Interior Murals and 2D or 3D-Low Relief Artworks
Call for Artist’s Portfolios: Public Artwork for Intermediate School Renovations
Deadline for Portfolios: January 4, 2022 at 5 p.m. MST
The City of Red Deer invites practicing artists to submit their portfolios to the first stage of a public art competition for the recently renovated Intermediate School.
Project background
The first phase of renovations for the Intermediate School occurred from 2017-2018, transitioning the former school into administrative offices, meeting spaces, performing and visual art studios, the Viewpoint Gallery and the office of the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra. Arts and culture programming for all ages is offered at the centre in the areas of music, theatre, drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture and summer camps.
The second phase of renovations is currently in progress and includes the transformation of three additional floors into administrative offices and meeting rooms for The City of Red Deer. The project is anticipated to be complete by early 2022.
Public Art Opportunity
New public art will be placed on centrally located walls throughout the newly renovated spaces. The walls consist of one of two materials: drywall or DIRTT modular partitions. For the drywall sites, the artworks will be murals, low relief sculpture or digitally fabricated artworks (on wood, steel, ceramic or other). Artwork for the DIRTT partitions will be high resolution digital renderings. The digital artwork is printed onto the partitions prior to installation of the wall sections.
Up to 11 artist(s) will be selected through an open, two-stage competition. In the first phase, up to 15 artists will be short-listed, assigned a wall space(s) and invited to prepare a design.
Artist Fees
Each of the short-listed artists will receive a design fee of $500 in addition to the contract fee for the final designs that are selected.
The contract fee for the spaces is set using a square footage calculation for either digital renderings (artist will create a digital artwork, files prepared and delivered) or physical fabrication of the artwork (painted mural or other low profile material/2D sculpture will be installed and the artist/s will supply all materials, labour, and tools). Prices and locations/sizes for each wall space can be viewed in the table below corresponding to the visual diagram of each floor.
Two-Stage Competition
This is a two-stage, open, competition for practicing artists who work in two and three-dimensional media (murals, digital design, interior installations, digital/CNC or other industrial fabrication techniques).
Stage 1: Request for Portfolios: November – January
An internal panel consisting of the project design team members and relevant City of Red Deer staff will review all submissions and identify a short-list of up to 15 qualified artists based on artistic excellence and demonstrated or perceived ability to create and execute an engaging public artwork that is suited to the site and community context.
Stage 2: Request for Designs: January – February
The short-listed artists will be notified in January 2022 and invited to create a detailed design. A Terms of Reference document will be provided to assist short-listed artists in the preparation of their proposals. Short-listed artists will be paid a fee of $500.00 for their designs. Artists can propose to work with multiple sites/walls if there is a conceptual linkage. One design fee would be allocated for a project where a single design/artwork/concept is spread upon multiple walls.
The Public Art Commission will select the finalists whose designs respond best to the site. The selected artists will be notified in March 2022.
Timeline
(dates/times are subject to change):
- November 24, 2021: Call for portfolios issued
- January 4, 2022 at 5:00pm: Portfolios due
- January 10-14, 2022: Selection panel shortlists 15 artists
- January 2022: Short-listed artists notified
- February 22, 2022 at 5:00pm: Designs due
- February/March 2022: Artist final selection by Public Art Commission
- March 2022: Competition Awarded and Contracts Issued
- Spring/Summer 2022: Completion of murals, digital renderings, and installations
Submissions
Professional artists are invited to respond to this by submitting a single PDF document:
Submission Requirements
- Expression of Interest: Brief artist statement (one page maximum) detailing interest in project, demonstrating relevant experience, ability, and general artistic approach. Do not include proposals at this stage. Indicate if you are seeking one wall/site or multiple
- CV and two references
- Sample projects – should indicate appropriate scale, budget, materials, and relevance to project Images: Maximum ten (10) projects
All inquiries can be directed via email to Kelly Andres, Public Art Curator, kelly.andres@reddeer.ca.
Submissions must be received by January 4, 2022, at 5:00pm MT as 1 PDF (max 10MB) by email to culturemailbox@reddeer.ca with the subject line Public Art Submission.
Local Context
The City of Red Deer acknowledges the Indigenous traditional territories represented by Treaty 6 and 7 as the land The City is situated on. This land is also acknowledged by The City as a historic Métis gathering site. The goal of The City of Red Deer is to work together with Indigenous peoples in building a welcoming and inclusive community. Applications from artists who self-identify as a member of one or more First Nations, Métis and/or Inuit communities will be prioritized in this competition.
Visit reddeer.ca for details.
