Artist Opportunity: 

InnovateNB is inviting New Brunswick-based visual artists who are current students or who are alumni of the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design to submit interest for the creation of an art piece that will represent one of 10 InnovateNB 2023 winners. We are inviting visual artists to submit their portfolio, CV, and a brief expression of interest. 10 artists will be selected. The successful artists will be asked to design and create one piece of art in advance of the upcoming InnovateNB Awards taking place on October 12th, 2023, at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton. 

Successful artists will be selected by a jury of 3 New Brunswick-based artists. 

The 10 successful artists will be awarded an artist’s contract and will be paid a commission fee of $750. 

Background: 

Presented annually, the InnovateNB Awards recognizes and showcases innovative individuals, organizations, ideas and concepts all around New Brunswick. 10 awards are given to New Brunswickers who are making waves in their fields. The event gathers business leaders, tech founders, rising stars, researchers, government officials and local success icons, students and beyond, for an evening featuring cocktails, appetizers and conversation as well as live entertainment. Read more about the InnovateNB Celebration and Awards here. 

This year the Awards will be held in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Taking inspiration from the arts, winners from each category will be paired with an artist in advance of the public announcement. Artists and winners will have a chance to meet either virtually or in person. Based on this meeting, and inspired by the winner and their innovations, the artist will create a piece of art that will be displayed at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery on the evening of the Awards on Thursday, October 12th, 2023.  

The 10 art pieces will be on display at the Beaverbrook for the evening. Each art piece will be presented along with a write-up about the winner and an artist statement about the piece. 

Once the exhibition is finished, the InnovateNB winner will be awarded the piece. 

Scope of Work: 

InnovateNB is seeking visual artists to design and produce a piece to represent one of the 10 2023 InnovateNB winners. One art piece per artist will be required. The piece can be a two or three-dimensional artwork in any medium including sculpture, jewelry, textile, and 2D works such as photography, drawing, painting, or graphic design. 

For artists to be considered, the following requirements must be met: 

• Specifications: The piece should not exceed 2 kg. The piece must incorporate the name of the award, the award winner’s name, and the year. This may be on the back or underside of the piece. 

• Medium: The artist may use any medium to create their work. 

• Replicability: The design must be suitable for replication, as InnovateNB will need to use an image on our website and in print to be framed and given to the respective award winner. 

• Exclusivity: InnovateNB will be awarded exclusive use of the design for the entirety of the contract. 

• Originality: All proposals submitted must be original works that have not been previously submitted to any other calls or contests. 

• Content Restrictions: The artwork should not include any logos or commercial designs, direct advertising, political or religious symbols, sexual content, profanity or offensive/violent content. 

• Compliance: If the final piece does not match the original approved design, it will not be used. 

Submission process: 

STAGE 1: Expression of interest to be submitted by Monday, July 24th, 2023, at 11:59pm ADT.  

Interested artists are invited to complete the Artist Expression of Interest Form (add link) which includes: 

• A portfolio: Website or a PDF file with images of representative work completed within the last 5 years (maximum of 10 images). 

• A CV 

• A brief expression of interest (250 words max) 

STAGE 2: Proposal to be submitted by Monday, August 14th, 2023, at 11:59pm ADT 

Selected artists will be invited to complete the Artist Proposal Form which will include: 

• A sketch or digital mock-up of the final design 

• A production timeline

• An artist statement describing the artwork (300 words max) 

Timeline:  

• The call for artists launched Tuesday, July 4th, 2023 

• Submission deadline for Stage 1: Monday, July 24th, 2023 

• Review of Stage 1 submissions by jury: The week of July 24th, 2023 

• Select artists are invited to participate in Stage 2: Monday, July 31st, 2023 

• The initial interview between artist and award winner: the week of August 7th, 2023 

• Submission deadline for Stage 2: Monday, August 14th, 2023 

• Approval of art proposal by InnovateNB: Wednesday, August 16th, 2023 

• The artist will have the remainder of August and September to complete their piece 

• The final piece must be submitted to InnovateNB no later than Monday, October 2nd, 2023 

• The piece will be shown at the InnovateNB Awards the evening of Thursday, October 12th, 2023 

• Once the exhibition wraps up, the piece will be awarded to the InnovateNB award winner. 

InnovateNB is committed to equity in our policies, practices, and programs. We strongly encourage and welcome applications from people who identify as Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQ+, living with a disability, a religious or language minority. 

If you have questions about this opportunity, please contact Alex Weaver Crawford, Marketing and Communication Director at TechImpact/InnovateNB at alex.weavercrawford@techimpact.it