Call for Submissions

This competition is open to professional Canadian artists and professional artist-led teams.* The selected artist must be able to travel to Oakville, Ontario for a minimum of three visits to:

1. Attend a technical consultation meeting;
2. Manage the installation of the artwork; and
3. Engage with public dialogue (i.e. artist talk /public unveiling event).

Proposals will be assessed based on artistic merit, adaptability of proposed artwork to the location, and demonstrated capacity to complete the project. 

Artists must be 18 years of age and older.

Town of Oakville employees are not eligible to apply.

*As per the Canada Council’s guidelines, a professional artist is defined as an individual who:

• Has specialized training in the artistic field (not necessarily in academic institutions).
• Is recognized as a professional by his or her peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition).
• Is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if possible financially.
• Has a history of public presentation or publication.

The goals of this project are to:    

• Provide visual interest and enhance Sixteen Mile Community Centre with an inspiring interior wall-based public artwork.
• Engage the community at large, across all age groups, and within the neighbourhood.
• Foster dialogue.

Considerations and design parameters

The artwork must adhere to the following design parameters:

• Be an interior, two-dimensional, wall-based artwork, suitable for exhibition in a public space.
• Be appropriate for the site in terms of scale, execution, materials, and creativity.
• Does not restrict or obstruct visitors’ movement through the community centre or compromise accessibility standards.
• Be fabricated using high-quality, long-lasting materials.
• Not pose a risk to public safety.
• Must incorporate themes related to the history and significance of the site and/or consider the facility and park activities. 

The selected artist may be required to submit drawings certified by a structural engineer licensed to operate in Ontario.

Artwork location

The  artwork will be located in the new Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. The designated location is on the lower level wall across from the customer service desk, positioned between the library entrance and the main entrance of Sixteen Mile Community Centre. This area connects the new building to the existing sports complex.

The wall dimensions are 10.8 metres (10833 mm) long by 3.1 metres (3100 mm) from floor to ceiling.

Sixteen Mile Sports Complex

The artwork will be located at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. The Town of Oakville is developing the current Sixteen Mile Sports Complex to include a park, community centre and library branch. Located in north Oakville, this area encompasses portions of the Sixteen Mile Creek valley lands and contributes to the Natural Heritage System. 

Located north of Neyagawa Boulevard and Dundas Street, the expanding community park and outdoor spaces will feature a cricket field, skateboard park, bike pump track, splash pad, children’s playground, and multi-use sports fields. The community centre and library will connect to the existing Sixteen Mile Sports Complex and will feature multi-use spaces offering a variety of programs and services for all ages and abilities.  

The facility will provide pre-registered classes and camps, drop-in programs, recreational skating, Oakville Hockey Development programs, Oakville Recreational Hockey League, as well as an aquatics centre, a fitness centre, and a library.

The Town of Oakville was founded on the treaty lands and traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and the Haudenosaunee. The new community centre sits on Treaty 14 land which covers the majority of Oakville and beyond. This land was ceded to the crown in 1806 as part of the Head of the Lake Purchase which included land from Mississauga to Burlington. Oakville is a town in Halton Region, located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton.  

As the artwork must incorporate themes related to the history and significance of the site, and/or the current uses of the property, here are a few important elements to be considered to help understand the location: 

Sixteen Mile Sports Complex opened in 2010, is Oakville’s state-of-the-art quad pad arena with one Olympic-sized ice pad, three National Hockey League-sized ice pads, and two shooter pads. The Oakville Blades and Skate Oakville proudly call Sixteen Mile Sports Complex home.

Sixteen Mile Creek

Sixteen Mile Creek runs behind the community centre and flows into Lake Ontario. The creek served as a significant water route for both Indigenous peoples and European settlers. There are several trail systems in this area that reflect the natural, human and built heritage. The Ojibwa called Sixteen Mile Creek "Nanzuhzaugewazog" or "having two outlets". 

Neyagawa Boulevard

Neyagawa is Oakville's Japanese sister city. The twinning of cities gained popularity after World War II, as a means of promoting mutual understanding. At the time, both cities had a mix of industry and agriculture and both were dealing with the challenge of achieving balanced growth in different ways. Neyagawa Boulevard was formerly known as Fourth line and is the street address of the community centre. Learn more about Oakville's Sister Cities.

Village of Glenorchy

Village of Glenorchy was located nearby and is an important component of the North Oakville Natural Heritage System, which serves as a network of habitat features, including wetlands, woodlands, grasslands, meadows, creeks and streams. The name is likely of Scottish origin and means “valley of tumbling waters.” The community of Glenorchy never had a large population and has all but vanished except for the Glenorchy Conservation Area which protects 400 hectares of environmentally sensitive land containing the Sixteen Mile Creek Valley.  

Ward 7

The neighbourhood, also known as Ward 7, is located on Oakville’s northernmost border and was historically characterized by farmland. Now it is made up of several of the town’s fastest-growing areas. A diverse range of land uses can be found in the ward, including employment, commercial, retail, offices, new medium-to high-density residential areas, recreational and green spaces, as well as some remaining agricultural land.  Learn more about the Ward 7 community.

The timeline is provided as a guideline and is subject to change.

• Public call for expressions of interest opens: April 3, 2024 
• Deadline for stage one: expressions of interest due 11:59 p.m. ET: Sunday May 5, 2024
• Selection committee meets to review applications and select short-listed artists: May 2024
• Deadline for stage two, short listed artists’ concept proposals due: June 2024
• Selection committee reviews proposals and interviews with artists scheduled: June 2024
• Award of project, selected artist enters into a contract with the Town of Oakville: July 2024
• Design, creation, and fabrication of artwork: July 2024 - April 2025
• Installation of artwork on site: May 2025
• Public unveiling when community centre opens: June 2025

The schedule above is provided as a guideline only and is subject to change.

The total budget for all expenses related to this project is a maximum of $90,000 Canadian dollars. 

This is the total amount available for all related expenses of this public art project including but not limited to: 

• artist fees, 
• all applicable taxes, 
• detailed renderings,
•  materials, 
• site preparation, 
• technical consultations and approvals or other expertise as required, 
• fabrication, installation, 
• insurance, 
• equipment, 
• permit fees, 
• travel to meetings and to the site, 
• an artist statement, and 
• a maintenance manual for the completed work. 

Applicants will be reviewed based on the merit of their past work, professional qualifications, and experience. Applications are due on or before the deadline: Sunday, May 5, 2024 by 11:59 p.m. ET. 

Applications are to be submitted online and must include:

• The completed online application.
• Artist resume, curriculum vitae (three pages maximum).
• Artist proposal/expression of interest statement. Submit a brief statement outlining your interest in this project (two pages maximum). Outline your experience and approach to creating artwork for the public realm. Experience with permanent public projects is an asset, but not a requirement. (one page maximum).
• Up to 10 JPEG images of your artwork. 
• Image list.
• Two references who have been directly involved with your artistic practice and/or past public art projects. 

This is a two-stage competition. At this time, we are not requesting artwork proposals.

Submit an Expression of Interest Application

The public art concept will be selected by a specially-convened independent selection committee, made up of visual arts professionals, community representatives, and Town of Oakville staff.

This is a two-stage competition and selection process.

• Stage one: The selection committee will review all applicants based on the selection criteria (including the merit of their past work, professional qualifications, and experience) and narrow the entries to a short list of artists who will move to stage two. 
• Stage two: Short-listed artists will be required to develop a concept proposal for the artwork consisting of an artist statement; preliminary design drawings; and a draft budget. They will be paid an artist fee of $1,500 to develop their proposals. 

The selection committee will conduct interviews as part of the deliberation process.

At the end of stage two, the selection committee will choose the successful artist based on the merits of the concept proposal and technical feasibility. The selected artist will then enter into a contract with the Town of Oakville for the artwork creation and installation phase of the project. The artist must guarantee the artwork is original and does not violate the copyright of any other person.

The Town of Oakville is the administrative lead for this project. At its sole discretion, the town reserves the following rights to:

• Request clarification or additional information, as it deems necessary to evaluate submissions.
• Determine the suitability of the submission and capability of the prospective artist(s).
• Select the artist(s) that it deems most appropriate for the project.
• Choose not to recommend any application, proposal or finalist and to terminate or re-advertise any project.
• Issue public announcements regarding the competition.