Call to Manitoba Emerging Artists: Public Art for Railside at The Forks, Winnipeg

Image credit: The Forks

The Forks and STEPS Public Art invite artists to apply to this two-stage public art competition

Submission Deadline: May 4, 2025 at 11:59 pm CDT

The Forks Foundation and STEPS Public Art are pleased to announce new opportunities for on-site public art. The Forks Renewal Corporation (FRC) and The Forks Foundation are inviting Manitoba artists and artist teams to submit their qualifications and expressions of interest for permanent public art commissions within the first phase of the Railside at The Forks development.

The total budget in this call for public artworks is $150,000 (plus applicable taxes). Up to three (3) emerging artists will be shortlisted from this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to develop a proposal.

Visit the website for full details.

Opportunity

Railside at The Forks is a major step in the evolution of The Forks. Emphasizing environmental, economic and social sustainability, the plan will integrate a complete mix of uses that build on and celebrate the site’s abundant cultural, historic, and recreational assets, while maintaining access to every citizen and visitor alike. The Forks is consistently regarded among the top public spaces in North America. Creating and maintaining high quality public spaces, that are animated year-round, is central to the vision for Railside at The Forks.

The first phase of development, which is the focus of this RFQ, is premised on the development of two (2) central urban squares, connected via a network of short streets and alleys. The intent of the design is to create an inviting village atmosphere that draws people in and encourages them to explore and discover. The Railside Plan envisions public art as a critical element in creating that atmosphere. The goal is to commission art that is iconic, impactful, durable, and requires minimal maintenance.

Eligibility

This is a public competition open to professional artists and artist teams either residing in (i.e. the applicant’s primary residence) or originating from Manitoba (i.e. born or spent formative years). Artists working in any media may apply individually or as an artist team.

Per the Canada Council’s guidelines, a professional artist is defined as someone who:

• has specialised artistic training (not necessarily in academic institutions);
• is critically recognized as a professional by their peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition);
• has a history of public exhibitions; and/or
• has produced an independent body of work.

Through this RFQ, FRC is seeking to commission at least one (1) work from a professional emerging artist or artist team; an emerging artist being an early career artist, but not necessarily having public art experience. The intent is that the final commissioned artists will work collaboratively with FRC’s site design advisors on the Railside Design Advisory Committee and project architects to refine and integrate their artworks within the overall site design.

Selection Process

Both the artist shortlist and final awards will be conducted by an Artist Selection Panel. This Panel will be composed of, but not limited to, a majority of independent arts professionals. Representatives of the Forks Foundation and a member of the Railside Design Advisory Committee will serve as technical advisors. Upon review of all submissions, the Panel will select a shortlist of up to three (3) artists as finalists to develop a proposal.

Finalists will be invited to respond to a detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) package and will be paid $1,000 CAD (plus GST) to develop their proposal submissions. The shortlisted finalists will be invited to present their proposals virtually to the Selection Panel and based upon the proposal reviews and interviews, the Panel will award commissions to up to one (1) artist and/or artist team. The commissioned artworks will be required to comply with all applicable City of Winnipeg standards and regulations, such as those dealing with permitting, safety, and accessibility. Artist teams may not change over the life of the project.

The Selection Panel will be composed of community members and practicing arts professionals. Non-voting members representing the FRC, Railside design team and STEPS Public Art will help inform the Selection Panel on project information.

Submission Requirements

Applicants are invited to respond to this RFQ by submitting a single PDF document that includes:

1. Contact Information: Including full name, business name (if applicable), mailing address, telephone, and email. Teams must identify one artist to be FRC’s primary contact for the team, as well as contact information for each artist on the team.

2. Statement of Interest/Artist Statement: Written expression of interest in creating a public art project for Railside.

3. Curriculum Vitae (CV): Please submit a CV for each person on the primary team.

4. Artistic Support Material: Maximum of ten (10) images of work. For each image, a title and image number should be provided. If applying as a team, please only submit a total of ten (10) images.

5. Support Material List: A written list that clearly outlines the Artistic Support Material (above) with corresponding titles and numbers. Include the following details in order of: Title, date, location, commissioning agent (if applicable), budget, dimensions, medium/materials and a brief description of the works (maximum 50 words each).

6. Two References: Including full name, business name (if applicable), telephone, email, and their relation to your work. Reference letters will not be accepted.

How to Submit

Review the full details and apply by May 4, 2025, at 11:59 pm CDT. Incomplete and/or late applications will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted via Google Forms – emailed, faxed or mailed applications will not be accepted.

Applicants who have a disability or who need support applying for this opportunity are encouraged to contact Collin Zipp (collin@stepspublicart.org) at least 10 business days before the application deadline to allow STEPS to appropriately accommodate your needs and to discuss alternate formats for submitting your application.

For additional information:
Collin Zipp, Public Art Manager
1-888-783-7780 ext. 704
collin@stepspublicart.org
stepspublicart.org