Diversecities Community Services Association
Windows of Understanding Art Competition
Windows of Understanding is an Art Competition hosted by Diversecities with the support of the Calgary Art Foundation to support youth emerging artists from Asian communities to use their art to express themselves and promote multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion.
This competition will award at least three youth emerging artists to showcase their temporary art in Diversecities’ main office windows facing the centre street (1406 Centre Street NE, T2E 2R9) for 8 to 12 weeks.
What type of art proposal qualifies for the competition? *UPDATED
We will consider 3 types of proposals:
a. The art is 2D design and painted directly over the glass.
For example, it could be painted, graffiti style, vinyl design, etc., but it must be capable of being installed on the window either from the outside or from the inside facing out. Think of it as painting a mural if you want.
(This is a sample of the technique only for illustration purposes)
b. It could be a 3D art piece but not thicker than 4”, to be installed from inside the window facing out
(This is a sample of the technique only for illustration purposes)
c. The art proposal can be painted on a canvas, fabric, banner or other type of flat material to be hung from inside the window facing out
(This is a sample of the technique only for illustration purposes)
The design must be able to be painted
over glass with weather-resistant materials. Sculpture or other plastic art forms will not be considered for this competition.
The art proposal will need to be reproduced on 2 to 6 window panels of 37”x 66”x 4”
What are the themes or art concepts accepted for the competition?
This competition aims to promote art as a communication channel to educate about multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion. For this year, we are looking to explore the Asian communities that make life in Calgary and how their members, as individuals or collective, have contributed to the development of modern Calgary’s society:
To be selected, an art proposal must need to meet at least 2 of the following criteria:
Coexistence, integration or complement of (an) Asian(s) culture(s) and the Canadian culture
Explore and uncover overlooked stories of how members of Asian communities helped to shape Calgary’s society.
Seasonal elements (Sprint/Summer, Fall, Winter)
The art proposal could be a single design spray along 2 or 6 panels, a sequence of designs on multiple panels or a combination.
Who can apply to this art competition?
This competition is intended to support young emerging Asian artists in Calgary. To qualify, applicants must meet all the current requirements:
Self-identifies as a member of an Asian community
Twenty-five years or younger
Currently residing within the limits of the municipality of Calgary
How many proposals can be submitted?
There is no limit on how many art proposals an artist can submit to the competition. However, a maximum of one art proposal per artist will be selected.
Who will be selecting the art proposals?
A committee composed of 5 members of Diversecities (3 board members and 2 staffs), four community members of Crescent Highs community and four community leaders from various Asian communities will select a minimum of 3 arts proposals as the competition’s winners.
What happens if your art proposal is selected?
If your art proposal is selected, you will be awarded $1,200 as an honorarium to display your art in Diversecities offices. In addition to displaying your art proposal:
Diversecities will dedicate a space on its website for each local youth artist that will feature
I. Artist bio
II. A picture of the artwork,
III. The artist’s explanation of the artwork and
IV. If available, links to the artist’s website or social media channels.
Diversecities will install a QR code to redirect pedestrians to the artwork section on the Diversecities website for further promotion and education.
Who will pay for the art materials?
Diversecities will cover up to $800 on art supplies and materials for each art proposal selected.
Can multiple artists collaborate on the same proposal?
Yes, multiple artists can collaborate on the same art proposal. However, the total amount for the honorarium and art supplies will be the same for each art proposal regardless of how many artists collaborate on the same proposal.
Why this location?
Diversecities offices are located on Centre Street, just a few meters from the Calgary downtown entry. Our office location has privileged exposure, with thousands of people walking and driving by daily. During rush hour, hundreds of drivers and commuters spend considerable time on this section of the street waiting for the traffic lights to change. This gives us an excellent opportunity to promote art and use art to educate and share stories.
To enter the competition, participants must:*UPDATED
1. Download and complete the registration form.
2. Provide a draft of the art proposal.
Note: We understand that art pieces require investment in time and materials; therefore, we are not asking applicants to create the art if they are not selected. Applicants are asked to submit a simple sketch of how the art proposal will look if it is seen from the street or if it visually represents your concept. This will help the selection committee to make a better assessment and decision over the proposal.
Selected artists will be required to provide some documentation that corroborates their age and place of residency.
Once complete, they need to submit it, plus a digital copy of their art proposal, to the email Hi@Diversecities.org with the title “WofU-AP-Firstname-LastName”
When is the deadline to submit an art proposal? *UPDATED
Art proposals for this competition will be accepted until February 9th, 2024.
When will the winners be announced? *UPDATED
The winners will be announced on March 1st, 2024, through DIversecities' social media channels.
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