City of Fort St. John: City partners with STEPS Public Art for Artist Call

With the support of the Fort St. John Arts Council, the City of Fort St. John has partnered with STEPS Public Art to support the development of a new temporary public artwork that will be exhibited later this year.

The 2023 Create Space Public Art Residency, led by STEPS, is a national public art program designed in collaboration with advisors from coast to coast to provide emerging Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and racialized artists with the skills, relationships and practical experiences needed to build and advance community engaged public art practices.

This partnership will see one Fort St. John-based artist who identifies as Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) or racialized selected for the virtual residency from March through December 2023. The residency will provide emerging Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and racialized artists with the skills, relationships and practical experiences needed to build and advance community-engaged public art practices. There will be a total of ten artists in residence selected for the 2023 CreateSpace Public Art Residency program, with one spot reserved for this unique partnership.

“This partnership with STEPS Public Art allows us to foster inclusive public art practices, build the capacity of underrepresented artists in Canadian public art, and demonstrate the power of community-engaged art to reimagine equitably designed cities,” stated Eryn Griffith, Arts and Culture Manager for the City of Fort St. John.

For more information about the Artist Call or the program, visit www.fortstjohn.ca/public-art.

About STEPS Public Art and CreateSpace

STEPS is committed to amplifying the voices of Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), Black, newcomer, LGBTQQIP2SAA+, racialized, disabled & equity-deserving artists. CreateSpace is a suite of programming developed by STEPS in collaboration with our national advisory network aimed at cultivating mentorship, training and paid creation opportunities for equity-deserving artists that simultaneously demonstrates the ability of public artists to reimagine equitably designed cities.

The CreateSpace Public Art Residency aims to connect emerging and mid-career artists across the country who are interested in exploring and activating public space in their communities, fostering connections and cultivating conversations around social equity in city-building and design while also inspiring broader dialogue on equitable representation in public art. This Residency was launched in 2021 as a signature program of our CreateSpace offerings.

-30-

Media Inquiries

NT5