Art Bus RFQ 2026 Info Session: Video and Transcript

Art Bus 2026 RFQ Info Session Transcript August 13, 2025 

Tiffany Wollman: Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge that the land we gather on, Mohkinsstsis, is the ancestral territory of the Siksikaitsitapi — the Blackfoot people — comprising the Siksika, Kainai and Piikani Nations, as well as Treaty 7 signatories, the Tsuut’ina Nation and the Îyârhe Nakoda Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney First Nations. Excuse me for a second. Today this land is home to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government Districts 5 and 6 as well as many First Nations and Inuit from across Turtle Island. 

We acknowledge that there has been art, music, dance, storytelling and ceremony on this land since time immemorial and it is in the spirit of this land and its people that we do our work. 

For your reference, here is my contact information. This slide will be up at the end as well if you would like to take a screenshot or write it down. I also have Natasha Jensen, another project lead working on this program and our coordinator, Helen Hu, on the contact list. Helen can help answer questions about our application platform and help with any technical issues. Make sure to reach out early with any questions.  

With me today is my colleague, Tracy Wylie. She is supporting me with Zoom. I may mention a few links throughout the presentation, and she will be dropping them into the chat. If you are having any technical issues during the presentation, you can send Tracy a direct message through the chat.  

We are going to start with some information about Calgary Arts Development and the Public Art program.  

Our overarching vision is: A creative, connected Calgary through the arts where everyone is empowered to live a creative life. 

Our Mission is: The arts have the power to create vibrant communities and bring together diverse voices and perspectives. We support artists in the development of their skills and the expression of their creativity. Calgary Arts Development supports and strengthens the arts to benefit all Calgarians. 

What is Public Art? 

At Calgary Arts Development we define public art as art in the public realm that is initiated and led by an artist. 

Public art can: 

• Take different forms and levels of participation 

• Last for a few hours or for decades 

• Share community interests and identity 

• Communicate the significance of a place 

• Teach about history and culture 

• Become an iconic representation 

• Delight and engage people 

• Make people think and wonder 

• Memorialize and mark important events 

As the City’s designated arts development authority, we invest and allocate municipal funding for the arts provided by The City of Calgary and leverage these funds to provide additional resources to the arts sector. Our programs support hundreds of arts organizations, individual artists, and artist collectives in Calgary. 

We are uniquely positioned to deliver and create a future public art program built upon our knowledge of, and strong relationships with the arts community.  

We are creating a public art program that is engaging, relevant and accountable. Our intent is to foster meaningful connections and dialogue between artists and communities, utilizing art in the public realm to reflect Calgary’s diverse stories and values. 

Calgary Arts Development’s role is: 

• Commissioning new artworks through open competition 

• Programming – For example youth programs, artist development, and temporary exhibitions 

• Building public art awareness and activating the collection 

While the City is responsible for: 

• Collection conservation and maintenance 

• Activation of the collection 

This is Mao and Chris’ Art Bus titled Pieced Together 2025. 

Here’s a quick overview of the Art Bus program timeline: 

• Applications are accepted until September 23, 2025, at 4:30pm MT. We encourage submitting your application as early as possible. Late submissions will not be accepted. 

• All applications will be reviewed and assessed after the deadline until early November 2025. 

• Notifications will go out via email, end of November, letting applicants know if they were successful or not.  

• In December, selected artists will be onboarding and will begin developing their concept and artwork.  

• Early Spring, artists interviews will be filmed. These interviews will later be used to communicate the program and the ideas and creative process behind each Art Bus. 

• Mid – April, artists will submit their final artwork files.  

• End of May, the Calgary Transit buses will be wrapped with the original artworks. 

Program Overview 

Calgary Arts Development invites artists and artist collectives to submit qualifications for an opportunity to wrap the exterior of a public transit bus with new artwork. The buses will be in service for a minimum of 12 weeks in the summer of 2026. In addition to the exterior bus wrapping, there are interior display opportunities that will share information about the artist and reproductions of their pre-existing work. 

We welcome artists in any stage of their career and working in any discipline who live in Calgary/Mohkinsstsis to apply. Residency requirements will be waived for First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) artists and collectives practicing and operating in the Treaty 7 region. 

Artists previously selected for Art Bus or Centre City Banners 2023 to 2025, or currently selected for Centre City Banners 2026 to 2028, are not eligible to apply. 

Up to seven artists or artist collectives will be selected through the Request for Qualifications. Selected artists will work with Calgary Arts Development to create and refine an original artwork in response to one of the following themes that considers the multiple contexts of Calgary and the communities the buses will connect with: 

• Honour Indigenous stories and perspectives 

• Public transit as social spaces 

• Share stories of your community 

• Bring beauty, joy, whimsy and hope 

This initiative provides opportunities for the public to engage with public art in unexpected spaces, bring temporary art into a wide variety of communities, and showcase the talent and diversity of artists living within Calgary/Mohkinsstsis as well as First Nation, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) artists and collectives practicing in the Treaty 7 region. 

Here is Phoebe Riel’s Art Bus in transit from 2024. 

Artist Fee 

Successful artists/collectives will be paid $9000 (not including GST) per Art Bus. 

This total, all-inclusive amount includes all costs associated with engagement, creation and communication for the artwork. In addition, selected artists/collectives will be provided with four books of transit tickets for inspiration and research during the concept phase or to ride the new Art Buses after installation. 

Commitment to Equity 

Calgary Arts Development is committed to working with communities that have historically been underserved. We are guided by the core principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. 

We are committed to the process of eliminating institutional racism, ableism and barriers in our programs, policies, and practices by centring the creativity and leadership of those communities most impacted by structural inequities. Our commitment outlines a vision for a city where Calgarians of all backgrounds can access, create, and participate in art as part of their everyday lives. The four pillars of this vision are: 

Equity: Creating equitable access for Calgarians who have had less opportunity for philanthropic and governmental support due to systemic barriers that exist in our community. 

Diversity:  Supporting artistic endeavors that reflect our diverse community and in supporting the work of artists of diverse backgrounds. 

Inclusion: Engaging a wide variety of voices and perspectives in shaping and furthering the work that we do. 

Accessibility:  Eliminating systemic barriers that prevent people who encounter 
physical, mental, or cultural barriers to spaces, programs, and services from participating in the arts. 

We want to honour lived experience, and the intersectional and unique experiences of different people and communities by following a ‘Nothing about us without us’ policy. If you are creating work about a specific community, that community needs to be actively engaged and consulted, and there needs to be a clear and intentional relationship. 

Aligning with our commitment to EDIA, we will strive to work with applicants in a ‘one size fits one’ way. Reach out with any concerns about how your project fits into the Microgrant Program, oops, sorry, the Art Bus program, or our application process. 

There are things that we will not tolerate such as hate speech, cultural appropriation, and active exclusionary behaviour. So please be aware that applications or projects that contain this will not be accepted. 

This is Moey Blanco’s Art Bus titled Cementology. 

Project Description 

This initiative provides opportunities for seven artists or collectives to share their artwork on public transit. 

Selected artists will create new, original artwork using a template designed specifically to wrap the exterior of a bus. Additionally, artists may submit their existing artworks that will be reproduced for display inside of the bus. The artwork will be installed for approximately 12 weeks between May and October 2026. 

Once selected, artists will create original artwork using a template designed specifically to wrap the exterior of a bus in response to one of the following themes: 

• Honour Indigenous stories and perspectives. This could mean share stories of Indigenous culture, traditions and history, share contemporary Indigenous perspectives and ideas, and explore paths toward reconciliation and inspire dialogue, understanding and change.  

• Public transit as social space, meaning, explore the social dynamics of public transit as a shared space where people from diverse backgrounds come together to create moments of interaction, connection and community-building, and reflect on the role of transportation in shaping urban landscapes and connecting communities.  

• Share stories of your community, you can delve into your experiences of how you relate and connect to the community around you, celebrate diverse communities and rich cultural histories.  

• Bring beauty, joy, whimsy and hope. Share a sense of whimsy, surprise and joy with Calgarians and visitors.  

Only selected artists will be asked to create a new artwork for the bus exterior based upon the themes indicated in the call. 

For art displayed inside the bus, four (4) pre-existing artworks will be selected. These images are not required to relate to a proposed theme and are instead a way to showcase your body of work. 

In addition, artworks will not be approved if: 

• Artwork does not comply with or respect cultural protocols. 

• Artwork uses present Indigenous cultural material, traditional knowledge or stories without express permission from the community and/or clear connection to the originating community. 

• Artwork willfully or in bad faith promotes intolerance, hatred or hate speech to incite violence or harm. 

• Artwork encourages activity that is illegal or contravenes provincial or federal law, or municipal bylaws. 

• Artwork promotes contests and competitions, or fundraising activities. 

• Artwork relates to campaigning for a specific political candidate or party in an election. 

• Artwork would be construed as advertising. 

This is Dr. Hali Heavy Shield’s Art Bust titled Brothers & Sisters.  

Selected artists must use the provided templates and work closely with Calgary Arts Development’s design consultant to ensure they are preparing files that can be successfully converted into an exterior vinyl bus wrap and interior cards. 

Exterior Vinyl Wrap 

Artists are responsible for ensuring they have the appropriate equipment and software to deliver final files according to the following requirements: 

• Final files must have a resolution of 900 ppi (pixels per inch) and be in CYMK 

• Files must be delivered in either a .tif or .eps file format 

• All text must be converted to outlines 

Here is an example of a bus exterior to demonstrate the sides of the bus selected artist will create artwork for and the functioning elements of the bus that cannot be wrapped. The areas that cannot be covered with vinyl are indicated in pink. The front of the bus is not included in the wrap, the front passenger door and first passenger window, driver’s window, lights, reflectors, air vents and license plate. The remaining windows of the three-sided bus wrap will be perforated so that passengers can still see out the windows.  

Interior Display Opportunities 

• Selected images can be printed up to 34 inches width by 10 inches height or 83.6 centimeters width by 25.4 centimeters height. 

• Files must have a resolution of 150 ppi (pixels per inch), be in CYMK format 

• Files must be delivered in either a .tif or.eps file format 

• All text must be converted to outlines 

• All artwork must be original and belong to the artist 

An example of the interior cards displayed in the interior of the bus can be seen here in Sydonne Warren’s Art Bus titled Interwoven. 

The selected artists will: 

• Participate in an engagement activity facilitated by Calgary Arts Development. 

• Create and refine an original artwork that responds to one of the proposed themes within a 4-month timeframe. 

• Submit their artwork for comments, revisions, and approval. Artwork must be original to the artist and created for the purpose of this call. 

• Work with the design team to adjust their artwork to fit the bus and address parts of the bus that need to be vinyl-free. 

• The bus interior may also display reproductions of the artist’s pre-existing artworks, subject to approval by Calgary Arts Development, The City of Calgary and Calgary Transit. Artists will supply an installation layout that identifies the order of the artwork and accompanying text for each interior card. 

• Develop and provide an artist bio and artwork statement that may be used in communications about the program. 

• Work with Calgary Arts Development staff to communicate program development. 

• Participate in a celebration event and provide a brief artist talk and involvement in the project. 

Note: The artist’s scope of work and budget does not include printing, installing or maintaining the bus wrapping and artwork reproductions. These tasks will be financed separately and managed by Calgary Arts Development. 

Program Goals 

• Provide opportunities for artists of all levels to share their artworks and stories  

• Bring public art into a variety of areas and communities that may not historically have as much public art 

• Educate Calgarians about what public art can be and how it can change a landscape 

• Create connections between different areas of our city 

• Provide pedestrians and drivers with an engaging visual art experience 

• Enhance the overall experience of people who use public transportation 

• Celebrate Calgary’s cultures, communities, histories, geography and diversity 

• Provide a temporary and impactful public art experience for all Calgarians. 

This is Rawry & Pohly’s Art Bus in transit, 2024.  

Program Criteria & Scoring 

• Successful applicants will be selected by an independent assessment committee made up of artists, arts professionals, community representatives and subject matter experts.  

• The membership of the peer assessment committee will be chosen through public nominations and staff expertise. 

• Assessment committees are chosen to represent the broad diversity of Calgary and its religion, beliefs, nation, physical and neurological identities, etc. 

• Assessment committees are held to the Calgary Arts Development Group Agreements intended to commit to open, generous, and respectful evaluations and communications. You can read through the Group Agreements found on our website. 

• Anyone can ask to participate on a Calgary Arts Development assessment committee by completing the Assessor Nomination Form online or by emailing publicart@calgaryartsdevelopment.com. 

If anyone has any questions about the group agreements, I can clarify as well.  

Submissions will be, oh, I am going to do a live run through of the registration and application process. Before we get into that, I want to go over the application submission requirements in more depth. 

Submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria: 

Letter of Interest is worth 50 points and has a maximum word count of 500 words.  

In your letter of interest provide a response to each of the following statements: 

• Explain your interest in this opportunity. 

• Specify how your experience and art practice will contribute to this project. 

• Indicate which theme from the guidelines you have selected and describe how you would respond to that theme. 

• Share how this opportunity will support your practice. 

Note that your art practice does not have to be digital illustration or design or traditional 2-dimensional works like painting, if you work in other mediums, for example beading, fibre or ceramics like Art Bus 2025 artist duo Mao and Chris, and want to incorporate this into how you respond to your selected them, this is welcomed. If selected, you will be responsible for high resolution photograph/document or flatbed scan this other medium and to lay it into the templates that will be provided to selected artists. In your Letter Interest if you are working in this way, what your approach would be to implement this other medium into the Art Bus artwork design.  

Curriculum Vitae or CV is worth 20 points. 

• Demonstration of relevant experience in public art, visual art or design 

The images section of the application is worth 30 points. 

• A minimum of five (5) and up to 10 images of existing finished artworks uploaded as individual media files. The following information must be included for each image: title, date, size, materials or medium and a brief description. 

• Demonstration that this artist’s work lends well to this medium. 

• Demonstration of artistic skills and approach needed to deliver a compelling design for this project. 

Uploaded artwork must be original and belong to the artist. If artworks were done in collaboration with another artist, indicate the name of the collaborating artist(s) and describe your role in the collaboration. 

If the artwork was created as a commercial commission, indicate the commissioning client and describe your role in the development of the artwork. Failure to credit collaborators or co-creators and/or uploading artworks that do not belong to you and/or infringing on another artist’s copyright will make your application ineligible for assessment. If you are an artist working in commercial design, it is recommended to also submit examples that demonstrate your own artistic voice. 

Scoring Process 

Assessment committee members will review applications and rate the level to which they agree or disagree that the information meets the program criteria listed in the section above based on the following scale: 

• Strongly Agree 

• Agree 

• Disagree 

• Strongly Disagree 

The assessment committee will review all eligible and complete applications. After scoring, the assessment committee will discuss the top 20 scoring applications, any other applications they wish to bring forward and discuss and make the final artist and/or collectives’ selection in a meeting facilitated by the public art staff. 

The application process is competitive. Decisions of the assessment committee are final, and the committee reserves the right to select no applications. 

How to apply on SmartSimple 

Let’s get into the process of how to apply. 

Applications are only accepted through our online application platform. You will be able to access the interface through this button on the left side of the CADA website, or calgaryartsdevelopment.smartsimple.ca, or by clicking the “Apply Now” button found in the guidelines. 

We are going to watch this short video that demonstrates the registration process if you do not have an account set up in SmartSimple and then go through the application process in the online platform. 

Helen Hu: (video) I’m going to go over how to apply for a program. We use an online platform called Smart Simple. If you already have an account with us, you can log in right away to start or continue your application by clicking on the log in button here. If you do not already have an account with us, you will need to create one and set up your profile prior to opening an application. 

You can do so by clicking Create an Account here. If you’re an individual artist, please select individual artist and likewise for artist collectives, you will need to fill out all the mandatory fields within the form here. Once you are finished, please click I am not a robot and submit. You should receive an email from Smart Simple to finish setting up your password. 

The Open Opportunities page will display all the open opportunities available for applying to. You will see a short description of each program listed here and if you would like to download a PDF copy of the program guidelines, click on View. When you are ready to apply for the program, click on Apply to begin your application. You’ll be directed to this page where you will click Begin Application. 

You’ll notice that the first tab within the application is contact information. The following section of the application will automatically populate based on the information provided in your profile. It’s important that you keep all of your profile information up to date prior to submitting your application. The portions of your profile that are reported over include the type of applicant you are: individual artist or artist collective. Artist resume or curriculum vitae will be ported over here as well. Your artistic discipline, years of practice and your artistic practice Statement. A common troubleshooting topic is if this area is empty or if your art artist, resumé or CV is not here, it means that your profile is not complete or that you haven’t uploaded this in your profile. You can do this by navigating to this icon at the top right corner and clicking my profile. You want to make sure that all of this information is complete and that you click on Submit Profile here. 

The second tab within this application is submission requirements. You’ll be asked how you’re heard about this call. You’ll be asked to include a letter of interest and support material for the letter of interest Please refer to the evaluation guidelines in the call to artists. There you will see the specific questions that need to be responded to within your letter of interest or support materials. Please make sure you submit a minimum of five images and a maximum of ten images within this media gallery. You can click on Browse Files here or you can drop files within this window. You’ll see the file types that are allowed in here. 

Once you have completed uploading all of your images to the photo library, you will need to provide some more information such as the title, your completed size, the medium, and a brief description that includes the location, if applicable. You can do this by navigating to the icon just below the image and it will see properties. The default title will be the file name, but you can change this to the title of your artwork. 

You can select from the calendar the date that the artwork was completed or dimensions. You can enter the dimensions of the artwork. And if this is not applicable, you can enter not applicable for medium to medium. It is, and you can provide a brief description of the artwork. You have a maximum of 100 words for the brief description. 

Once you have completed all the necessary fields, you can click on Save. You’ll need to do this for each image that you uploaded, like to save the progress in your application and come back to work on it at another time. You can click on Save Draft Here and you can always navigate back to your application from the home page by scrolling down to my applications and in drag status I have so I can click on open, and it will take me back to my application. 

And here, when you were ready to submit your application, you can click on Save and validate. This will let you know if there are any mandatory fields that you have not yet completed. And when you are ready to submit your application, you can click on Submit Here. There will be a splash page that asks if you are sure you want to submit your application. 

There’s a reminder that your profile must be up to date prior to submitting because there are portions that are ported over from your profile. 

Tiffany Wollman: Okay, thanks for watching. 

Need help applying? 

Calgary Arts Development is committed to open, fair and transparent processes. We recognize that barriers within the arts community exist, particularly for equity-seeking communities, and that there are many different entry points into an artistic practice and career in the arts. Our Applicant Support & Accessibility Policy is available for applicants who may need support from program staff, or financial assistance to access support from someone outside of Calgary Arts Development. We will work one-on-one with people to help find solutions that suit their abilities and situations. 

If you have any questions, or need help completing an application, please contact project leads Tiffany Wollman or Natasha Jensen. 

Application Tips 

The goal is to paint a complete narrative of who you are, what you want to do, why it is relevant to the goals and themes of the program, how your skills and experience makes you a strong candidate for this program, and how this opportunity will impact and grow you as an artist. 

Here are some general tips for a strong application: 

• Review the entire Guidelines. There are a lot of important details in this document, and it will help you avoid holes in your application. 

• Contact us as early as possible if you require assistance. The more time we have, the better we can help. We can review your applications for completeness up to 10 days before the deadline. 

• Make sure your SmartSimple artist profile is complete and up to date. Note that the curriculum vitae/CV you have in your artist profile transfers over to your application for this program and will be the CV assessors are reviewing to better understand your experience and skillset. 

• In your Letter of Interest make sure to address all the points found under the Program Criteria & Scoring tab of the Guidelines. If writing isn’t your strength feel free to write the question out and answer below in one or a few sentences or points to get your story and ideas across. 

• Use plain language. Avoid jargon or technical language, remembering that the assessment committee will be made up of people from many different practices and experiences. Assessors really appreciate being able to easily read and understand an application. 

• Select a theme from the themes provided. 

• Provide clear image files that demonstrate your unique style, approach, and artistic skills to highlight your ability to succeed in this project. 

• You may want to include artwork images demonstrating experience working in public art, creating large scale art, working with digital files, and/or creating art with horizontal formats. 

• To avoid disqualification, only provide your own artwork. If sharing a collaborative project or client project, be clear in identifying your contribution and include the names of the artists. This can be included in your letter or interest or in the Description/Details section with your images. 

• Demonstrate capacity, awareness and potential. We are looking for applicants who have thought about the amount of work involved in producing the artwork and larger files, the timeline, and how it will impact their communities. 

• It is also helpful to have someone to read your application. The questions they may ask may uncover gaps or assumptions you are making in the story you are telling.  

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get the most up to date news and information from Calgary Arts Development. Learn about funding opportunities, explore public art, discover artists who are making our city a better place – and more.  

The sign up for the newsletter can be found on the bottom left-hand side of the website. 

Presley Mills’s Art Bus titled Kinship with her rescue pup Bruno. 

Project Contacts 

Feel free to take a picture of our contacts. They can also be found in the Guidelines. Reach out early with any questions of if requiring assistance. 

Questions? 

We are hosting an open office hours online on Wednesday, August 20 from 11am – 1pm. To register go to Eventbrite and a Zoom link will be shared with you before the event. You can pop in for a few minutes or attend the whole two hours.  

We can close this.

And then I think that might be it. 

Okay, great. I’ll just remind everyone again. Open office hours next Wednesday, 11am to 1pm. There is an Eventbrite to sign up for that. Then we’ll send you the link. I will remember to add the passcode this time, and reach out to Natasha or myself in emails at any time if you want your application reviewed for completeness — 10 days before the deadline. The sooner the better though, because we get really busy right at the end. Thank you everyone for being patient and joining the info session today. Really excited to see everyone’s applications.

Thanks for all the thank yous in the chat everyone. Thank you again to Shelby and Aaron and Tracy for helping with the presentation today.

Thank you, Tiffany.

Great, I’m going to stop the recording now. And everyone’s welcome to leave, I guess.