Call for Proposals: Projection Mapping Artwork at Canada Malting Siloes, Nuit Blanche Toronto 2025

Photo: Vlad Lunin

Call for Projection Mapping Artwork at the Canada Malting Siloes for Nuit Blanche 2025, Toronto

Deadline: May 9, 2025, 11:59pm ET.

The European Union (EU) Delegation to Canada and the Global Centre for Climate Action at OCAD University have partnered to support artists, designers and scholars across Canada and the EU to develop and present artworks that shift our relationship and imagination to climate action.

Visit the website for full details.

Artists residing in Canada and in the European Union are invited to develop a site-specific projection artwork for the Canada Malting Siloes, located at Toronto’s waterfront, to present at Nuit Blanche on October 4, 2025. The Canada Malting Siloes are a heritage industrial building that has recently been restored and repurposed for arts, culture and community programming.

Nuit Blanche is Toronto’s annual all-night celebration of contemporary art, transforming public spaces into artistic landscapes. The festival, featuring local, national and international artists, draws over 1 million visitors from across the GTA each year.

Theme: Water Treaty

In alignment with Nuit Blanche’s curatorial theme Poetic Justice under the main theme, Translating the City, we are seeking cross-disciplinary proposals to be projection mapped onto the east or west side of the Canada Malting Siloes that explores the idea of a renewed treaty with water.

Water is a force of connection, sustenance, memory, and change. It shapes landscapes, carries histories, and moves through our bodies in cycles both ancient and continuous. Yet, in many parts of the world, water is treated as a resource to be extracted, controlled, or commodified—its rhythms are disrupted by pollution, flooding, and drought. Our relationship with water is one of growing imbalance, revealing the broader ecological and colonial systems that have severed us from its deeper meanings.

How might we enter into a renewed treaty with water—one rooted in reciprocity, reverence, and care? How might we move beyond narratives of crisis and scarcity to recognize water’s agency, intelligence, and poetry? How might we listen to the stories water carries and allow it to reshape our ways of being?

As the European Union and Canada deepen their collaboration through initiatives like the EU-Canada Ocean Partnership under the Green Alliance, this call for proposals becomes more than just an initiative—it is a testament to our shared responsibility to protect the planet’s biodiversity. At the heart of this commitment lies water, the lifeblood of all ecosystems, shaping landscapes, sustaining species, and weaving together the delicate balance of life on Earth.

Photo: Vlad Lunin

Eligibility

We are seeking proposals that meet the following criteria:

• Artists currently residing in Canada or the EU
• Artists with technical knowledge of working with 3D models and projection mapping software (e.g. Resolume, Touch Designer)
• Proposals that directly respond to the theme Water Treaty
• Optional: Available to travel to Toronto for Nuit Blanche (October 4, 2025) to support installation and/or participate in a live panel.

Artwork Specifications

• 7–10-minute piece on loop, durational works that unfold over 12 hours and/or interactive and responsive works that change throughout the night.
• Original or repurposed digital, animation, multimedia, experimental film, mixed-media and/or interactive artworks that can be mapped and made site-specific to the east or west side of the Canada Malting Siloes.
• Optional interactive components might include responsive environments, generative or algorithmic works, mobile or web-based interactions and/or data-based interactions.
• Sound component is optional.
• Works suitable for public spaces and audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Artist Fees

• Artist fee: $10,000 CAD (~6,700 EUR)
• This fee covers all costs related to the development and delivery of the artwork to our technical team.
• All production costs (i.e. technical equipment, staff, set-up) are separate and will be covered by OCAD University and the EU Delegation to Canada.
• Optional: Travel and accommodation costs will be covered if the artist is required to be in Toronto, Ontario for Nuit Blanche.

Technical Specifications

The following resources offer technical specifications for the site:

• Photos and videos from Nuit Blanche 2024
• 3D model of the Canada Malting Siloes
• Building specifications of the Canada Malting Siloes

Application

• Name and Address
• Links (Website, Social Media)
• Project name
• Project Proposal: Artistic vision and response to the theme, Water Treaty (max 500 words).
• Artist Statement: Artistic practice and approach (max 300 words).
• Collaboration Approach (max 200 words).
• CV, including exhibition and presentation history (max 3 pages).
• Storyboard and/or 10-15 second snippet that offers the jury insight into the proposed creative vision.
• Up to 10 minutes of footage of previous works with a document outlining a list of the artworks (title, year, location, presenter).

Visit the website for full details.

Artists must submit their completed project proposal via this online application form by May 9, 2025 @ 11:59pm ET. If you require assistance or accommodations with the application, please contact us at: eupopcanada@gopa-pace.com

About Global Centre for Climate Action, OCAD University

Affiliated with OCAD University, Canada’s largest and oldest art and design university, the Global Centre for Climate Action is a research-creation centre at Canada’s Malting Silos that brings together artists, designers and researchers from around the world to host public events, exhibitions and programs that engage people in creative action and dialogue towards a renewed climate future.

About the European Union Delegation to Canada

Established in 1976 in Ottawa, the Delegation of the European Union in Canada is the EU’s diplomatic mission with a mandate to strengthen EU-Canada ties, covering all bilateral policy areas. The EU is at the forefront of global efforts to combat climate change, implementing ambitious policies and legally binding targets aimed at achieving climate neutrality by 2050.The EU also promotes cultural diplomacy and effective multilateralism, fostering cooperation and understanding between Canadians and Europeans.

For additional information:
EU Public Diplomacy and Policy Outreach Project in Canada
eupopcanada@gopa-pace.com