City of Calgary offering up to $30,000 for new public art pitches

The City of Calgary has put a call out to local artists with the offer of $30,000 for new public art designs.

These artist-initiated projects are a recent addition to the city’s public art program, and allow the public to submit ideas for art in public spaces anywhere in the city.

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Approved artists will then be funded up to $30,000 to see their vision become reality, though there are a few rules surrounding what kind of artwork will be greenlit.

According to the City of Calgary’s website, the projects must be publicly accessible, could have been started before applying for the funding, safe for public interaction, have a defined lifespan of five years or less, and must be completed within one year.

Applying artists must also be “18 years of age or older, residents of Calgary and area (including nearby Indigenous communities), have specialized training in an artistic field (not necessarily in academic institutions), are recognized as a professional by their peers, have a history of public presentation or publication, and are committed to devoting more time to artistic activity,” the application page states.

Applications will be accepted from now until November 26, with successful applicants being notified in December, and final selection being made in February 2021.

Those hoping to apply can send their completed application form, resume/CV and up to 10 images of previous work or ideas to [email protected].

The new public art program will spend a total of $150,000 on artist-initiated projects, funding that comes from the Public Art Program’s existing budget.