Call for Proposals: Destination Danforth

In partnership with the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto Program, East End Arts invites artists to submit proposals to participate in Destination Danforth.

Deadline: August 26, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST.

This posting has been edited for length – to view the full call and to apply, click here.

StreetARToronto (StART) programs and projects are designed to celebrate the City of Toronto motto “Diversity Our Strength” and foster a greater sense of belonging among all.

CALL SUMMARY
This Artist Call is Stage 1 of a Two-Stage selection process (Stage 1. Artist Call/Proposal, Stage 2. Final Design Proposal).

#DestinationDanforth aims to help local businesses recover from this pandemic, restore consumer confidence and give people safe alternatives to the TTC. The #DestinationDanforth pilot will see an unprecedented $4 million investment this summer to enhance our public realm, create new opportunities for patios, provide dedicated parking, and add the infrastructure we need so that people can walk, ride and roll through our Danforth neighbourhoods.

#DestinationDanforth will also include a robust public art program including creative curb extensions, painted signal boxes and four signature murals (one within each BIA area along the corridor).

Production of the art will roll out over the next year, with four mural installations and twelve traffic signal boxes completed by October 2020. This Call is specifically to request proposals for 4 murals, one in each of the Business Improvement Areas – (Broadview Danforth BIA, GreekTown on the Danforth BIA, Danforth Mosaic BIA, and Danforth Village BIA) located on Danforth Avenue between Broadview Avenue and Dawes Road. (Wall Locations TBA).

Brief descriptions of the themes form the basis of this art call and are included below, to read the full text please visit the East End Arts’ web page.

Learn more about the Destination Danforth pilot here.

Bareket Kezwer, Find The Love, 2018

GUIDING THEMES
There are two themes we are addressing with this call, submissions can respond to one or both themes:

Theme One: Gratitude, Resilience, Hope
Over the course of this pandemic, communities throughout the Danforth – and indeed, the city, province, country, and beyond – have shown incredible care and love for one another, and this has manifested in the form of many public displays of art. Children’s chalk art, window scavenger hunts, light-up hearts made of blinking lights have filled our neighbourhoods with the evidence of this love. Let’s celebrate these already-thriving moments and enlarge them into wall sized murals. This theme invites submissions that tell stories of gratitude, resilience and hope for our Danforth Community. Even when this pandemic is long behind these murals will remain to remind us of our capacity to care and show-up for one another. The artworks should speak to and celebrate: the service local businesses bring to the communities that they support, the community members and residents who support them in return, and the benefits and opportunities to support local and celebrate community pride.
Theme Two: #EastEndLove
EastEndLove was a community-engaged public art project, presented by East End Arts through 2018 and 2019. This project used conversation, collaboration, stencil screen printing, and public art to facilitate difficult conversations, and to spread messages of love and inclusion in our community. #EastEndLove was born as a response to the increase in discriminatory discourse and vandalism in the east Toronto community, and aimed to unite community members while building stronger, more inclusive and responsive communities at large. Sadly, since the completion of this project East End Arts has observed specific neighbourhoods and communities in east Toronto being subjected to an alarming increase in instances of racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and hate, including vandalism, anti-Black racism, attacks on local residents and more. Clearly the work is not yet done. This theme invites submissions in support of Black Lives Matter. The artworks should speak to past and current injustice against visible minorities, and the importance, benefits and opportunities to build a better future through inclusion, collaboration and knowledge sharing.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this call is to gather a list of artists or artist collaborations who will be short-listed based on relevant professional credentials and preliminary design concepts. Shortlisted artists will be contacted by August 31 and will receive an honorarium of $1000 to develop a final design concept, budget and material list. Final designs will be presented to the Selection Committee on September 4th.

Please note that we only require the proposal in written form (Maximum 500-words) and documentation of past works at this stage in the process. This will include:

Artist Contact information
Short description of the mural you propose (Maximum 500-words)
Short bio including past experience working on outdoor projects of a similar nature and scale (Maximum 300-words)
CV (2 pages maximum)
Contact information for 2 references
Maximum 3 images of past work (jpeg format 72 dpi, dimensions of 1024 pixels on longest side – approx. 500 KB) (Please indicate location and date of installation)

Final Designs will be required from shortlisted artists in Stage 2.

Please note: Selected candidates for the Destination Danforth Murals must have, or may be required to successfully complete Working at Heights and Aerial Work Platform training and, if applicable to the wall site, will be asked to provide their course completion plan at the shortlisting phase if selected.

Competition Schedule

Deadline for submission of artist proposal – August 26
Notification of short-listed artists – August 31
Final Designs submitted – September 8
Final Selection Committee meeting – September 11
Notification of successful artist – September 11
Painting Schedule – September 16 – October 2

For full information on Eligibility Requirements, Project Partners, Project Sites and Deliverables, Budget, Selection please visit StreetARToronto’s web page or East End Arts’ web page.

Contact Info: chelsea@eastendarts.ca

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