Call for Expressions of Interest: Public Art for Express 2 Condominiums, North York

Tippett Yorkdale Inc.

Image Rendering courtesy of Tippett Yorkdale Inc.

Call to Artists for Expressions of Interest:

Public Art Opportunity Express 2 Condominiums

6 Tippett Rd, North York

Prepared by Art+Public UnLtd
June 5, 2025

Public Art Opportunity

Artists are invited to submit expressions of interest for a public art opportunity at Express 2 Condominiums, North York. Express 2 Condominiums is a mixed-use development located on the west side of Tippett Road, south of Wilson Avenue, north of Highway 401 and east of William R. Allen Road.

This North York neighbourhood is commonly known as Wilson Heights, but is also known as Clanton Park or Dublin Heights. It has many schools, along with several parks, most notably Clanton Park, numerous places of worship, nearby shopping and restaurants, local TCC bus service and the Wilson subway station. Wilson Heights is adjacent to the landmark Downsview Airport, as well as two of Toronto’s main commuter highways – Highway 401 and Allen Road.

This opportunity is for one Artist/Artist Team to develop a site-specific public artwork for one or more of the site opportunities identified below. The artist selected through this process will be commissioned by the private developer, Tippett Yorkdale Inc.

View of 6 Tippett Road, corner of Tippett Road and Monte Kwinter Court, highlighting Priority Site public art opportunity in red.

Priority Site

The primary opportunity for public art is at the corner of Tippett Road and Monte Kwinter Court, on the northeast corner of the site, near the commercial lobby entrance of 6 Tippett Road.

This corner offers high visibility and engagement from multiple distances and at multiple speeds: readily visible by car, bicycle or pedestrian, located a block away from Wilson subway station, and adjacent to a new neighbourhood park.

Shortlisted artists will be asked to consider scale and visibility; the artwork should draw people in, animate the building frontage, and serve as a welcome that highlights the promenade and street frontage. It is hoped that a prominent and engaging artwork at this corner could become a recognizable landmark within the neighborhood.

Optional Sites

Two additional opportunities to extend the artwork scope exist along the pedestrian boulevard and at the entrance to the condominium. The commercial ground floor along 6 Tippett Road features wide sidewalks, integrated planter seating, bike racks, and shaded areas.

Shortlisted artists will be required to address the priority site in their artwork concept. The secondary sites—at the residential entrance and along the promenade—are optional, and to be considered based on the artist’s overall approach and vision for the work. Artists may choose to focus their efforts and create a signature piece at the priority corner or explore an approach that connects the sites along the frontage and corners, offering an experience that spans the block. There is also the possibility of integrating the artwork with architectural site elements such as the canopy, a prominent feature of the building.

Due to maintenance requirements, water features, digital or light installations cannot be accommodated for this opportunity.

Budget

The art production budget for this project is $580,000.00 ex HST. This budget covers all hard and soft costs, fees, and expenses, production and installation costs (including but not limited to, artist fees, project management fees, drawings, fabrication costs, site preparation, installation material and labour costs, storage and transportation of artwork, permits, legal, insurance, engineering fees)

Mentorship

The selected artist will be expected to bring on a Mentee to work with them on the development and implementation of the project. The selected artist will have the opportunity to interview and choose their mentee. The chosen mentee will participate in various phases of the work and will receive a stipend of $5,000 ex. HST for their contributions.

Selection Process

This artwork selection process will be facilitated by ART+PUBLIC UnLtd, in consultation with a jury of independent art experts and representatives from the project team.

Stage 1: From this call, the jury will be reviewing submissions based on the following criteria:

• Demonstrates understanding of the opportunity
• Examples of past work demonstrate artistic excellence, are relevant to the project objectives and demonstrate the ability and readiness to expand and scale the work into a public commission.

A short list of up to five (5) Artists/Artist teams will be selected. Shortlisted artists will be notified mid July, 2025.

Stage 2: Shortlisted Artists/Artist teams will be invited to develop a proposal based on a Terms of Reference/project brief provided, and will be paid an honorarium of $3,000 (excl. HST) for the development of the proposal.

Shortlisted Artists/Artist teams will be invited to present their proposals to the jury who will select the successful concept for this opportunity (November 2025).

PLEASE NOTE: Artists are NOT asked to make a proposal at this time. Only successful applicants will be notified.

This call is open to professional Canadian Artists/Artist teams living and working in Canada and adheres to the Ontario Arts Council definition of professional artist. We encourage artists that are Indigenous, Black, people of colour, women, 2SLGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and members of other marginalized communities to apply.

Submission Requirements

Please send submissions as one PDF to admin@artpluspublic.com and include the subject line: Application – Express 2 Condominiums, North York. Submissions must not exceed 20 MB total size.

Interested artists are asked to submit the following together as one file:

• Expression of interest statement (max 1 page text)
• CV
• Images of recent relevant work (max 10)
• Image list (title, year, medium, dimensions)
• References (names, contact details of up to three individuals who would be prepared to provide a reference)

Submissions are due on Thursday, July 3, by noon EDT.