Public Art Opportunity

The City of Spruce Grove invites Alberta-based artists and artist teams to submit qualifications for the creation of a painted mural at 115 Main Street. This opportunity is part of an ongoing initiative to enhance public spaces and celebrate community through public art.

Earlier this year, the City issued a Call for Walls inviting business and not-for-profits to propose their outdoor public-facing walls to be considered for the Mural Program as potential sites for future public murals. The Mural Program aims to beautify the city, promote cultural expression, and create vibrant, engaging spaces for residents and visitors. As part of this initiative, the location at 115 Main Street was selected for the creation of a mural in 2025.

The selected artist will create a painted mural on the 540-sf area identified on the wall. The City will fund the mural and assist with coordinating the logistics for the creation of the mural with the artist and site representative (property owner).

The mural is intended to remain in place for a minimum of 5 years.

Budget: $14,500.00 (+GST if applicable)
Eligibility: Artists and Artist Teams based in Alberta.
Deadline for Submissions: June 8, 2025
Mural Execution: August-September 2025

Click here to download the full call.

City of Spruce Grove

A vibrant, dynamic community located just 11 kilometres west of the provincial capital, the city of Spruce Grove boasts a mix of community, commerce, and industry that make it a great place to live, work and raise a family. The city presents an ideal mix of city conveniences, including shops and restaurants, side-by-side with plenty of recreation and leisure options, including more than 40 kilometres of all-weather trails which connect many of the city’s neighbourhoods, playgrounds, and parks.

Spruce Grove offers a rich art and culture experience, with festivals, performances, and events all year long. Each November, Central Park comes alive with the sights and sounds of the holiday season, culminating in a dazzling Christmas light display. Residents come together to share in their love of theatre, music, and cultural performances at Horizon Stage, an intimate venue offering a full season of performances and shows. The iconic grain elevator is the centrepiece of Spruce Grove’s skyline, and a reminder of the community’s strong agricultural roots and the importance agriculture continues to play today. When summer rolls around, residents flock to Jubilee Park for the traditional Canada Day celebration, including live music, food trucks, games, and of course… fireworks.

Spruce Grove is a community of 40,842 residents and growing. With a wide range of housing options, excellent schools, plenty of sports and culture opportunities, medical facilities, and a diverse business community, Spruce Grove truly is the community of choice.

Eligibility

This Call to Artists is open to professional artists and artist teams residing in Alberta. Per the Canada Council for the Arts guidelines, a professional artist is someone who:

• has specialized artistic training, not necessarily in academic institutions.
• is 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.
• has produced an independent body of work.

Preference will be given to artists who have demonstrated experience in mural creation and working collaboratively with project teams.

We encourage applications from artists of all backgrounds and identities.

Location

The wall is located at 115 Main Street, Spruce Grove, facing the adjacent parking lot. The highlighted area in the attached photo shows the proposed mural location.

The selected artist will be required to use a lift and is expected to work collaboratively with the site representative and the adjacent property owner to minimize disruption to the parking lot during the mural’s execution.

Budget

The budget for this project is $14,500 (+GST if applicable) including artist fee, materials, mural creation, transportation, equipment rental, insurance, overhead, and travel expenses. The selected artist will be required to carry general liability insurance policy, with the City of Spruce Grove named as an additional insured. The premiums for this insurance coverage are the responsibility of the artist and will be considered part of the artist's project overhead.

An anti-graffiti coating, recommended by the City, will be supplied by the property owner. The selected artist will be responsible for its proper application upon completion of the artwork.

Selection process

This is a two-stage selection process.

Stage One

Artists will submit their qualifications and a letter of interest. A selection committee including representatives from the City of Spruce Grove, the property owner, and art experts will review all eligible applications based on the following criteria:

Criteria	Points
Portfolio Strength	20
Relevance of Experience	15
Letter of Interest and Approach to Execution	15

The selection panel will recommend up to three artists to be shortlisted. Shortlisted artists will be invited to develop an artwork concept proposal. Due to the number of submissions, only shortlisted artists will be contacted.

Stage Two

Shortlisted artists will develop a design concept, artwork proposal, budget allocation, execution plan (addressing site logistics and disruption minimization), and an estimated timeline.

Designs must be appropriate for a public space and suitable for audiences of all ages. While artists are encouraged to be bold and creative, designs may not include profanity, hate speech, or explicit imagery.

The selection committee will review the proposals based on the following criteria and recommend one artist or artist team to be awarded the project. Regardless of final selection, each shortlisted artist will be paid a $850 honorarium for their concept proposal, upon reception of the complete artwork proposal and invoice by the City.

Criteria	Points
Artistic Concept & Design	20
Relevance to Site & Community	15
Budget & Timeline	15

The selected artist will enter an agreement with the City of Spruce Grove to create the mural.

Submission guidelines

Please submit a single PDF file that includes the following:

• Artist Information:
  Full name, address, phone number, email, and website.
  (If applying as an artist team, provide this information for each member and identify the Lead Artist.)
• Letter of Interest (maximum 500 words):
  Outline your artistic experience, your approach to this site and opportunity, and how you would manage the mural logistics to minimize disruption to the adjacent parking lot.
  (Artwork proposals are not required at this stage, but you may briefly describe any preliminary ideas.)
• Artist CV (maximum 2 pages per artist):
  Provide a CV highlighting relevant artistic experience.
  (Each team member should submit an individual CV.)
• Portfolio (up to 10 images):
  Submit up to 10 images of previous work. For each image, include title, year, medium, dimensions, location, commissioning body, and project budget.
  (If submitting as an artist team, prioritize examples of collaborative work. If including individual projects, clearly indicate the responsible artist.)
• Professional References:
  Provide the name, role, organization, email, and phone number for two professional references.

Applications must be submitted no later than June 8, 2025, 11:59 pm MDT.

Email submissions to cgibaut@sprucegrove.org with the subject line: 115 Main Street - Mural Project and attach all the required documents and images in a single PDF (max 25 mb).

Please ensure you have provided all the information listed above. Incomplete applications or applications received after June 8, 2025, will not be considered. Hard copy or faxed submissions are not accepted.

Questions

If you have questions about the application process, or require assistance with submitting your application, please contact Christian Pérès Gibaut by email at cgibaut@sprucegrove.org or by phone at 587-341-0697.

Questions must be received by June 3, 2025.

Schedule

Estimated Timeline
June 3, 2025	Deadline for questions
June 8, 2025	Submission deadline
June 15, 2025	Artists shortlisted
July 15, 2025	Proposal from shortlisted artists due
July 30, 2025	Artists selected and contract signed
August/September 2025	Mural execution

The City reserves the right to adjust the project schedule as needed to accommodate weather or site access conditions.

Conditions

The City of Spruce Grove, at its sole discretion, may request clarification or request additional information, as deemed necessary to evaluate the submissions. The City of Spruce Grove reserves the right to reject any or all submissions, or any part thereof, or to terminate or re-advertise this Call to Artists.

The City of Spruce Grove shall have the exclusive rights to issue all public announcements regarding the competition. Applicants shall not issue a news release or other public announcement pertaining to details of this Call to Artists, their submission, or the selection process, without the prior written approval of City of Spruce Grove.

City employees and Selection Committee members are required to treat both the content of submissions and the deliberations of the committee as confidential. The information on the application is being collected under the authority of Section 33(c) of the FOIP Act and will be used by the City. You may direct questions about the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information by this program to the FOIP coordinator at 780-962-2611.

Land Acknowledgement

The City of Spruce Grove is honoured to acknowledge the land we work, play, and make our homes on as Treaty 6 territory, and the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 4. This is sacred land that holds the hearts, footsteps and spirits of many First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Peoples, and in particular, Paul First Nation, Enoch Cree Nation, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, Michel First Nation, Alexander First Nation, and the Lac Ste. Anne Métis. We recognize and acknowledge Indigenous values, traditional teachings, ways of being, contributions, and historical inequities. The City is dedicated to Truth and Reconciliation to help in healing and learning to build reciprocal and trusted relationships. We commit towards strengthening relations and building bridges with the Indigenous Nations whose traditional territories the City is located within.