Call for Artists - Commercial Alley Installation

Commercial Alley, Victoria’s Outdoor Art Gallery, is looking for a new installation. The City of Victoria and the Open Space Arts Society partnered last year to establish the outdoor art gallery located between the 500 Block of Yates Street and Bastion Square, to add vitality to the area while retaining the alley’s use by local businesses.

Local artists are invited to submit proposals for the third Commercial Alley installation, which will be showcased from June to December 2015. The artwork will be presented as a series of four, 1.2 metre by 2.4 metre panels.

Proposals are to include a statement of interest that expresses ideas for the artwork, a description of the work, a brief artist biography and 10 images of the artist’s past and current work. The selected artist will be paid a fee of $1,750 and a $250 stipend for shipping the artwork to the location. Plywood panels, weatherproofing and installation of the artwork will be provided by the City of Victoria.

The Open Space Program Committee and representatives from the City of Victoria Art in Public Places Committee and the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society will review proposals that meet submission guidelines. Proposals are to be emailed to [email protected] by Friday, May 1, 2015 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. For a copy of the Commercial Alley Call to Artists, visit: http://www.openspace.ca/commercial_alley or http://www.victoria.ca.

The outdoor gallery’s first installation, which launched last June, consisted of a custom-designed, four-panel artwork by renowned street artist Other, a.k.a Troy Lovegates. Installed on the west wall of the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society, the artwork depicted portraits of a wizened face as rough and aged as the surfaces they appear on.

The second installation, which is currently on display, showcases Roy Green's commissioned artwork, featuring four birds both iconic and indigenous to Vancouver Island; the Great blue heron, the Red-winged blackbird, the Pileated woodpecker, and the Rufous hummingbird. The artwork was unveiled last August, timed with the Integrate Arts Festival.

Founded in 1972, Open Space is a Victoria-based, non-profit, artist-run centre that supports professional artists who utilize hybrid and experimental approaches to media, art, music and performance.