Artist Call – Water Reservoir Mural

The City of Brantford is home to over 104,000 residents and is situated along the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario and surrounded by the County of Brant and Six Nations of the Grand River.

The Grand River is a major waterway in southern Ontario, and it plays a significant role in the history and development of Brantford. The river, which flows for about 300 kilometers and eventually empties into Lake Erie, was an important transportation route, a source of food, and a key location for settlement. Historically, the Grand River and Brantford are intricately linked to the Indigenous peoples of the region, particularly the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nations.

The Grand River also helped with the establishment of Brantford as a town and city. In the early 19th century, European settlers, including those of British and Loyalist origin, began to establish communities along the river. The waterway facilitated trade, transportation, and the growth of industries, including milling and logging.

Today, the Grand River remains central to Brantford's identity, offering many recreational opportunities such as boating, fishing, and riverside trails. The river is part of a larger watershed that connects many communities across southern Ontario, and its connection to Brantford continues to be an important part of the city's heritage.

This mural will reflect this connection to the Grand River, its waterways, the importance of water in the natural environment, its beauty and power, and the larger connection to water as a lifeline. Artists are encouraged to approach this project from different angles and aspects of the above theme.

This mural is part of a larger renovation and facility update to the water reservoir building. Work is expected to be completed in early summer, but there is a chance it will be delayed. This should not inhibit the completion of the mural, as most of the work will be done inside. Applying artist/s should understand and build flexibility into their project timeline to accommodate unforeseen construction delays.

The project location is on the east side of the building at 310 Campbell St., Brantford, ON N3S 5B6. The surface area of the mural location is approximately 86.86m2 (935 sq. ft.). The wall substrate is newly cladded stucco (picture below is the old façade). Please see the image below (Figure 2. Mural Area) for detailed dimensions.

Figure 1: Photo of Final Mural Location


Figure 2: Surface Area of Project Location 86.86m2 (935 sq. ft.), which is 2.31m by 37.77m.

Project Timeline

The project will run between March 2026 and October 2026.

This Artist Call is open to all professional artists who are eligible to work in Canada and live in Ontario. While this call is open to all artists in Ontario, special consideration will be given to local artists in the City of Brantford, County of Brant, Six Nations of the Grand River, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations area.

• Must be a new and original design.
• Artists are not permitted to use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in any part of their practice for this opportunity. This includes the use of generative AI tools, platforms, or programs in the creation, development, or production of the artwork.
• Artists must be at least 18 years of age on the date their proposal is submitted.

All applying artists are required to submit a form through the City of Brantford’s website. Artist teams are welcome to apply, but must share the total project award. 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);
• is active in and committed to their art practice;
• has a history of public exhibitions; and/or has produced an independent body of work.

Design proposals are not requested at this time and will not be considered during the Stage 1 selection process. Artist applications will be reviewed on the basis of artistic excellence, expressed written interest in the site, and other professional qualification criteria listed below. The jury will be composed of mural experts and community members. The evaluation process is a subjective process, and all applications will be judged against this and the themes and criteria.

Stage One: Request for Qualifications

Shortlisted artists and artist teams will be selected based on qualifications demonstrated from their submitted applications. The jury review is a subjective process. Applications will be reviewed by a jury on the basis of:

• Previous artistic excellence demonstrated through previous samples of work
• Interest in the project
• Past experience with public art competitions of similar scope and size
• Assessment and review of references

The jury will recommend a shortlist of up to three (3) artists to move to Stage 2.

Professional artists/artist teams are invited to respond to this Artist Call by completing the submission form and submitting a single PDF document. This PDF document should be labelled with the name of the artist and project (Name_Brantford_Water_Mural).

In the application form, artists will be asked to provide the following information. Note: if applying as a team, please list team members and submit required credentials for each:

• Name(s) and Contact Information
• Website and Professional Social Media Accounts (if applicable)
• Letter of Intent: Outline of artistic/team experience, abilities, approach, and interest in this project. Highlight project management and relevant experience. While visual proposals are not accepted at this stage of the competition, we encourage artists to speak to the artwork themes in this letter.
• Curriculum Vitae: Detail professional experience as an artist, past public art experience, and other information relevant to this Artist Call. If applying as a team, provide one per team member.
• Artistic Support Material: Include images of work, a minimum of five and a maximum of ten. For each image, a title and image number should be provided. If applying as a team, please only submit a total of ten images.
• 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 role on mural project. (maximum 50 words each).
• References: Names and contact information (current email and phone number) for two (2) references (preferably from recent mural art projects) with their role and affiliation listed. Reference letters are not required at this stage of the competition. References will only be contacted at stage two of the competition, if needed.

If selected for Stage 2, shortlisted artists/artist teams will be provided a fee of $750.00 CAD (inclusive of taxes and other expenses) for the development of detailed artist proposals.

Shortlisted artists will be given detailed site information, including deadlines, dates, site locations, etc. Each artist/artist team will create a detailed artist proposal, including a written project-related artist statement, a project budget, production and installation plan, etc. Further details and deliverables will be provided at the outset of Stage 2.

The artist/artist team selected by the jury as the competition winner and approved by the City of Brantford staff will enter into a contract with the City to create the final public artwork.

Estimated Project Timeline

• March 2026: Artist Call issued
• April 10, 2026: Artist Call closes
• May to June 2026: Shortlisted Artists identified, Shortlisted Artists develop detailed proposals
• July 2026: Final Artist(s) selected, Artist Agreement signed
• July to October 2026: Mural installation

Due to the timeline artists shortlisted and selected artist/artist team are required to complete the proposals and project components within the above timeline.