please email our programming coordinator, Jillian, at programming@artspaceptbo.ca. Please contact no later than one week prior to the submission deadline.
Project Timeline
Call Open – May 10th, 2024
Info Session – May 17, 2024 6:30- 7:30PM EST
Submission Deadline – June 21, 2024, 11:59PM EST
Artist Notification – July 1, 2024
Material Secured – Aug 1, 2024
Installation Dates – August 12-25
Reveal Party – To Be Announced
Submission Guidelines
Please include the following in your submission:
- Short project proposal (300 words max)
- Detailed sketch of proposed mural design, including your chosen colour palette*
- Artist Biography (250 words max, one for each team member, if applicable)
- Artist CV
- Visual Support Material (10 images max, saved as a single file in PDF format)**
- Support material list***
*Artists are invited to select 3 colours (in addition to black and white) from a single palette to use in their design. Click here to view our 3 predetermined colour palettes for this project.
**Please ensure your chosen support material reflects your experience and skills as they relate to your proposal
***The Support Material List should include title of work, date created, medium, and dimensions.
How to Apply
Please submit your proposal and all relevant documentation through Submittable, an online submissions platform.
Artspace is committed to supporting artists in the creation of their work, and may be able to offer some additional staff support and resources throughout the project development and realization process. Artists are encouraged to reach out early if they feel they need further support from the Artspace team.
Selection Process & Criteria
Our selection committee is composed of three Indigenous artists, who represent a diversity of artistic, cultural practices, and expertise.
The selection committee will discuss each application and select one mural design considering artistic merit, relevance and feasibility.
The successful candidate will be notified no later than Friday, July 5th at 5PM EST.
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Mandate
Artspace is a non-profit organization that assists artists with the presentation of new work. We change in response to the needs of artists and work to engage and inform the public about their work. Formally, our mandate aims to foster a stronger appreciation for Canadian contemporary art. In our ongoing efforts to increase public awareness, we also aim to build on our reputation as one of our region’s most vital arts organizations.
We advocate for artists. We nurture dialogue across disciplines, cultures and perspectives. We are also representatives, responsible for building ties within the community. Ours is a necessary voice in the cultural landscape, and has been since 1974. Our programming, though national in scope, is regional in spirit. In connecting artists to the community and welcoming community involvement, we continue to attract respected talent from across the country; talent we are proud to compensate with fees that exceed recommended CARFAC rates.
Objectives
- To advocate for the rights of artists
- To take a leadership role in the interface between artists and community
- To encourage critical investigations by enabling exploration in curation, exhibition, and performance
- To develop various alternate public forums such as lectures, panel and symposia presentations; workshops; broadcasts; publications; off-site exhibitions, and virtual projects
- To foster dialogue between contemporary artists from diverse cultural/political perspectives
- To serve as a versatile resource facility for local artists and curators
Artspace is built on the strength of its membership, supported by private sector partners, and funded at all levels of government; the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Arts Foundation, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and the City of Peterborough.
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If you have any questions regarding proposals, please contact:
Leslie Menagh
Artistic Director
gallery@artspaceptbo.ca