The City of Pickering invites artists to respond to the Call for Artists to create a series of seven (7) street banners digitally, to be fabricated and installed by the City onto seven (7) City street light poles. This call is open to individual artists (emerging to established), artist teams or collectives.  

As per the Public Art Policy (CUL 130) an artist is defined as the designer/creator of an artistic work and can include, but is not limited to, a professional artist, graphic designer, collaborative team, architect, or landscape designer.  

The Community Banner Series call for expression of interest (EOI) seeks artists to propose street banner designs that will animate and transform the street scape into welcoming and engaging spaces. Artwork is to be created digitally and will be recreated onto vinyl street banners.  The artwork will be located within the City of Pickering.   

The fabrication of the vinyl banners required for the project, and installation will be the responsibility of the City of Pickering. The City will also be responsible for site prep and permits. The costs of all other materials required will be the artists’ responsibility. Designs, artwork, and plans are subject to final approval by the City as per the Community Banner Policy (CUL 140).

The City of Pickering’s Cultural Strategic Plan (2014) outlines the City’s commitment to collaborate with the community to celebrate our cultural diversity, heritage and the arts; to sustain our natural environment; to foster a creative economy; and to strengthen our vibrant neighborhoods. 

The Community Banner Series will build on the success of the original Community Banner Program that has received and archived artwork from a range of artists and artistic practices since 2018. Each year, these banners have contributed to colorful, vibrant, and City proud civic spaces in the City Centre. Banner artwork is intended, but not limited to; engage Pickering’s diverse local communities, celebrate the city’s natural, social and built environment, be aesthetically pleasing, bring colour, beauty, pride and enjoyment to city streets, and gateways, and/or encourage community engagement. 

Banners will be installed in series on city light poles at various locations including but not limited to Kingston Road, Valley Farm Road, and Pickering Parkway. Light poles have single-armed hardware. Artists should be aware that the artwork may be subject to damage by the elements. Banners will be on display for approximately two (2) years. The Community Banner Series schedule, duration and location of the banner series installation is subject to change at the discretion of the City of Pickering.  

In recognition of the environmental effects of excessive plastic production, this project will include an opportunity to repurpose, refurbish and reuse retired banners for future displays, promotions, or re-created into new temporary public art piece, or re-usable options.

Call to Artists – Expression of Interest (EOI)   

 Community Services Staff and the Public Art Jury will review EOI submissions and identify a short-list (Stage 1) based on artistic excellence and demonstrated or perceived ability to create and execute an innovative, engaging public artwork banner that is complementary to the overall design scheme and community context.  

Decisions of the Public Art Jury are reviewed by the Cultural Advisory Committee and are final, pending approval of the Director, Community Services as per the Community Banner Policy CUL 140.  

Budget 

Stage 1: Short-listed artists will be paid a fee of $1,500.00 (+HST) for their submission of the conceptual design proposal. Short-listed artists will be provided a Terms of Reference with additional information about the project and may be required to attend a virtual public consultation and present their proposals. 

Stage 2: The budget for the final selected artists designs for the creation of seven banners, including artist fees is $2,750 (+HST). A total of three artists banner series will be selected from the short-listed artists for Stage 2.  

Anticipated Schedule 

It is expected that the commissioned artist(s) will comply with the project’s general timeline dates, as stated below: 

*Schedule is subject to change 

Artists are invited to respond to this EOI Call by submitting a single pdf document (max size 20 MB) including:  

Submissions must be sent to jstamant@pickering.ca with subject line: <YourLastName>_EOI:CommunityBanner2025 

Deadline: May 30, 2025, at 4 pm EST.  

If the submissions exceed 20 MB, artists should contact Jesse St. Amant, Coordinator, Cultural Services who will provide a link to an external file share program. Incomplete submissions or submissions received after the deadline will not be juried. 

Reserved Rights of the City of Pickering​​ 

The City of Pickering, at its sole discretion, may request clarification or request additional information, as deemed necessary to evaluate the submissions. The City retains the sole discretion to determine whether a submission is responsive and if the prospective Artist or Artist Team is capable of performing the Work. The City reserves the right, at it sole discretion, to determine the number of pre-qualified Artists or Artist Teams. The City reserve the right to not proceed with awarding a contract. 

Publication of Information 

The City of Pickering shall have the exclusive rights to issue all public announcements regarding the competition. 

Additional Information 

For any additional information or questions please contact: Jesse St. Amant, Coordinator, Cultural Services at 905.420.4660 ext. 3607 or jstamant@pickering.ca. 

The City of Pickering’s Cultural Strategic Plan (2014) outlines the City’s commitment to collaborate with the community to celebrate our cultural diversity, heritage and the arts; to sustain our natural environment; to foster a creative economy; and to strengthen our vibrant neighbourhoods. 

These digital art placemaking pieces are intended to be created by a digital artist(s). The City of Pickering will commission one artist/teams for the creation of 12-15 digital works. The size and exact number of display frames used will be determined between the City and the selected artist/teams. The created work will create a sense of joy and excitement for residents and visitors. Original and/or pre-exciting work will be considered. 

The City will coordinate production and installation of the 12-15 digital prints, utilizing their current inventory of display frames for the commission. The final designs provided by the selected artists will need to work with in these dimensions. Frames can be mounted vertically or horizontally to accommodate designs. The current inventory of display frames includes: Nine (9) 40” x 27”, Eight (8) 36” x 24”, Four (4) 20” x 16”.  

The display rail system in place is divided into three sections along two adjacent walls for a total of 60 feet of rail.   

Budget 

$2,000.00 CAD including HST (maximum).* This is the total amount available for the commission of these placemaking digital artworks. All related expenses of this project including, but not limited to: artist fees, all applicable taxes, detailed renderings, equipment, travel to meetings and to the site, and an artist statement for completed work. After the final design is submitted, one round of revisions is included. The City of Pickering will have reproduction rights to the selected submissions for a period of two years. 

*Subject to change based on final confirmation of number of digital works. 

Anticipated Schedule 

It is expected that the commissioned artist(s) will comply with the project’s general timeline dates, as stated below: 

Reserved Rights of the City of Pickering 

The City of Pickering, at its sole discretion, may request clarification or request additional information, as deemed necessary to evaluate the submissions. The City retains the sole discretion to determine whether a submission is responsive and if the prospective Artist or Artist Team can perform the Work. The City reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to determine the number of pre-qualified Artists or Artist Teams. The City reserves the right to not proceed with awarding a contract. The City of Pickering shall have the exclusive rights to issue all public announcements regarding the competition. 

Additional Information 

For any additional information or questions please contact: Jesse St. Amant, Coordinator, Cultural Services at 905.420.4660 ext. 3607 or jstamant@pickering.ca.