Call for Artists - Phil Hartman Mural
Please note that the deadline for this Call for Artists has been extended. All submissions must be received by Monday, July 29, 2024 at 4:30 p.m.
Project Summary
The City of Brantford seeks to commission a muralist or mural artist collective to create a mural artwork on the east wall of the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts building (88 Dalhousie St., Brantford) to honour the late Phil Hartman, a well-known and tremendously gifted screen and voice actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. The selected muralist will be responsible for hosting and facilitating up to two community consultations (in partnership with the City of Brantford) with community stakeholders on themes reflecting the work and life of Phil Hartman. Mural production is scheduled for late summer/early fall of 2024. Eligible artists are invited to submit expressions of interest and qualifications to this call.
The commissioned artist will be selected through an open, two-stage process. The project budget of $70,000 (inclusive of HST) includes all costs directly associated with the artwork: including taxes, artist fees, production, materials, equipment rental, installation, and other professional services, insurance, permits, travel and other incidental and production expenses.
Up to three (3) artists will be shortlisted and paid $750 (inclusive of HST) each to create detailed proposals that include proposed designs.
Background
Phil Hartman was born in Brantford in 1948 and spent his formative years here before moving to the United States. He went on to co-produce and work on the Pee-wee Herman Show and star on Saturday Night Live for eight seasons, which earned him an Emmy win during his time on the show. Hartman was also the voice behind Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure on the Simpsons, and starred on the NBC NewsRadio sitcom, along with many smaller supporting acting roles. A victim of domestic violence, Hartman was tragically killed by his wife in 1998, who then committed suicide herself. His death was mourned as great loss to the comedy world. This mural is to honour and celebrate the life and work of Phil Hartman through a multitude of different iconography and stories, from his childhood in Brantford through his years in Hollywood, and beyond.
Mural Location
The project location is on the east side of the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts building (88 Dalhousie St, Brantford, ON N3T 2J2). The surface area of the mural location is approx. 2,717 sq. ft. The wall substrate is a grey stucco.
Project Timeline
The project will run between July 2 – October 31, 2024.
Selection Process
This Call to Artists is open to all professional artists. All applying artists are required to submit a form through the Mural Routes’ 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 specialized 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.
Stage 1 - Request for Qualifications
Shortlisted artists and artist teams will be selected based on qualifications demonstrated from their submitted applications. 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 of managing and facilitating community consultation projects or public art competitions of similar scopes and sizes
- Assessment and review of references
The jury will recommend a shortlist of up to three (3) artists to move to Stage 2.
Stage 2 - Shortlisted Proposal Development and Presentation
If selected for Stage 2, shortlisted artists/artist teams will be provided a fee of $750 (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 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 Staff will enter into a contract with the City to create the final public artwork.
Artist Qualifications
A successful artist or artist team will be selected based on qualifications demonstrated from their submitted application. Which include:
- Previous artistic excellence demonstrated through previous samples of work
- Letter of intent
- Past experience of managing and facilitating projects or public art competitions of similar scopes and sizes
- Assessment and review of references
The artist/artist team selected by the jury as the winner and approved by City Staff will enter into a contract with the City to create the final public artwork.
Application Requirements
Professional artists/artist teams are invited to respond to this Artist Call by submitting an application through the Mural Routes’ website.
In the application form, artists will be asked to provide the following information:
If applying as a team, please list team members and submit required credentials for each.
- Name(s), artist pseudonym or collective name
- Main contact information: Address, Phone, and E-mail
- Website (if applicable)
- Social media links (if applicable)
- A short artist statement (150 words max.)
- An artist bio (150 words max.)
- A short summary of the artist or artist team’s interest in this project (200 words max.)
- A short summary of the artist or artist team’s background and experiences with community consultation and/or arts facilitation (150 words max.)
- A short summary of the artist or artist team’s history and previous experience with managing projects of this scale (150 words max.)
- Curriculum Vitae: 3-page maximum. 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 CV per team member.
- 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.
- 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.
| Stage | Dates |
|---|---|
| Call to Artists is issued | July 2024 |
|
Shortlisted Artists identified. Shortlisted Artists develop detailed proposals |
July-August 2024 |
| Final Artist(s) selected, Artist Agreement signed | August-September 2024 |
| Mural production | September-October 2024 |
| Mural unveiling | October 2024 |
This project has a tight turnaround time to ensure 2024 installation and will require the shortlisted and selected artist/artist team to complete the proposals and project components within the above timeline.
How to apply
Submissions must be received by Monday, July 29, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. Incomplete and/or late applications will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted through the Mural Routes website. Emailed, faxed or mailed applications will not be accepted. It is your responsibility to ensure the application package is complete and submitted by the posted deadline.
Questions and requests for clarification will be received by email until July 22, 2024 at 12 p.m. EST. If you have any questions, please contact Marta Keller-Hernandez, Managing Director at Mural Routes, at marta@muralroutes.ca.
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