Calling All Artists in Canada’s Capital: Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards Anniversary Mural Competition

Help bring our economic development vision to life at Bayview Yards, Ottawa’s Innovation hub!

Win $20,000 for the selection and implementation of your mural in our RBC Foundry!

Deadline to Apply is October 28, 2022 

At Invest Ottawa, we strive to help realize Ottawa’s full potential as a globally recognized, innovative, inclusive, and future-ready city. Dedicated to facilitating economic growth and job creation, we collaborate with some of the most dynamic and diverse innovators, entrepreneurs, business owners, and companies in Canada’s Capital.   

Help us bring our economic development vision to life and create an amazing experience for these trailblazers and the community we serve at Bayview Yards, the innovation hub managed by Invest Ottawa! 

We are launching an exciting mural competition as we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Invest Ottawa, lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital, and the 6-year anniversary of Bayview Yards Ottawa’s one-stop business acceleration shop. 

This is your opportunity to unleash your passion, creativity, and impact as an artist by creating the next mural for our RBC Foundry, the dynamic and collaborative conference space in the heart of Bayview Yards!  

Your work will inspire and be admired by thousands of innovators, entrepreneurs and community members who leverage this innovative space every year! We want to showcase your talent and celebrate your gifts with Canada’s Capital and the world.  

Contest Overview

Together with RBC, our long-standing premier sponsor, Invest Ottawa is excited to invite professional artists and artist collectives to submit an inspirational and creative mural concept that spans the front and back walls of our RBC Foundry.  

Your Mission

Bring our economic development vision to life by creating dynamic murals that help us to: 

• Reflect the core values of our brand: Collaboration, curiosity, excellence, future-focused, leadership 
• Promote our vision to fulfill Ottawa’s full potential as a globally recognized, innovative, inclusive, and future-ready city and mission to help build high-value jobs, long-term economic growth, and community prosperity.   

• Please reference additional information on the mandate and mission of Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards belowCelebrate Ottawa’s strengths as a global technology hub and thriving, collaborative entrepreneurial and business community 
• Create an inviting and inclusive space that welcomes and fosters belonging for people from every walk of life  
• Capture the passion, tenacity, and heart of the founders, innovators, and companies we proudly serve every day 
• Honours Ottawa as the land on which Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards is founded, as the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial. 

Additional Mural Design Specifications

In addition to addressing the objectives above, we are seeking mural concepts that: 

• Create a holistic feel to our RBC Foundry with a single integrated artistic concept that flows across the front and back walls of our conference space.  

• Please reference the photos and video tour below for an overview of this dynamic venue, or visit us at 7 Bayview Station Road, Ottawa for a peek inside! 

• Our front wall (42’W x 10.75’H) and back wall (8’H x 23.5’W) will be primed and prepped in preparation for your work.

• The surface of the walls is drywall. Please inquire with Jennifer Prevost, Marketing and Communications Strategist, for more information: [email protected]  

• Feature the brand colours of Invest Ottawa (C2, M0, Y38, K43) and Bayview Yards (Pantone 187 C)  
• The design of the front wall should incorporate the logos of Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards, and Area X.O in subtle and artistic ways.  
• The design of the back wall should feature the logo and brand elements of our premium sponsor, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). 

• Please click here to download all logos and brand guidelines 

• It is important to preserve the integrity of all logos integrated into the mural designs 

• Can be painted and varnished within three days from November 11 to 14, 2022.  
• Our RBC Foundry will be closed during this period to enable the installation of the selected mural by the artist. 

Eligibility

Invest Ottawa and RBC are excited to support eligible emerging, mid-career and established professional visual artists from every walk of life within the Ottawa community. Eligible artists who wish to submit a design concept to our mural competition: 

• May be professional artists, representatives of professional artists such as a gallery or an estate, emerging artists, aspiring artists, or art students.  
• Must be the author of the artwork or must represent the author of the artwork.  
• Must live in the City of Ottawa (proper), or within a 30 km radius of Ottawa. Please indicate this in your artist statement or artistic résumé) 

• As Invest Ottawa is lead economic development agency for Canada’s Capital, we regret that artists who do not live within a 30 km radius of Ottawa will not be eligible to apply. 

• Applicants, not including galleries, may only submit one application at a time within this program 

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

Invest Ottawa is a proud participant in ISED’s 50/30 Challenge. Invest Ottawa and RBC value and celebrate diversity and recognize the importance and impact of a culture founded on equity, inclusion, and belonging. We are seeking mural concepts from artists who hail from every walk of life. We strive to support: 

• Creative and talented humans with a broad array of qualifications, skills, experiences, perspectives; and  
• The many intersections of human identity to foster and advance our economic development vision and mandate. 

Invest Ottawa welcomes and values applications from artists from every walk of life who reflect the diversity of our community, economy, and society. This includes members from underrepresented groups including, but not limited to, those represented by race, sex, Indigeneity, disability, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. 

Submission Requirements

A complete application must include the material below to be eligible for submission: 

• A brief biography or resume that provides your name, address (clearly identifying Ottawa as your home), and contact information (phone and email address), and any links to portfolios of your previous work if applicable 
• Artistic narrative – describe how your mural design helps bring our economic development vision for Ottawa to life, and addresses the goals and specifications above (maximum 1500 words, PDF) 
• Artistic mural concept: Please submit up to 10 images (JPEG) of examples of your work or sketches to support your concept 

• JPEG, file smaller the 1mb each 

• A mural implementation plan that provides an overview of the proposed paint, implementation techniques, varnish (to ensure the walls can be cleansed and the mural preserved), and schedule for implementation (1,500 words maximum; PDF) 
• The winning mural must be implemented in the RBC Foundry between date November 11 and 14, 2022, between the hours of 8am and 6pm EST. 

Copyright

Once registered for this competition, all applicants agree that Invest Ottawa may: 

• Reproduce the winners’ work for purposes of marketing, promotion, discussion, and education; in media including catalogs and publications; on all types of collateral and promotional items (including clothing), websites, social media, on television and other media; and 
• May license, under these conditions to others only for the same purposes. Invest Ottawa also reserves the right to reproduce selected images for non–commercial purposes. 

Submission Process

Please submit all applications to [email protected].  

Adjudication and Selection of the Winning Mural Design 

Invest Ottawa and RBC will assemble a volunteer adjudication committee comprised of Ottawa leaders and stakeholders from the diverse community we serve to: 

• Review all submissions based on the goals, specifications, and eligibility criteria noted above, and 
• Select the winning mural design.  

Invest Ottawa will apprise the winning artist of their selection on November 4, 2022 and send along the contract to initiate the implementation process. 

The winning mural will be unveiled during the anniversary celebration of Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards with the featured Ottawa artist on November 29, 2022. 

Prize

The winning artist(s) will receive $20,000 for their creative mural concept and the full implementation of their design in our RBC Foundry. 

Important Notes:  

• Implementation costs are the responsibility of the selected artist. Artists will not be compensated for their supplies, transportation, or any other additional costs associated with the installation of this artwork.  
• As noted in the above requirements, the artist must submit a mural implementation plan to Invest Ottawa for approval that provides an overview of the proposed paint, implementation techniques, varnish (to ensure the walls can be cleansed and the mural preserved), and schedule for implementation. 

• The winning mural must be implemented in the RBC Foundry between date November 11 and 14, 2022, between the hours of 8am and 6pm EST. 

Important Dates

October 11, 2022 Competition opens for submissions 

October 28, 2022 Competition closes for submissions 

November 2, 2022 Adjudication Committee reviews and evaluates all submissions, and selects the winning mural concept  

November 4, 2022 The winning artist is contacted by Invest Ottawa 

November 9 -14, 2022 The selected Artist(s) installs their mural artwork in the RBC Foundry at Bayview Yards

November 29, 2022, The winning Artist(s) is announced in a press release and attends the unveiling of artwork at the Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards Anniversary Celebration 

Questions? We are here to help!

We are available to help you prepare your application and answer any questions you may have.  

For questions about our mural competition, please contact: 

Jennifer Prevost
Marketing and Communications Strategist
Invest Ottawa
[email protected]
 

Appendix: Overview of the RBC Foundry at Bayview Yards

Please find below the walls of the RBC Foundry at Bayview Yards that will serve as your canvas! 

The front wall of the RBC Foundry (without the original mural painted in 2016): 

The back wall of the RBC Foundry with the current RBC mural that will be removed in the coming weeks for the new mural to be selected as part of this competition: 

To explore our broader space at Bayview Yards, we invite you to check out our virtual tour, here. 

About Invest Ottawa 

Invest Ottawa is the lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital, facilitating economic growth and job creation in Ottawa. Guided by a vision to help realize Ottawa’s full potential as a globally recognized, innovative, inclusive, and future-ready city, Invest Ottawa delivers venture development, global expansion and talent programs and services that catalyze the growth and success of entrepreneurs and firms. These include small business training, mentorship, acceleration for technology firms, foreign business and investment attraction, local business retention and expansion in targeted sectors, commercialization, and marketing Ottawa’s diversified economy and high quality of life.  Invest Ottawa is also the manager of Bayview Yards, Ottawa’s innovation hub and one-stop business acceleration shop; and founder and operator of Area X.O, the futureplex of innovation and collaboration. Since 2012, Invest Ottawa has worked with thousands of startups, scale-ups, and SMEs; helped firms to attract more than $992 million in capital; contributed to the creation of more than 11,178 jobs; and attracted more than $1 billion in domestic and Foreign Direct Investment. To learn more, please visit: www.investottawa.ca  

About Bayview Yards

Bayview Yards is Ottawa’s one-stop business acceleration shop and innovation hub in Canada’s National Capital Region, led and managed by Invest Ottawa. An epicentre for job creation, Bayview Yards serves as basecamp for some of Ottawa’s greatest homegrown technology talent, capabilities, and companies. It is the ultimate mash-up of technological, business and market capabilities that help entrepreneurs and firms to launch, grow and thrive. Leveraging $38 million from the City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario, and the Government of Canada, and more than $1.3 million from founding sponsors, Bayview Yards brings together many organizations that provide services and support to entrepreneurs and firms.  

This includes Invest Ottawa, lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital, which delivers its economic development programs and works with fellow academic, public, and private sector partners. Harnessing the power of these partnerships, Bayview Yards assembles many ingredients for commercial success under one roof.  These include incubation and meeting space; business programs, services, and support; prototyping tools and technologies; market linkages; and access to investment. These offerings work together to accelerate business growth and success and stimulate new jobs and wealth creation in the Ottawa economy.  For more information, please visit: www.bayviewyards.org 

About RBC   

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has been a valued, founding sponsor of Invest Ottawa since the inception our brand. RBC is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000 employees worldwide.