Call to Artists – Britannia 50th Anniversary Mural

The Brit 50th Mural Project is an initiative to celebrate the 50 years of connecting community members with each other through recreation.

The mural will be located in the 2 sections of the West side of Gym C, across from the pool alcoves. There are currently remnants of 2 other murals on this wall that is heavily textured with horizontal grooves. (Photos of the wall as it is now, below.) We anticipate that the lower section that has an overhang is suitable to be painted by community, and the larger and higher section will be painted by the artist (using a lift).

We are inviting local mural artists to submit a proposal for the role of Artist Coordinator.
We are seeking a leader in community collaboration for this project who brings artistic vision and a depth of experience to bring together all aspects of the project to ensure a beautiful and successful result that anyone in the community may add their input in some way and the whole community can be proud of and enjoy in our daily life.

The artist will develop the overall concept and design for the mural and manage the overall work plan, timeline and budget. The collection of ideas and imagery should be collected from community in a variety of engagements including with existing Britannia groups and public opportunities but must include during the Friday June 5th 1-7pm outdoor celebration/festival at the Britannia Centre. The results should lead the artist to create an overall design for the two sections. While the need for community involvement, even by kids, in the northern segment of the wall is a required component, the artist retains final artistic and technical responsibility for the mural.

The mural should be completed by Sept 8.

The artist’s fee is $5000.
Materials, supplies and rental costs will come from another fund.

 

The artist’s proposal should include:

• Artist’s resume and website
• A vision of the overall artistic concept for the mural composition
• A suggested timeline and use of the budget including artist’s fees, materials, rentals and supplies.

Submission due date: May 19, 2026.

Please submit to Helen Spaxman at helenspaxman@vancouver.ca.

Additionally:
For 50 years, Britannia has been a place where connections are made, friendships grow, action taken, services provided and a place for neighbours to come together to do everything from the mundane and essential to the spectacular and beautiful. We have been connecting community members with each other through recreation:

• arts, culture, sports, food sustainability, education
• supporting seniors, youth, children and families
• grassroots endeavours among just a few such as:
  • stopping the division of the community by a freeway in the 70s
  • development of arts programming by local artists in the 80s
  • neighbourhood mapping for the community plan in the 90s
  • Reconciliation in Action since the 2000s
  • nurturing the creation of a DIY skatepark in the 2020s

The proposing artist might also be informed by some of the almost countless other pieces of art already present on the Britannia site that hold neighbourhood imagery from the last 50 years including:

• the River of Crows mural on MacLean Drive
• Vancouver Naturally Ours mural at the Britannia Oval
• the Weaving Community Together mural on the Info Centre
• indoor Pool and Rink murals
• the Carving Pavilion itself as well as it’s doors
• the always changing sidewalk murals of Giles Chin
• the multiple carving projects outside the Rink, and benches at the Info Centre
• chain link murals at the elementary school

Please feel free to contact Helen Spaxman helenspaxman@vancouver.ca with any questions.