call to artists: walden fire station and library
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Calgary Arts Development (CADA) is seeking an artist or artist team to join The City of Calgary’s Walden Fire Station and Library project team to create permanent public artwork(s) for a combined fire station and library planned for the community of Walden. One artist/artist team will be selected with a total project budget of CA$275,000 (exclusive of all applicable taxes). This opportunity is open to local and national professional artists/artist teams working in various media.
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Calgary Arts Development (CADA) is seeking Expressions of Interest from professional artists or artist teams to join The City of Calgary’s Walden Fire Station and Library project team to create permanent public artwork(s) for the new combined fire station and library being built for the community of Walden at 969 Walden Dr. SE. This opportunity is open to local and national professional artists/artist teams working in various media.
The Walden Fire Station and Library will serve as a central hub for the community of Walden. Artist(s) must be committed to creating site-specific artworks that address the environment as a core theme, while also responding to the architecture and character of the building.
Whether through conceptual themes or materials, the artwork(s) is intended to engage, communicate, educate and build awareness of our relationship with the natural environment through public art. This work is informed by research and meaningful engagement with community members, subject matter experts, Knowledge Keepers and/or historians.
Bringing an artist onto the project team helps integrate the development of artwork and creative space as integral to the fire station and library.
This public art commission is for envisioning and developing a public artwork concept and design, and once approved, guiding it through fabrication, installation and completion. Design meetings have largely concluded, and construction is set to begin this summer. However, the selected artist will participate in the design process for the remainder of the project. The artist will share their ideas at regular meetings with The City of Calgary project manager, the architect and the general contractor about engineering and architectural requirements. The artist will lead the artwork concept and must be open and flexible around the practical needs of the site.
See more information about the current project schedule under Project Timeline.
A consulting team including architects and engineers has been engaged by The City of Calgary. This team includes HCSMA Design as the prime consultant, The City of Calgary’s internal landscape civil works team and a general contractor who has not yet been selected. The selected artist/artist team will:
Participate with the project team to inform the development of site-specific public artwork.
Lead meaningful engagement with community as part of research towards creating an artwork that is responsive to the site and the people who use it.
Work with the team to schedule collaborative meetings led by the artist, including introducing their practice, leading a design discussion, sharing research, presenting results of community engagement and their approach to concept development.
Participate in regularly scheduled project update meetings as needed.
Visit the site and attend at least one in-person meeting with members of the project team early in the design process. Participate in additional site visits as needed to support community engagement and concept development.
Participate in meetings with The City of Calgary’s public art conservation team to discuss materials and concepts that support the long-term care of the artwork and help reduce maintenance requirements.
Design a new site-specific artwork that considers the area’s dual context as both a fire station and public library, while engaging community residents and those visiting the area.
Submit 90 per cent detailed design drawings by the end of the first phase of the project. At this stage, the design should be highly developed, with plans, specifications and materials only requiring minor adjustments before submission for fabrication or installation.
Bring the artwork design through detailed design review, resulting in a fully approved and ready to produce artwork, including stamped engineering drawings if required.
Oversight of fabrication and installation of artwork(s).
Contribute to a stewardship manual for the artwork(s).
Expectations for time spent working on all aspects of the design process will be discussed and determined with the selected artist/artist team at the beginning of the project to ensure predictable work balance and fair pay.
The selected artist/artist team may consider public artwork including but not limited to standalone artwork, permanent sculpture, functional artworks and open programming space. Artists should have experience developing creative concepts, experimenting with diverse approaches and tailoring communication of concepts to a variety of audiences. Artist-led community engagement must be part of developing the artwork concept.
Site Information
Artwork installation sites are somewhat limited, as much of the design is complete. However, several potential sites that would benefit from public artwork have been identified. Final sites will be determined with input from the artist and in consultation with the larger project team. Opportunities already identified by the design team include:
An interior artwork installation directly underneath a skylight, surrounded by seating within the central area of the library.
The exterior artwork installation sites circled on the location map. Additional opportunities may also be explored within the entrance plaza.
No artwork installations are permitted within the fire station itself or in a location that would block the library window where children can watch the fire trucks leaving the station.