Call for artists: Williams Lake Regional Airport Public Art
Xatśūll First Nation and Williams Lake First Nation (working in partnership with the City of Williams Lake and STEPS Public Art) invite professional artists or artist teams based in Canada to apply to this Call for Artist opportunity.
Deadline: March 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM PST
Compensation: $70,000 CAD (up to three artists or artist teams will be shortlisted and paid $750 CAD each to create detailed proposals)
Photo credit: City of Williams Lake
Opportunity Overview
Xatśūll First Nation and Williams Lake First Nation, working in partnership with the City of Williams Lake and STEPS Public Art, invite professional artists or artist teams based in Canada to submit expressions of interest and qualifications to create a permanent public artwork to be placed within the Williams Lake Regional Airport. The public artwork will be selected through an open, two-stage national competition, with a total award of $70,000 CAD. The project award covers ALL costs (pre-approved by the Selection Panel) directly associated with the artwork including; fees, fabrication, shipping, installation, engineering and professional services, insurance, permits, travel and other incidental and production expenses. Up to three (3) artists or artist teams will be shortlisted and paid $750 CAD each to create detailed proposals.
Community Background
Williams Lake First Nation, or the T’exelcemc, have belonged to the Secwépemc (or Shuswap) Nation for over 6500 years. They are one of 17 Secwepemc Nations, forming Secwepemcúl’ecw, the greater stewardship land area that extends from Shuswap Lake in the south, to Quesnel Lake in the north, and from Columbia-Kootenay Range in the east, to the Alexis Creek area in the west.
Xatśūll First Nation (formerly known as Soda Creek Indian Band) is the northernmost Nation within Secwepemcúl’ecw. Xatśūll First Nation has two reserves north of the City of Williams Lake: Deep Creek IR#2 and Soda Creek IR#1.
The City of Williams Lake, named after Secwépemc Chief William, lies within the Secwépemc traditional territory and is within the Stewardship Area of both Xatśūll First Nation and Williams Lake First Nation. The City of Williams Lake was established in 1860 during the Cariboo Gold Rush. It sits at the junction of two trails that lead to the goldfields, one from the Douglas Road and another through the Fraser Canyon. Later, with the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (now CN Rail), Williams Lake became a hub of Forestry, Mining and Transportation. The city was incorporated in 1929 and today it has a population of 11,000.
Site Context
The Williams Lake Regional Airport is located 14 kilometres north of the City of Williams Lake. Originally opened in 1956 by Transport Canada, the ownership and operations of the airport were transferred to the City of Williams Lake in 1997. Currently the airport operates as an independent department of the City’s Municipal Services. The airport services commercial flights, the Cariboo Initial Attack Fire Center, medivac, and corporate operations.
Artwork Location
The location for the artwork is within the Williams Lake Regional Airport, proximate to the arrival gate. The footprint for the installation is approximately 7 feet by 7 feet, with a maximum height of 12 feet.
Figure 1 – Artwork installation area
Artwork Themes
The installation is intended to reflect the history and heritage of the lands upon which the Airport and the City of Williams Lake have been established. Xatśūll First Nation and Williams Lake First Nation have identified the following themes for the artwork:
- The beauty of our natural environment and traditional territory (which may include geography, resources such as fish and wildlife, etc.)
- Unity and Harmony with the natural environment (with reference to the two Nations working together on this project)
- A three-dimensional sculpture that is viewable from all angles
The installation should be a sculpture or other three-dimensional art piece made of durable material such as stone, concrete, wood, steel or other medium. The artwork should be visually appealing from all angles and designed to be walked around.
Selection Process
Artwork proposals are not requested at this time. Artist applications will be reviewed on the basis of artistic excellence, expressed written interest in the site and other professional qualification criteria listed below.
This Call for Artist is open to all professional artists and artist/design teams residing in Canada. While this is a national competition, local and regional artists are encouraged to apply. 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.
The Selection Panel will be composed of project stakeholders.
We encourage applications from all qualified candidates that represent the full diversity of communities in Canada, including complexities of intersecting identities such as ability, class, gender, race and sexual orientation. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from Indigenous Artists and other equity-deserving communities.
Applicants who need support applying for this opportunity are encouraged to contact Collin Zipp (Public Art Manager, STEPS Public Art) at collin@stepspublicart.org at least two weeks before the application deadline to appropriately accommodate your needs and to discuss alternate formats for submitting your application.
Stage one: 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 Selection Panel on the basis of:
- Previous artistic excellence demonstrated through previous samples of work
- Interest in the project and the site
- Past experience of managing and facilitating projects or public art competitions of similar scopes and sizes
- Assessment and review of references
The Selection Panel will recommend a shortlist of up to three (3) artists/artist teams to move to Stage 2.
Stage two: Shortlisted proposal development and presentation
If selected for Stage 2, shortlisted artists / artist teams will be provided a fee of $750 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, dimensions and suitable artwork recommendations for the site (size, orientation, etc). Each artist / artist team will create a detailed artist proposal including a written artist statement, a project budget, engineering and foundation quotes (with timeline confirmations from fabricators, installers and engineers), fabrication and installation plans (including quotes), etc. Further details and deliverables will be provided at the outset of Stage 2.
The artist / artist team selected by the Selection Panel as the competition winner and approved by Xatśūll First Nation and Williams Lake First Nation will enter into a contract with the Nations to create the final public artwork.
Application Requirements for Stage One
Professional artists / artist teams are invited to respond to this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) by submitting a single PDF document. This PDF document must be labelled with the name of the artist and project (Name_Williams Lake Regional Airport). Each single PDF document must include the following:
- Letter of Intent: 2-page maximum (11-point font). Outline of artistic experience, ability, approach and interest in this project, site and community, highlighting relevant experience. While proposals are not accepted at this stage of the competition, we encourage artists to speak to the artwork themes in this letter.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV): 3-page maximum. Detail professional experience as an artist, past public art experience, and other information relevant to this RFQ. 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 a brief description of the works (maximum 50 words each).
- References: Names and contact information (current email and phone number) for two (2) references (preferably from recent public art projects) with their role and affiliation listed. Reference letters are not required at this stage of the competition.
*If applying as a team, please list team members and submit required credentials for each. Please also only provide the contact information for the designated contact person.
Upon submission, please ensure you have carefully examined this Call for Artists document, including any clarifications or revisions posted on the project website.
Estimated Project Timeline
- February 23, 2024: Call for Artists issued
- March 31, 2024: Call for Artists closes
- April – May 2024: Shortlisted Artists identified; Shortlisted Artists develop detailed proposals, including video presentations of proposals to be shared for public comment
- June 2024: Final Artist selected; Artist Agreement signed
- June 2024 – September 2024: Final Artist / Artist Team begins artwork fabrication, foundation prep, and installation planning, as well as community engagement
- October 2024: Artwork installed and opens to the public
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
Thank you for your interest. Applications are closed.
Submissions must be received by March 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM PST. Incomplete and / or late applications will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted via Google Forms – 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.
Please upload your submissions here. Final submissions must not exceed 10 MB in total size.
Questions and requests for clarification will be received by email until March 15, 2024 at 12 noon PST.
Applicants who need additional support applying for this opportunity are encouraged to contact Collin Zipp (Public Art Manager, STEPS Public Art) at collin@stepspublicart.org by March 15 at 12 noon PST to appropriately accommodate your needs and to discuss alternate formats for submitting your application.
Contact
Collin Zipp, Public Art Manager
P: 1-888-783-7780 ext. 704
E: collin@stepspublicart.org
Partners
