Call for Existing Artwork: Cabinets to Canvas 2026, City of Barrie

Images (left to right): 2025 artists – Petra Welch, Enrique Bravo, Monica Loney, Justin Burley, and Jayme Rodrigues.

Call for Existing Artwork: Cabinets to Canvas, Artist-Designed Traffic Cabinet Wraps, City of Barrie

Submission Deadline: Friday, May 22, 2026, by 11:59pm ET

The City of Barrie and the Barrie Public Art Committee are seeking up to fifteen (15) existing original artworks from Ontario-based artists, with priority given to Simcoe County artists, for Cabinets to Canvas, a program that transforms traffic and utility boxes across the city into vibrant works of art.

Cabinets to Canvas is a City of Barrie public art program that integrates public artwork into street infrastructure as a proactive strategy for graffiti abatement and public realm enhancement. Graffiti is a community concern, and traffic and utility boxes are highly visible elements of the streetscape that are often prone to tagging. When wrapped in dense, colourful artwork using specialized vinyl materials, these surfaces become less attractive for graffiti while contributing to a more vibrant and welcoming city.

The City’s Parks Planning will partner with Traffic & ROWA Services to support this initiative. Selected artworks will be installed on traffic and utility boxes at prominent locations throughout the city and are considered temporary public artworks, with an expected lifespan of up to ten (10) years.

Cabinets to Canvas is formerly known as the Artist‑Designed Traffic Cabinet Wraps program and continues the City’s commitment to creativity, placemaking, and innovative approaches to graffiti abatement.

Visit the website for full details.

Project Requirements

This call is for existing original artworks. Artists are asked to submit completed works that can be adapted for reproduction on a traffic or utility box.

Selected artworks must respond to the 2026 theme: Reflections of Home. This theme invites artists to explore ideas of home, belonging, identity, memory, culture, and community through personal, or collective perspectives.

Designs should be:

• Visually active and dense, with limited negative space
• Bold and colourful, as bright colours help deter graffiti
• Family‑friendly and community‑appropriate
• Suitable for wrapping around all four sides of a traffic or utility box

Both digital and analogue artworks are eligible.

With the success of the digitization support in 2025, the City of Barrie will continue to cover the cost of digitizing selected analogue artwork. Artists will be responsible for delivering the original artwork to the City’s designated local vendor for digitization.

Eligibility

This Call to Artists is open to Ontario-based artists, prioritizing local Simcoe County artists. Ten (10) commissions will be reserved for local/regional artists, and up to five (5) commissions will be available to successful applicants that are based elsewhere in Ontario.

The City of Barrie is committed to an inclusive and equitable approach to public art and welcomes submissions from artists at all stages of their careers, including emerging and first time applicants. The City’s public art program recognizes artists, creators, and storytellers from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds, including those with informal training and community or peer-based experience, and encourages submissions from artists from equity deserving communities.

Compensation

Selected artists will receive $750 CAD for the licensed use of their artwork, allowing the City of Barrie to reproduce the artwork up to two (2) times as part of the Cabinets to Canvas program.

Selection Process

The selection process will be facilitated by the City’s Public Art Coordinator. The Selection Panel will be composed of art and design professionals, as well as project stakeholders, including representatives from Traffic & ROWA Services.

Artists will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Artistic Merit: Quality of work, originality, and overall artistic excellence.
• Response to Theme: Effectiveness in reflecting and interpreting the theme, Reflections of Home.
• Project Feasibility: Suitability of the artwork for graffiti deterrence (including dense composition and limited negative space) and the ability of the design to adapt successfully to a four‑sided utility box format.

Submission Requirements

Each artist must submit one (1) complete PDF (maximum 10 MB) proposal that includes the following:

• Letter of Intent: Submit a brief statement outlining your artistic background, your interest in this project, and your connection to the community. Please highlight any experience or skills relevant to this opportunity, including whether you identify as a local artist. (Maximum 300 words)
• Artist Statement / Artwork Description: A description of your artwork and how it responds to the 2026 Cabinets to Canvas theme, Reflections of Home. (Maximum 300 words)
• Images of Existing Artwork: Up to three (3) images of the finished, existing artwork being submitted. Images must depict completed work; concept designs, mock‑ups, or works in progress will not be considered. High‑resolution files are not required.
• Additional Work Samples: Up to five (4) images of past artwork, identified with title, date, and medium

How to Submit

Please submit the application in a single PDF document (not larger than 10 MB) via email to liza.mishko@barrie.ca with the document name and subject line: Cabinets to Canvas 2026 (name of applicant).

The City of Barrie will answer questions about the application process and can provide accommodations for applicants with disabilities. Please contact Liza Mishko to ask questions or discuss accommodation needs.

To learn more about the 2026 Cabinets to Canvas, Call for Existing Artwork, please visit here.

Submission Deadline: Friday, May 22, 2026, by 11:59pm ET

For additional information or questions, please contact:
Liza Mishko, Public Art Coordinator, City of Barrie
Liza.mishko@barrie.ca | (705) 791-5431

City of Barrie
70 Collier Street
Barrie, ON L4M 1G8
www.barrie.ca

Facebook @CreativeBarrie
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Accessibility:
The Cabinets to Canvas program in the City of Barrie is fully accessible. For more information, please visit here.

Image Description:
1. A row of outdoor traffic cabinets with colourful public artwork, including abstract patterns, faces, animals, flowers, and city scenes.