CALL TO ARTISTS - Elephants & Augmented Reality

Building on the tremendous success of the ‘Track to the Future’ mural project, Railway City Tourism is requesting expressions of interest from artists who would like to design and paint an original mural of an elephant in St. Thomas! This is a rare opportunity to connect one of the key stories in the history and mythology of the community – specifically, the death of Jumbo the Elephant in 1885 – with the future of the city in augmented reality. Indeed, the artwork will serve two purposes: first, each artist selected will paint an elephant mural in St. Thomas; second, select elephant murals will be incorporated into the new ‘Engage’ augmented reality app to be designed by EXAR Studios and launched in summer 2021! Users of the app will be able to see the elephants as avatars that help guide explorations of the city. 

BACKGROUND
Designs for the elephant mural should be original and modern while also picking up on hints of the history of the community. Once the designs are selected, each artist will be assigned a wall space in the community to paint with the aim that the murals will be painted on or before September 30, 2021. 

BASIC ART GUIDELINES
Basic guidelines for the artwork: each mural should be designed in the shape of an elephant, although what is painted within that shape is to be determined by each artist; the mural can be any size from 30 square feet to 60 square feet; and the expectation is that the best materials will be used to create durable, attractive murals. We intend to select murals that will have broad appeal, as well as designs that connect especially with children (imagine downtown photo-spots for kids!)

PROJECT INFO
The ‘Track to the Future’ mural project is coordinated by Railway City Tourism in collaboration with Andrew Gunn Consulting and young & free press with generous financial support from the Estate of Donna Vera Evans Bushell. Artists featured and involved to date include Meaghan Claire Kehoe, MEDIAH, Kelsey Montague, Denial, Andrew Lewis, Nancy Deleary, Laura Woermke, Grayden Laing, Jaclyn White, and Bibi Nielsen & Melissa Kempf.

Laura Woermke, Executive Director of the St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre, has been selected to paint the first elephant mural. Three additional artists will be chosen to paint murals this year with plans to add more in the series in years to come.
 
Public art has the power to enrich communities, create captivating spaces, challenge viewers, provoke discussion, and add great beauty to our surroundings. We are seeking submissions from a variety of artists with diverse experiences, backgrounds, styles and techniques that reflect our values of creativity, inclusiveness, and beauty. All are welcome to submit designs.
​

DETAILS FOR CALL
 
FEES

• Each artist will be paid between $1000 and $2000 depending on the size of the mural & experience level of the artist; in each case, 50% of the fee will be paid up-front and the remainder upon completion of the mural

 
REQUIREMENTS

• Entries must be received by 4pm on Friday, March 5th
• Insurance and safety requirements are the responsibility of the artist and must be provided upon request by Railway City Tourism

 
ELIGIBILITY

• Applicants can be based anywhere in Canada, but priority will be given to those applications received from artists based in southwestern Ontario, especially those from St. Thomas & Elgin County.

 
APPLICATION PROCESS

• Colour sketch of the design must be provided
• Mural dimensions: between 30 and 60 square feet
• The mural must be painted in the shape of an elephant
• Along with the mural design, artists should provide a CV with complete contact information and highlight any previous experience in painting murals
• Submit entries by email to Megan Pickersgill, Manager, Railway City Tourism, at mpickersgill@stthomas.ca
• Please use ‘Elephant Mural’ as the subject line of your email

 
SELECTION PROCESS 
This call for artists is being administered by Railway City Tourism. A committee will review the submitted applications and choose the successful candidates. The decisions of the selection committee are final. All entrants will be notified of the results. ​​