Call for Expressions of Interest: Indigenous Art Installation at Toronto Zoo

Rendering of the Community Conservation Centre. Guest Services Building on the left and the Academic Building on the right.

Call for Expressions of Interest
Indigenous Installation in The Hive, A Gathering Space in the Toronto Zoo’s New Community Conservation Centre Academic Building

Submission Deadline: October 31, 2026, 5pm ET
Budget (All Inclusive): $150,000 CAD

The Toronto Zoo is seeking an Indigenous artist to create a signature art installation to be prominently featured in the academic building of the Zoo’s new Community Conservation Centre scheduled to officially open in early 2027.

Project Context

The Toronto Zoo Community Conservation Centre will be a prominent and visually stunning statement of the Zoo’s commitment to strengthening relationships with community, promoting lifelong learning, and honouring western and Indigenous knowledge systems to fight extinction and protect Mother Earth.

Consisting of two new Net Zero buildings, the Guest Services Building will feature an engaging river otter habitat, a new home for the Blanding’s turtle Headstarting program, retail space, a rooftop atrium, and a welcome garden featuring traditional medicines and native plants.

The second building is an Academic Building with four classrooms, four laboratories, offices, and meeting space for students and educators.

The art piece will be installed in the gathering space of the Academic Building (The Learning Centre). The space, named The Hive, will be a place for conversation, community building and quiet reflection. The Hive will also feature an interpretive panel created in partnership with an Anishnaabe knowledge keeper.

Toronto Zoo’s commitment to honouring and respecting Indigenous ways of knowing and being

Since 2009, the Zoo has been working closely with First Nations communities to integrate Traditional Knowledge into turtle and wetland conservation through the Turtle Island Conservation Program.

This work has deepened and broadened since the establishment of the Indigenous Relations team, led by Canada’s first Director of Indigenous Relations at a Zoo, in 2022 and the inception of the Zoo’s Indigenous Advisory Circle in 2023.

Some examples of this work include:

Building respectful and reciprocal relationships with Indigenous Advisory Circle members, urban Indigenous organizations and other Indigenous communities and organizations
Honouring the animals in our care through authentic storytelling and facilitating connections with Indigenous community
Respecting and advancing data sovereignty and access and benefit sharing in partnerships with Indigenous communities in the Zoo’s work in conservation and Canada’s Wildlife Cryobank

Rendering of The Hive.

Project Requirements

The successful artwork must:

Create a lasting acknowledgment of Indigenous People on the land the Zoo is located—both historical and contemporary—and honour Indigenous ways of knowing.
Embody the Zoo’s “Guardians of Wild” brand and mission to “connect people, animals, traditional knowledge and conservation science to fight extinction.”
Reflect the inter-connectivity of all life—animals, land, water and people, with a focus on Canadian Species at Risk.

The space where the installation will be located will be used during both the daytime and evenings, so the art piece must be visually appealing at different times of day/night.

Key integration considerations:

Durability and low maintenance materials.
Public accessibility and safety (including tactile and visual considerations).
Natural lighting and shadow; nighttime visibility.

Eligibility

Artists must be eligible to work in Canada.
The artist should be from a community connected to the lands where the Zoo is located—specifically Anishnaabe, Haudenosaunee or Wendat communities.

Project Budget

The total project budget is $150,000 CAD (all-inclusive) and will cover all costs associated with the project, including artist fees, materials and supplies, fabrication, delivery, installation, travel and taxes.

Project Timeline

Expected completion and installation – Summer 2027

Selection Process

Expressions of Interest will be reviewed by a selection committee, which will include Zoo staff, select partners, and representatives from the Zoo’s Indigenous Advisory Circle.

Selection will be based on:

Artistic excellence.
Demonstrated experience with projects of a similar nature.
Previous work that is reflective of Indigenous knowledge systems and aligned with the vision for the project.

Submission Requirements

Expressions of Interest must include:

Artist résumé or curriculum vitae.
Written Statement: A written reflection on your conceptual direction, and how Indigenous values, teachings, or protocols might shape the work.
Sketches, drawings, precedent images, or models that illustrate the artist’s approach and experience.
Notes on Fabrication and Installation Needs: Materials being considered, collaborators you may work with, or specific site integration requirements.
Two professional references.
Demonstrated experience with projects of a similar nature.
Previous work that is reflective of Indigenous knowledge systems and aligned with the vision for the project.
Submissions must not exceed 25 pages in total.

How to Submit

Proposals should be submitted digitally to Jennifer Franks, Director of Indigenous Relations, at jfranks@torontozoo.ca

Submission Deadline: October 31, 2026, 5pm ET

For additional information or questions, please contact:
Jennifer Franks, Director, Indigenous Relations
jfranks@torontozoo.ca
or
Maria Franke, Director, Applied Conservation
mfranke@torontozoo.ca