Bridgeland Overpass Pier Mural
Memorial Drive – Edmonton Trail Intersection
The Bridgeland Business Improvement Area (BIA) invite artists or artist teams to submit qualifications for the design of two murals on overpass piers in Bridgeland, along Memorial Drive, between Edmonton Tr. and 4th Str. NE. The murals are intended to be painted directly on the overpass piers to create a temporary, vibrant and engaging landscape. The murals will be enjoyed by motorists, pedestrians, businesses and residents in the area while construction is underway on the Bridgeland Main Streets Improvements Program.
Artists with experience creating outdoor murals are encouraged to apply. This opportunity is open to local professional artists with connections to the Bridgeland area. Individual artists or artist teams/collectives are eligible.
BIA recognizes and values diversity and inclusion; and unique dimensions of diversity including race, ethnicity, gender, disability,
age, religion, sexual orientation, work style, communication style, learning preferences and others.
Context
The Bridgeland community is diverse community and was developed on Treaty 7 territory, the traditional home of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îethka Nakoda Wîcastabi Nations, and the Métis Nation.
First Nations peoples, including Piikani, Kainai, and Siksika of the Blackfoot Confederacy, as well as Tsuut’ina and Nakoda, have
inhabited the Bow River Basin for more than 10,000 years. The Bow River and surrounding area provided essential sustenance as well as an important transportation corridor for seasonal movement. The Nakoda was the only nation to establish a fishery in the Bow River, while other groups used it to strategically drive the bison hunt.
The buffalo traversed the Bow River at its shallow area near the present-day Reconciliation Bridge. Indigenous people roamed through this area, hunting, camping and crossing the river as well.
The area was treeless except for the banks of the Bow River.
The first European to explore the Bow River was David Thompson in 1787–88. Attempts were made to set up fur trading posts, but inadequate resources meant they closed quickly. Early European settlement centred on farming and ranching in the Bow Valley and commerce in Calgary. The fertile soils and lengthy growing season were conducive to farming oats, barley, wheat and livestock, and irrigation structures were soon built. The Bow River provided food and a transportation route for settlers and merchandise. Calgary was established as a fort in 1875, and the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed to this point by 1883 — an event that facilitated settlement and the transportation of agricultural products. With European settlement came diseases, and several epidemics decimated First Nations populations in 1781, 1819-20, 1837-38, and 1869-70.
Riverside was initially an informal settlement on the north side of the Bow River, outside Calgary city limits, primarily with immigrants from several European countries. The building of the first Langevin Bridge in 1888 spurred settlement and the area became known as Germantown. The important trail to Edmonton became the locus of ongoing development and Riverside became a village in 1902, with boundaries extending from the river to 6th St. and as far north as 8th Ave. Calgary’s population boom in the early 1900s meant even more settlement along this busy transportation corridor and by 1910 significant development was happening in nearby Bridgeland including the Calgary General Hospital, Fire Hall #4, Riverside Public School, along with a new Steel truss Langevin Bridge and a streetcar route along 4th St. and to the hospital. Many two- and three-storey buildings were constructed including Riverside Hotel, Sligsby Block, Armour Reliance Block, Poffenroth/DeWaal block and north of 1st Ave. was Gallelli Block and Roma Grocery.
Industries were also established such as Pioneer Stables, Riverside Ironworks and Riverside Steam Laundry (west of 4th St.) and Riverside Lumberyard to the east along Boulevard Avenue. Small grocery stores, shoe repair and barber shops, drug stores and department stores opened at street level, serving the many new immigrants who were settling on both sides of 4th St.
Many languages were spoken by the German, Ukrainian, Italian, Jewish and Chinese residents who joined with nearby Bridgeland (which had been annexed to the city in 1907) to form the Bridgeland -Riverside Athletic Association. The area was busy with people, horses, streetcars and many young children. Riverside was annexed to the city in 1910 and growth continued until 1914 when WW1 started. Further development was curtailed in the area until the 1950s.
The City of Calgary has been working with the Bridgeland Riverside community to create a vibrant, culturally rich place to live, visit, work and do business, for generations to come. More information about the project is available at calgary.ca/bridgelandmainstreet.
Public Engagement
The artist or artist team will be expected to participate and engage with the Bridgeland community, including residents, businesses, Indigenous and visitors to develop a concept that reflects the community.
The engagement should build upon past feedback gathered from the community, as well as new information gathered through
engagement activities with the artist(s) and supported by BIA. The BIA will work with the artist/s to ensure a thoughtful and inclusive engagement process is completed.
Compensation
The artist or artist team will be paid a total of $15,000 CDN (not including GST) for organizing public engagement and development of the artistic concept. The successful applicant is paid based on deliverables as per their Scope of Work contract. The artist/artist team is responsible for managing their project budget.
The total budget includes (but is not limited to):
- Artist fees and consultation
- Artist time spent on conducting public engagement
- Travel if applicable
- Insurance
- Studio fees
- Installation supervision fees
Once finalized, the artistic concept will be installed /painted on the roadway by a third-party contractor hired by The City. The contractor will provide materials (specific roadway paint product and anti-graffiti coating), equipment, and a specialized crew to implement the artists vision on the roadway. The artist will have to supervise the installation work as a part of this contract.
The commissioner for this project is: Bridgeland BIA, Attention: Jacqui Sanderson, 203 – 736, 1st Ave. SE, Calgary, AB, Canada T2E 0B8.
Contact for questions: ed@bridgelandcalgary.com.
How to submit: Email ed@bridgelandcalgary.com.
There is no cost to the applicant to provide a submission.
Submissions must currently be provided in English
For the full submission details and how to apply, review the attached PDF.
