Murals on Private Property

Members of the public who wish to commission a mural on a private wall that is within the public streetscape must abide by the following by-law and public art policy parameters when designing their mural.

Murals on private property are not considered part of the City of Brantford's Public Art collection, but do contribute to the enhancement and beautification of the community. Murals bring colour to building walls and streets and create unique experiences for residents and visitors to engage with.

All private murals in the City of Brantford will be guided by the following requirements:

• A mural on private property must be maintained for two years. It remains the responsibility of the property owner to remove graffiti vandalism on the mural in accordance with City of Brantford By-law.  
• Artwork must be appropriate for display in public places and shall therefore not promote violence, hatred, or contempt against any identifiable person or group distinguished on the basis of colour, race, ancestry, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, politics, age, language, gender, or disability.
• Artwork must not incorporate imagery resembling traffic signals or signage and/or any content that may pose a distraction to drivers.
• A mural can not be confused for advertisement or signage.

If any of the above rules found to be violated, City of Brantford by-law has the right to issue a ticket, fine or the enforce the removal or altercation of the mural.

While the mural is on private property, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• When installing a mural, you may be required to apply for a Right-of-Way Activity Permit and/or any other permits requested by the City of Brantford.
• It is strongly suggested that anti-graffiti coating be applied to your finished mural to help with maintenance costs for the mural.
• If you would like to feature the face of someone who is alive or within recent memory in your mural, please obtain permission.

Resources

If you are interested in installing a mural on your wall but don’t know where to start, Mural Routes is a Canadian non-for-profit that specializes in building and supporting murals in communities. They offer a number of resources, including:

• Donate A Wall - Property owners can donate a wall for a potential mural site.
• Artist Database - Mural Routes has a database of local and international muralists and can help you find the right artist for your project.
• Fees for Mural Artists - It is important that artists are paid a living wage for their time, knowledge, skills and work. Mural Routes can assist you with determining the appropriate fee that takes in to account the experience of the artist, size of the mural, accessibility of the site, and complexity of the design.
• Get inspiration - Browse Mural Routes' database of murals to help you get inspired.

Still have questions? Please reach out to culture@brantford.ca.

The City of Brantford's mural collection is growing, learn more about existing murals and the artists who created them by visiting our Temporary Public Art webpage.