Request For Proposals: 2027 Floating Public Art, Waterfront Toronto

Harbour Square Park Basin, Toronto

Trevor Wheatley and Cosmo Dean in collaboration with Puncture Design, Global Convenience, 2026. Photo: Michael Nguyen

2027 Floating Public Art
Harbour Square Park Basin, Toronto

Submission Deadline: December 3, 2026 by 5:00pm ET

Opportunity

Waterfront Toronto is seeking to commission a professional artist or artist team to create a temporary floating artwork for Harbour Square Park Basin. Artists are asked to submit proposals for installation during summer 2027. The artwork will activate the basin by engaging with the local community and visitors to the waterfront. This RFP is open to artists and artist teams in Canada with relevant experience and expertise as practicing professional artists. Waterfront Toronto requires that artists use Ontario-based contractors and strongly encourages the use of local subcontractors.

Harbour Square Park is located on the shore of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Containing one-fifth of all surface freshwater on Earth, the lakes are a vital source of drinking water and food. Throughout history these interconnected bodies of water have been critically important for trade, human settlement and migration. They are sacred to Indigenous Peoples, who have inhabited the shores and fished in their waters since time immemorial. The lakes’ unique ecosystems are host to a diverse array of plants and animals, and their shores and waters provide recreation for millions of people.

Today, water pollution, climate change, over-extraction, invasive species, and wetland loss are all taking a toll on their watersheds. Water scarcity, often perpetuated by climate change, is one of the most pressing global challenges today, particularly in its relationship to migration. It is imperative we remain engaged with the importance of these waters and with the challenges they face.

Theme

For summer 2027, Waterfront Toronto invites artists to explore the creative possibilities of scale and water through a bold and unexpected floating artwork for Harbour Square Park Basin.

What happens when the scale of something familiar is distorted, exaggerated or reimagined? When an everyday object becomes a landmark? When a small idea takes on an iconic presence? How can water change the way an artwork is seen, understood and experienced?

The theme OUT OF SCALE; Larger than Life on the Water is not limited to physical size. Scale may also be emotional, cultural, historical or temporal. Proposals are invited to begin with a familiar form, object, story or experience and transform it through scale, context and its relationship to water.

Water should be considered as more than the location or platform for the artwork. It may function as a surface that reflects or redirects, a force that creates movement, or a changing field of light and colour. Artists may consider the basin as a stage, mirror, canvas or illusionary space.

Waterfront Toronto is particularly interested in proposals that create a sense of wonder and curiosity, stop people in their tracks, spark conversation and become a temporary landmark on Toronto’s waterfront. Monumental impact may be achieved through an unexpected shift in scale, distinctive silhouette, compelling relationship with water, or an idea that resonates beyond the artwork’s physical dimensions.

Proposals should create distinctive moments and perspectives that encourage photography, video, public storytelling and organic sharing across social and digital platforms. The artwork should invite repeated viewing and discovery, extending public engagement beyond a single viewpoint, encounter or image.

Proposals must balance artistic ambition with marine conditions, public safety, budget, durability and feasibility, while considering sustainability and the artwork’s reuse or responsible repurposing following the exhibition.

Ben Johnston, IT COMES IN WAVES, 2025. Photo: Michael Nguyen

General Submission Requirements

Please refer to the complete submission requirements at Public Art | Waterfront Toronto (waterfrontoronto.ca).

Waterfront Toronto is inviting practicing professional artists in Canada to include in their submission:

• Completed Submission Form (attached to full RFP document)
• Artist statement
• Images of proposed artwork
• Sustainability statement
• Proposed budget breakdown and schedule
• Images of previous and relevant work
• Artist CV
• References
• Completed Business Location Attestation Form (attached to full RFP document)

This is a one-stage competition open to all Canadian artists. Submissions will be reviewed by an independent evaluation panel convened for this project. Waterfront Toronto intends to identify one successful Artist or Artist Team to undertake this project.

Budget

The total commissioning budget for this project is $100,000 + HST.

This fee includes all expenses related, but not limited to, Artist fees, preparation and submission of drawings and renderings, coordination and technical consultations including marine engineering approval or other expertise as required, permits, preparation of installation documents, anchoring plan, meetings and site visits, travel, insurance as required by Waterfront Toronto ($2M professional liability insurance and $5M commercial general liability insurance is required for water installations), rental of studio and storage space, materials, shipping, delivery to site, signage, installation and removal, maintenance manual and artist statement for completed work. Waterfront Toronto will not be responsible for any additional costs.

Timeline

RFP Launches – October 22, 2026
Deadline for Questions – November 26, 2026
Submission Deadline – December 3, 2026 by 5pm ET
Artist Selection (by Evaluation Team) – December 2026
Artist Notification & Contract Issued – January 2027
Design Development & Fabrication – February to May 2027
Installation – Late May to Early June 2027
Artwork Removal – Early October 2027

Submission Deadline: December 3, 2026, by 5:00pm ET

Please direct all enquiries by email to: publicart@waterfrontoronto.ca, and reference the opportunity title, 2027 Floating Art in your email.

This page is a letter of introduction only. Please read in full the Waterfront Toronto Call for Proposals document on our Public Art Website, which contains instructions, evaluation criteria, submission requirements, how to submit, site details and technical requirements, and terms and conditions.

Waterfront Toronto
251 Queens Quay East, Suite 301
Toronto, ON M5A 0X3
www.waterfrontoronto.ca

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