Burlington Mural project looking for artists to do one mural in each ward - decent funding available.

theartsBy Staff

May 4, 2015

BURLINGTON, ON

Art – mural art to be specific – is going totally local. If you don’t reside in Burlington – you don’t get considered.

The City’s Public Art program has been massaging this idea for a while now – calling it the Burlington Mural Project, it is designed to tell local stories using local artists.

Murals - Toronto soldiers

This mural is on a store wall in Scarborough.

Intended as an annual program, it will commission small to medium-scale murals throughout the city. These commissions are open exclusively to Burlington, Ontario artists. There will be free professional development opportunities offered to assist artists with the application process and project development.

Six murals (one mural per ward) will be commissioned in Year 1 of the program. Commissions will range in value from $2,500 – $12,000 depending on the scale and complexity of the project.

The locations for the murals were selected through a public process. Residents were asked to submit mural locations and themes (via an online and in-person survey). 333 location suggestions were received, resulting in 114 unique locations. Locations that are not selected in Year 1 will remain on file for subsequent years of the program.

Applications can be found on the Calls for Artists page

The public art program hosted a ‘Murals 101’ workshop on April 25, 2015, which featured Karin Eaton, Executive Director of Mural Routes and mural artist Allan Bender in a lively discussion about contemporary mural making.

Mural - Flat Iron Bldg Toronto

This mural is at the rear of the Flat Iron building on Front Street in downtown Toronto

They discussed a variety of mural techniques and materials using real life case studies. A copy of the powerpoint presentation and additional notes are available on the Public Art website.

The applications are due on June 8th

Application Review Sessions will take place on May 25-26, for those who need help preparing an application to the Burlington Mural Program? The Public Art Managers are hosting a free application review session on May 25-26. Book a one-on-one session (20-30 minutes) to review a draft of your application and receive constructive feedback.

These sessions are open to all artists who are actively preparing an application to the Burlington Mural Program. Attendance will be voluntary and appointments must be booked in advance. To book an appointment please contact: Kim Selman, kim@cobaltconnects.ca or 905-548-0111

There are a wide variety of resources related to mural production, installation and conservation online. The Public Art program managers have complied a list of useful resources that may be helpful when preparing an application.

The project is being managed by Cobalt Connects – they are looking at a possible ten year program but add that it will probably be more like five years.

Five murals in each ward of the city might be a little over the top’

It will be interesting to see what comes in in the way of ideas.

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2 comments to Burlington Mural project looking for artists to do one mural in each ward – decent funding available.

  • Rob

    For Ward 2, I suggest we recognize the contribution of Joseph Brant, a Mohawk warrior, Chief of the Six Nations Indians, Christian missionary, British military officer, Freemason and Burlington’s first citizen.

  • OMG

    For Ward 4, I suggest he or she paint copies of the historic homes torn down onto the fronts of the new homes – there certainly would be more than enought room. Port Nelson, which played such an important part in The history of Burlington, deserves some artistic attention.