Call for Proposals: Legacies of Yonge + St. Clair, Toronto

Photo: 祝 鹤槐

Call for Proposals: Legacies of Yonge + St. Clair

The Yonge + St. Clair BIA invites artists to submit proposals for Legacies of Yonge + St. Clair, a major new public art commission launching in Spring 2026.

Submission Deadline: November 7, 2025 at 11:59pm ET
View the complete Call for Proposals in PDF format

Legacies of Yonge + St. Clair builds on Heritage Toronto oral histories with six longtime business owners, representing more than 120 years of neighbourhood history. Through portraiture and storytelling, the selected artist will transform these narratives into a bold, accessible cultural landmark for residents, workers, and visitors.

The commissioned artist will lead a photoshoot, develop a unified visual treatment, and install a large-scale work. Artists are encouraged to propose concepts that:

• Work with a combination of exterior and interior space
• Consider how interior and exterior environments connect visually and thematically
• Respond to the site’s architectural context while maintaining a unified vision

Legacies is intended to evolve over multiple years. This first commission launches a portraiture exhibition that may be reinterpreted in future murals, exhibitions, galleries, and print or digital formats. Proposals should present a visual approach that stands alone now and can potentially adapt to future iterations. The BIA may reference, re-scale, or adapt elements of the commissioned work for future program iterations, such as additional murals or installations, exhibit formats, printed/digital communications, and related cultural programming. Any such reuse will include appropriate artist credit and will respect the integrity of the original work.

Photo: Matheus Bertelli

Scope of Work

Phase 1 – Photography

• Lead a professional photoshoot with approximately 120 participants, including interviewees, family, staff, clients, neighbours, and members of the public.
  ◦  The BIA is responsible for sign-up and registration (began August 2025)
• Direct participants to achieve high-quality portraits suitable for stylization and installation.
• Manage technical requirements including lighting, backdrops, equipment, and file handling.
• Deliver a complete portrait library, with curated selections prepared for stylization.

Deliverables:

• Finalized portrait library, including raw files plus curated selections.
• Documentation of signed consent forms.

Phase 2 – Stylization and Artwork Development

• Propose and apply stylization to unify all portraits into a cohesive series.
• Incorporate themes from Heritage Toronto dossiers: resilience, stewardship, and community.
• Propose artwork layouts that balance visual impact with spatial and cost efficiency.
• Prepare production files for substrates including brick, glass, metal, cement, and asphalt.
• Ensure artwork aligns with Yonge + St. Clair branding and architectural context.

Deliverables:

• Artistic concept mockups.
• Stylized portrait library.
• Print- or production-ready files for art installation and/or displays.
• Communicable plan for production and installation.

Phase 3 – Installation

• Oversee fabrication of materials and preparation of the site with the property team.
• Manage installation across exterior and interior applications.
• Ensure durability, safety, and weather-appropriateness for the exhibition duration.
• Conduct periodic checks during the runtime.
• Oversee de-installation and ensure the site is restored.

Deliverables:

• Installation and de-installation plan and schedule.
• Completed installation.
• De-installation.

Project Sites

The Legacies artwork will take place in one of the following configurations:

Configuration A

• 1521 Yonge Street: Exterior wall, windows, and sidewalk
• 1560 Yonge Street: Vacant storefront interior space with exterior windows

Configuration B

• 1 St. Clair East: Exterior windows, wall, and sidewalk space
• 1 St. Clair East: Interior hallway and staircase
• 1 St. Clair East: Vacant storefront interior space

Final site configuration will be confirmed with the selected artist and property partner. Please see the Supporting Documents section for more details.

Photo: Harrison Haines

Budget

The selected artist will receive $40,000 (including tax) to execute the project.

Applicants should provide a high-level budget including fees, materials, production, equipment, installation, and de-installation.

Eligibility

Preference will be given to artists based in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area with demonstrated capacity to:

• Manage creative and technical processes across photography, design, and installation
• Translate community histories into compelling, large-scale public art
• Deliver projects within budget and timeline

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated on artistic originality, capacity, experience with large scale public artwork, sensitivity to heritage narratives, community engagement, budget and timeline feasibility, and ability to execute large-scale public artwork.

Project Timeline

• Submissions Deadline: November 7, 2025 at 11:59pm ET
• Selection & Contracting: November 27, 2025
• Photography: February 2026
• Artwork Finalization: March–April 2026
• Installation & Launch: May 2026

Supporting Documents

Applicants should review these files to understand the project’s heritage foundation and site conditions. The materials are for reference only and do not limit artistic direction.

• Legacies: Heritage Toronto Dossiers
• Location Configurations
• Scale and Style Inspiration Deck
• Yonge + St. Clair BIA Branding Guidelines

Submit Your Proposal

Applicants must submit a proposal package that includes:

• 1 Page – Artist contact information (name, telephone number, email) including an artistic summary: a description of your approach to the project and its alignment with this RFP.
• 3 Pages – Project approach and rationale aligned to three phases:
  ◦  Phase 1 – Photography: Approach to the photoshoot and relevant experience.
  ◦  Phase 2 – Stylization: Visual approach and methods for unifying portraits. Narratives or past examples may be used; renders are not required.
  ◦  Phase 3 – Installation and De-installation: Approach to materials, site adaptation, and public art experience.
• Half Page to 1 Page – Briefly describe how your proposed visual approach could translate across multiple scales and locations in subsequent Legacies iterations.
• 1 Page – High-Level Project budget
• 1 to 2 Pages – Current CV / Resume, including relevant education, professional experience, and public art history.
• Link to portfolio and/or work samples (images or documentation)
• Submit as a single PDF document

Deadline: November 7, 2025 at 11:59pm ET

Submit proposals by email to info@yongestclair.ca with the subject line: Legacies Project – Art Proposal – YOUR NAME

For more information, visit yongestclair.ca or contact info@yongestclair.ca.

Yonge + St. Clair BIA
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