Public Art can consist of various artistic mediums commissioned in public spaces that function as a means for transforming/enhancing public spatial design, and/or restoring public spaces. BIDC upholds a decolonized lens to commissioning public art, utilizing placemaking approaches that commence with the site, its history, functionalities, its traditional caretakers, and existing communities.

Public art can range from interactive to standalone; regardless, it allows for art accessibility for all types of communities and audiences. It is also proven to be a mechanism of healing and reclamation for BIPOC Artists and communities.

Public art comes in various mediums including: sculpture, sculptural installations, land-based artforms, mural art, multi-media art, video installation, digital lighting, façades, reliefs, performance art, and much more.

While the public art realm has been dominated by Western approaches to built form, the Public Art Intensive takes a decolonized lens in encouraging B+I Artists to learn skills and methodologies for integrating traditional Indigenous/ African art and design into a contemporary public art practice.

BIDC's Public Art Intensive is a week-long paid training & education program focussed on integrating an art practice into the public realm, with the intention of introducing and strengthening emerging and semi-established Black + Indigenous Artists to all facets of working as a public art Artist. BIDC’s goal is to play an active role in providing the tools and training to successfully advance B+I representation and artistic careers within the spatial design field.

The inspiration for the Public Art Intensive comes from the profound lack of education, training, mentorship and resources in public art available for Artists; especially for MST peoples on their own territories, and Black + Indigenous Artists in general. Artists who pursue practices in public art are met with additional barriers that they are expected to be equipped with handling within public realm design environments. There are also various non-art practicing players involved in ensuring the success of public art projects from architects, developers, landscape designers, fabricators, municipalities, consultants, curators, lawyers, engineers, community groups, and more, which Artists are expected to manage while advocating for themselves and their work.

Now, more than ever, there is a need for Black + Indigenous solidarity in these creative practices to empower more MST Host Nations peoples to be self-determined in designing on their own territories (especially at a time where the demand for centring MST Host Nation voices and creativity is at an all time high), for Urban Indigenous groups to feel more empowered in representation, and for Black communities descended from stolen bodies on stolen land to revive traditional knowledge and practices that assist in reclaiming suppressed identity and agency.

A cohort of 8 students will participate in an intense curriculum developed by Black and Indigenous experts within the field, and taught by various guest lecturers on various topics stemmed in creative, technical, business, social, environmental, and more.

Each day will be strategically organized to present these various topics, providing the student cohort with opportunities to discuss and apply the knowledge in a final design project.

Catering will be provided daily. There will also be healing components added to each day in order to model decolonized approaches to resistance through rest and self-care that Black + Indigenous groups are striving to normalize as part of their practice.

In order to model best practices in compensating artists, BIDC plans to pay each participating student $1,500 for partaking in the program.

This program is designed for Artists 19+ who identify as Black, Indigenous* or Afro-Indigenous*, that have an emerging or semi-established art practice.

As centring identity is a main component of this program that acknowledges the lack B+I representation in the public art field, applicants will have the opportunity to share their African/Caribbean lineage, and Indigenous applicants to identify the Nation(s)/community they belong to, during the application process.

*Applicants Indigenous to Turtle Island (North America).

Quick Definitions:

Visual Artist: An individual who has developed skills through training (not necessarily in an academic institution) or practice in any visual arts creative discipline, is recognized by Artists working in the same artistic tradition, has a history of public presentation or publication, seeks payment for their work, and actively practices their art.

We especially encourage applicants with culturally traditional visual arts practices who have been alienated from the B.C. arts sector by intersectional systemic barriers such as geography, disability, professional criteria, etc. to apply.

Emerging Artist: An Artist with a fairly new art practice. They have zero to very little exhibition/commission experience, and just as little access to resources to advance their art practice. Post-secondary students pursuing or thinking about pursuing an art education qualify, as do Artists with no access to arts education.

Semi-Established Artist: An artist who has had an art practice for any length of time, but have only received a handful of exhibition/commission opportunities over time. These Artists could be well known within various arts communities, but have had zero or little access to resources and funding to advance their art practice.

BIDC's Public Art Intensive is designed and led by Public Art Planner & Curator Krystal Paraboo (she/her) and supported by Indigenous Artist and Designer Sierra Tasi Baker.

The curriculum has been designed to host multiple guest speakers and lecturers daily. This will consist of experts in Public Art from B.C., Canada, USA and other international locations.

BIDC prioritizes Black + Indigenous participants with intersectional social identities to participate in the program. This includes, but is not limited to, Artists who identify with having a disability, or as LGBTQIA2S+.

The program leads will be collecting the needs of all Artists accepted into the program, as well as guest lecturers, community organizers, volunteers, photographers, elders, etc., before the launch of the program. This will assist us in identifying any previous considerations for disabilities and/or cultural safety needs we have overlooked, especially invisible disabilities and/or injuries.

BIDC will be delivering this program at SFU Harbour Centre in so-called Vancouver, which is a fully accessible building. Only one day will be reserved for on-site field visits to existing public artworks and sites, in which wheelchair accessible transportation will be utilized.