Call for Artists - Phil Hartman Mural

Project Summary

The City of Brantford seeks to commission a muralist or mural artist collective to create a mural artwork on the east wall of the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts building (88 Dalhousie St., Brantford) to honour the late Phil Hartman, a well-known and tremendously gifted screen and voice actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. The selected muralist will be responsible for hosting and facilitating up to two community consultations (in partnership with the City of Brantford) with community stakeholders on themes reflecting the work and life of Phil Hartman. Mural production is scheduled for late summer/early fall of 2024. Eligible artists are invited to submit expressions of interest and qualifications to this call. 

The commissioned artist will be selected through an open, two-stage process. The project budget of $70,000 (inclusive of HST) includes all costs directly associated with the artwork: including taxes, artist fees, production, materials, equipment rental, installation, and other professional services, insurance, permits, travel and other incidental and production expenses.

Up to three (3) artists will be shortlisted and paid $750 (inclusive of HST) each to create detailed proposals that include proposed designs.

Background

Phil Hartman was born in Brantford in 1948 and spent his formative years here before moving to the United States. He went on to co-produce and work on the Pee-wee Herman Show and star on Saturday Night Live for eight seasons, which earned him an Emmy win during his time on the show. Hartman was also the voice behind Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure on the Simpsons, and starred on the NBC NewsRadio sitcom, along with many smaller supporting acting roles. A victim of domestic violence, Hartman was tragically killed by his wife in 1998, who then committed suicide herself. His death was mourned as great loss to the comedy world. This mural is to honour and celebrate the life and work of Phil Hartman through a multitude of different iconography and stories, from his childhood in Brantford through his years in Hollywood, and beyond.

Mural Location

The project location is on the east side of the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts building (88 Dalhousie St, Brantford, ON N3T 2J2). The surface area of the mural location is approx. 2,717 sq. ft. The wall substrate is a grey stucco. 

Artist Qualifications

A successful artist or artist team will be selected based on qualifications demonstrated from their submitted application. Which include:

• Previous artistic excellence demonstrated through previous samples of work
• Letter of intent
• Past experience of managing and facilitating projects or public art competitions of similar scopes and sizes
• Assessment and review of references

The artist/artist team selected by the jury as the winner and approved by City Staff will enter into a contract with the City to create the final public artwork.

Application Requirements

Professional artists/artist teams are invited to respond to this Artist Call by submitting an application through the Mural Routes’ website.

In the application form, artists will be asked to provide the following information:
If applying as a team, please list team members and submit required credentials for each.

• Name(s), artist pseudonym or collective name
• Main contact information: Address, Phone, and E-mail
• Website (if applicable)
• Social media links (if applicable)
• A short artist statement (150 words max.)
• An artist bio (150 words max.)
• A short summary of the artist or artist team’s interest in this project (200 words max.)
• A short summary of the artist or artist team’s background and experiences with community consultation and/or arts facilitation (150 words max.)
• A short summary of the artist or artist team’s history and previous experience with managing projects of this scale (150 words max.)
• Curriculum Vitae: 3-page maximum. Detail professional experience as an artist, past public art experience, and other information relevant to this Artist Call. If applying as a team, provide one CV per team member.
• Artistic Support Material: Maximum of ten (10) images of work. For each image, a title and image number should be provided. If applying as a team, please only submit a total of ten (10) images.
• Support Material List: A written list that clearly outlines the Artistic Support Material (above) with corresponding titles and numbers. Include the following details in order of: Title, date, location, commissioning agent (if applicable), budget, dimensions, medium/materials and role on mural project. (maximum 50 words each).
• References: Names and contact information (current email and phone number) for two (2) references (preferably from recent mural art projects) with their role and affiliation listed. Reference letters are not required at this stage of the competition.

This project has a tight turnaround time to ensure 2024 installation and will require the shortlisted and selected artist/artist team to complete the proposals and project components within the above timeline.

How to apply

Submissions must be received by July 22, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. EST. Incomplete and/or late applications will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted through the Mural Routes website. Emailed, faxed or mailed applications will not be accepted. It is your responsibility to ensure the application package is complete and submitted by the posted deadline.

Questions and requests for clarification will be received by email until July 19, 2024 at 12 p.m. EST. If you have any questions, please contact Marta Keller-Hernandez, Managing Director at Mural Routes, at marta@muralroutes.ca.

Submit your application