Call to Artists: Create Public Art for Two City Parkades

Artists and artist teams are invited to submit an Expression of Interest to enter a local, juried competition to create new public artwork to beautify and enhance the Bastion Square Parkade or Centennial Square Parkade stairwells. The call is open to artists who are residents of the Capital Region. Enhancing City parkades to make them more welcoming was identified last spring as a way to improve the parking experience downtown.

The Bastion Square Parkade public art will be featured at the rear, six-floor stairwell that connects to Bastion Square. The Centennial Square Parkade artwork will be installed in its four-storey glassed stairwell, which can be viewed from the public space below.

While the Bastion Square Parkade public art competition calls for an artist or an artist team to create the artwork, the Centennial Square Parkade public art competition calls for artist(s) to collaborate with a team of 3 - 5 youth, ranging from 14 - 24 years of age, to design and produce the artwork. The Victoria Youth Council will assist in selecting youth participants for the project.

A range of media may be considered, including but not limited to, two-dimensional images including painting, multimedia, collage, photography, prints, and graphic design applications. Sustainable design, procurement, and fabrication practices are encouraged, and safe access to the parkade must be maintained.

The budget for the completed artworks is up to $10,000 for each parkade, which must cover all design, production, installation and administrative costs. The new artworks are to be installed by December 31, 2015 and will be funded by the City’s Art in Public Places Reserve Fund.

The public art competitions will be juried by a selection committee of arts professionals, community members, and City of Victoria representatives. Artists will need to submit a resume, visual documentation of their previous work, a concept for the site with renderings, and a summary of the role students will play in creating the artwork, if applicable.

Winners will be announced in August. Celebratory unveiling ceremonies will be held in early 2016.

Expressions of Interest can be submitted electronically to [email protected] or by mail. The deadline for submissions is Monday, July 27, 2015 at 4:30 p.m.

For more information, visit: http://www.victoria.ca/publicart

Nichola Reddington
Arts & Culture Coordinator
Arts, Culture and Special Events Office
City of Victoria
1 Centennial Square, Victoria BC V8W 1P6