Request for Qualifications: Public Art Buses, City of St. Albert

Call to Artists
Public Art Buses
City of St. Albert Public Art

Artist Fee: $8,000 per artist + GST
Deadline for Submissions: March 23, 2025, 11:59pm MDT

The City of St. Albert invites artists, artist collectives and illustrators to submit qualifications for an opportunity to create artwork that will be enlarged and printed onto vinyl to wrap the exterior of two public transit buses. The successful applicants will also create or provide existing images for the interior placards of each bus, highlighting the 10 priorities identified in the Community Social Needs Assessment on the website at conversation.stalbert.ca/social-needs which draws attention and awareness to services provided by the City for our community.

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to artists working in all 2-dimensional mediums who reside in St. Albert and surrounding area. Artists who hold close ties to St. Albert are also encouraged to apply but must demonstrate this connection within their application. Artist collectives/teams may apply; however, the artist fee remains the same.

Accessibility

Public Art staff are available to work one on one with applicants who experience barriers to develop accommodation that suits their abilities. This includes reading, writing and interpretation barriers. Please contact the Visual Arts Coordinator if you require support at publicart@stalbert.ca.

Submission Deadline: March 23, 2025
Project Start Date: April 7, 2025
Artwork Due to Fabricator By: August 12, 2025
Project Completion: September 1, 2025

Project Description

Two artists will be chosen by a selection committee through the Request for Qualification process. Each artist will be required to work with the City of St. Albert Community Services and Public Operations departments to develop and refine an original artwork to wrap one transit bus. Two buses will be wrapped in total. Each artist’s wrap should be in response to a minimum of one, or a combination of a few, of the themes listed below:

• City transit as a setting for community interaction
• Diversity of people accessing public transit
• Focal points of ridership experience
• Community stories
• Indigenous history and stories
• Connections made in public places

In addition, the successful artists will create five new artworks or provide existing artworks to coincide with information on the following 10 priorities from the Social Needs Assessment. These artworks will be displayed on the placards inside the bus. The two artists that are hired will work together to decide which five priorities one another provides artwork for:

• Aging in Place
• Child and Youth Development
• Civic Involvement and Volunteerism
• Community Connectedness
• Community Safety
• Family and Gender-Based Violence
• Housing and Homelessness
• Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility
• Mental Health and Addictions
• Poverty

This is a temporary art project. The artwork will be installed on and within the buses for one (1) year.

Project Goals

This project aims to celebrate and encourage transit ridership by bringing art to the streets throughout St. Albert and Edmonton, engage transit users and pedestrians, share community priorities and resources, and inspire residents and visitors through engaging artwork.

Compensation

Each artist or team will be paid $8,000.00 (not including GST) for their artwork. They will be paid based on the deliverables listed within their Scope of Work upon hire.

Artist Deliverables and Technical Requirements

• The successful artists will work closely with Community Services, Public Operations and Pattison’s design team.
• Prior to developing their concept, the artists will be required to participate in an engagement activity facilitated in collaboration with the City of St. Albert.
• Artworks will be subject to review and approval at the concept and final design stages by the City of St. Albert.
• Artists must use the templates provided to create their artwork.
• The City of St. Albert Transit logo and information pertinent to each bus must remain.
• Final artwork images must be provided at a resolution of 1200 ppi.
• Final artwork images must be in a CMYK .tif or .eps format.
• If text is included in imagery, artist must supply fonts in Open Type or TrueType format or convert all text to outlines.
• If colour match is critical, a colour correct hard copy proof for reference must be provided.
• Allowance must be made for all transit systems and unit numbers.
• The front curb side door and the first passenger window cannot be covered.
• Molding around windows may distort small text and graphics. Artists take care when placing graphic elements.

City of St. Albert Deliverables

• Issue Scope and Fee schedule and Artist Master Agreement (contract).
• Collaborate with artists and support engagement activity before they begin developing their concept.
• Review and approve artwork.
• Facilitate project meetings between the fabricator, City staff and artists to ensure transparency on subject matter and process.
• Facilitate and cover costs for the fabrication and installation of the vinyl bus wrap and placards.

How to Apply

Eligible submissions must contain:

1. A brief statement of interest in this project including your experience and approach to community-based art making (up to 500 words).
2. An artist’s statement describing your current practice.
3. A current resume or curriculum vitae (CV).
4. Up to 10 images of past work with accompanying image list that includes title, date, medium and dimensions of work.

The submission package will be evaluated based on the application criteria on the following page.

Artwork concepts (proposals) are NOT required as a part of this Call for Artists and will not be reviewed. The successful artist will develop the concept upon hire.

Please visit the City of St. Albert Project Page to read the full Call for Artists and to apply.

Questions and Clarification

Prior to the submission deadline all questions or concerns regarding the technical or other aspects of the project or the proposal process shall be submitted to a Visual Arts staff member at publicart@stalbert.ca.

City of St. Albert
5 St. Anne Street
St. Albert, AB T8N 3Z9
stalbert.ca

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