Call for Expressions of Interest: Culture Days 2022 Live Painting Event, City of Oshawa

Urban Arts Festival, City of Oshawa, 2018.

CALL TO ARTISTS – Expression of Interest (EOI)
Culture Days 2022 Live Street Art Event

Deadline: August 22, 2022 at 4:30 p.m.

The City of Oshawa invites street artists to submit proposals to participate in a live painting event as part of Culture Days, taking place September 24, 2022.

Project Overview
Culture Days is a national celebration of arts and culture that welcomes audiences to attend free participatory arts and culture activities. Programming will take place at multiple sites in Oshawa, including a family-friendly live street art painting event at Donevan Recreation Complex, 171 Harmony Road South.

We are seeking street artists interested in participating in a live painting event at the Donevan Urban Art Park from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. In addition to the live painting event, art activities will be available on site for all ages from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The City of Oshawa will pay an artist fee of $400 and will provide all required supplies. Selected artists will be sent a contract and asked to provide their name and address for payment. Travel will not be provided.

Selection Process and Criteria
Expressions of Interest are being sought from street artists who are comfortable with and have past experience painting live in front of an audience. Artists must be from, live in, or have a connection to Oshawa.

Artists will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Experience successfully creating artwork in a public environment
• Demonstrated understanding of necessary safety measures; has the technical skill required to safely participate in the event
• Artwork samples display a high level of artistic skill within the artist’s chosen discipline
• Demonstrated connection between the artist’s vision, work, artistic trajectory and this event

Applications will be reviewed by a working group comprised of City staff and members of the City of Oshawa’s Cultural Leadership Council and Public Art Task Force. Artists will be selected to ensure the event features a diverse representation of artists working within a variety of styles.

How to apply
Visit our website to download the application form. Please send your submissions to culturecounts@oshawa.ca using the subject line “Culture Days Expression of Interest” as a single PDF by August 22, 2022 at 4:30 p.m.

Include:

• Current CV (maximum 3 pages)
• Artist statement (250 words)
• Maximum of five JPEG images of past work, included in your PDF document, that best illustrate your art practice. Please include the title of the work, medium, approximate dimensions, location and date of installation
• A statement about how this event connects to your artistic practice. Please include information on safety measures that you will follow while live painting in front of an audience, and details on any specific artist materials you will require (maximum 250 words)

We encourage submissions from artists from equity-seeking groups that have been historically underrepresented, including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour), 2SLGBTQIA+ identifying individuals, Deaf persons, and persons with disabilities.

If the file exceeds 20 MB, artists are asked to use an external file share program. Incomplete submissions or submissions received after the deadline will not be juried.

If you have questions about applying, or require accommodations, please contact culturecounts@oshawa.ca.

Project Background
Culture Days is a national celebration of arts and culture. At the end of each September, millions of people attend thousands of free participatory arts and culture events both in-person and online. Culture Days programs invite the public to get hands-on and behind-the-scenes to highlight the importance of arts and culture in our communities.

Donevan Urban Art Park
In 2017, Oshawa City Council approved the creation of an Art Park/Safe Graffiti Wall at the Donevan Recreation Complex. The Donevan Urban Art Park is a legal graffiti space where learning, creativity and respect are encouraged. Artists are able to paint at this location throughout the year.