Call for Submissions: Connextions 2026 Vinyl Window Murals, Town of Oakville

Laura Kay Keeling, Untitled Portal 08 & Untitled Portal 10, digital photography and collage printed on vinyl, at Oakville Trafalgar Community Centre, Connextions 2025. Photo: Jenna Centra.

Call for Photo-Based Artwork
Connextions 2026 Vinyl Window Murals

Deadline: Sunday, March 1, 2026 by 11:59pm ET
Venue: Community Centres, Town of Oakville
Artist Fee: $800 for each artwork selected (includes HST)
Apply Online

The Town of Oakville invites professional artists to submit photo‑based artwork for the Connextions 2026 Vinyl Window Murals project. Selected works will be digitally reproduced as large‑scale temporary murals installed on the windows of community centres across Oakville. The artwork will be printed on vinyl and installed to bring colour, energy, and visual interest to the community centre windows.

The window vinyl murals will be featured during the Contact Photography Festival (May 2026) and the 2026 Culture Days Festival (September 19 to October 4).

Each community centre is located within a distinct Oakville neighbourhood, and artists are encouraged to create or adapt work that meaningfully connects with the specific area they choose. Proposals should reflect the theme of connecting communities, offering thoughtful visual interpretations of local identity, shared spaces, and the spirit of belonging. Submitted artworks should also be vibrant, positive, and community focused, drawing inspiration from arts, culture, and nature.

Artists may submit new work or adapt existing artwork. The Town will be responsible for the fabrication and installation of the vinyl media. Artwork must be photo-based and provided as high-resolution digital files suitable for large format printing.

Proposals will be assessed based on artistic merit, relevance to the themes and proposed artwork to the selected facility and demonstrated capacity to complete the project.

Eligibility

This call is open to professional Canadian artists of any experience level (emerging, mid-career and established) living in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Areas. Artists who demonstrate connections to Oakville will be given priority.

Artists who participated in previous Connextions projects are ineligible for the 2026 program. Artists must be 18 years of age and older.

Project Timeline

• Submission deadline: March 1, 2026, 11:59pm ET
• Artists selected: March 2026
• Final designs due: early April 2026
• Printing and installation: late April 2026
• Contact Festival: May 2026
• Culture Days Festival: September 18 – October 5, 2026

The timeline is subject to change. Murals may remain installed for up to 5 years.

Designs can be either site-specific or suitable for any of the locations. There is no guarantee artists will be assigned a requested site. The Town reserves the right to assign locations at its discretion. Project locations may be subject to change.

The following Community Centre locations will have window murals:

1. Glen Abbey, 1415 Third Line
2. Iroquois Ridge, 1051 Glenashton Drive
3. Oakville Trafalgar, 325 Reynolds Street
4. Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, 2302 Bridge Road
5. River Oaks Community Centre, 2400 Sixth Line
6. Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, 2070 Neyagawa Boulevard
7. Trafalgar Park, 133 Rebecca Street
8. Sir John Colborne Recreation Centre for Seniors, 1565 Old Lakeshore Road West

Connextions 2026 Window Locations and Measurements. Click image to enlarge.

Compensation

The commissioned artists will receive $800 (including HST) Canadian Dollars* for each artwork selected. Fabrication and installation costs are covered separately by the Town.

Payment will be issued once the final digital files are submitted at the required resolution and an agreement is signed permitting reproduction and use up to three (3) times by the Town.

*This fee includes proposal preparation, coordination, consultations, other expertise as required (such as digital design file preparations), preparation of any information and/or documentation, attendance at meetings, travel, artwork delivery and related materials.

Selection Process

Submissions will be reviewed by an independent committee of arts professionals, community representatives, and Town of Oakville staff. Selections will be based on the merits of the artwork, project fit, and technical feasibility. Selected artists will then enter into a contract with the Town of Oakville.

Alex Neumann, Summer Connextion Oakville, photo-digital vinyl window mural, at Glen Abbey Community Centre, Connextions 2023.

Reserved Rights of the Town of Oakville

The Town of Oakville is the administrative lead for this project and, at its sole discretion, reserves the following rights to:

• Request clarification or additional information.
• Determine the suitability of the submission and capability of the artist(s).
• Select the artist(s) that it deems most appropriate.
• Choose to not recommend any proposals or re-issue the call.
• Issue public announcements regarding the competition.

How to Submit

Please review the full details and submit your application via the online submission form on the Town of Oakville website. Interested artists are encouraged to read the full Call to Artists for details including how to apply online, FAQs, and more.

Submission Deadline: Sunday, March 1, 2026 by 11:59pm ET

For additional information or questions, please contact:
Cultural Services staff
public.art@oakville.ca

Town of Oakville
1225 Trafalgar Road
Oakville, ON L6H 0H3
oakville.ca

Facebook @TownofOakville
Instagram @townofoakville

Accessibility:
All Town of Oakville venues are fully accessible. All venues include a level entrance or ramp access to enter, an accessible washroom, wide and unobstructed pathways within the interior, an elevator to access multiple levels, automatic doors at most entrances, free parking lots include accessible parking and electric car chargers.

The Town of Oakville is located on Treaty Lands 14 and 22 and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. We acknowledge and thank the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Treaty holders, for being stewards of this traditional territory.