All Together Now: Two-Stage Call for Mural Artists
Submission deadline: Sept 11, 2025
Artist fees: $25,000 (+HST if applicable)
Please note:
In order to streamline communication and ensure fair access to equal information about this opportunity, the Frequently Asked Questions section at the bottom of this document will be updated weekly with additional information as questions from the community come in throughout the process.
Public Art Opportunity Overview:
St. John’s Sports and Entertainment Ltd (SJSEL) invites applications from professional artists or artist teams to create All Together Now, a large-scale painted mural for the Mary Brown’s Centre. This dynamic public art installation will be painted across the interior stadium wall, spanning seating sections 112 –117, and covering approximately 1007 square feet of highly visible space where thousands of visitors gather for live experiences, from concerts to sporting events, throughout the year.
The mural area is highlighted in red.
The All Together Now mural project reflects SJSEL’s commitment to enhancing the Mary Brown’s Centre experience for all visitors. The mural will celebrate our venue as a vibrant gathering place where communities unite through the power of live events and shared experiences, while showcasing local artistic talent and contributing to Newfoundland and Labrador’s cultural landscape and economic vitality.
This opportunity is part of an initiative to reimagine the arena environment as a culturally engaging space that ignites meaningful connections between diverse audiences, transforming how visitors experience and interact with the province’s premier entertainment destination.
A key component of this project is public engagement throughout the artistic process. The evolution of the mural will be documented and shared, allowing attendees and the broader community to witness the transformation of this community space and connect with both the artist and the creative journey. The painting of the mural will happen in stages between live events. Access and scheduling logistics will be coordinated with the selected artist. This process-oriented approach ensures the artwork becomes a shared community experience from creation to completion.
About the Mary Brown’s Centre
Reimagining events. Igniting connection. Moving people.
St. John’s Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (SJSEL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the City of St. John’s, with a mandate to operate exceptional facilities that provide value to citizens, business, and visitors by attracting events and activities that generate economic benefit and enhance community vibrancy through its world-class facilities – Mary Brown’s Centre and St. John’s Convention Centre.
Mary Brown’s Centre stands as Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier entertainment destination. With capacity for over 6,200 fans at sporting events and 5,600 at concerts, it’s the stage where excitement takes center court, ice, and stage. The venue proudly houses two anchor teams: the Newfoundland Regiment of the QMJHL and the Newfoundland Rogues of the BSL. Beyond sports, Mary Brown’s Centre welcomes some of the biggest names and events to the province. Recent highlights include the Grand Slam of Curling (2024), Montana’s BBQ Brier (2026), and electrifying performances by Billy Idol (2024), Vance Joy (2025), Lynyrd Skynyrd (2025), NLE Choppa (2024), and the East Coast Music Awards Gala (2025).
Behind every event is a dedicated team working together to host an exciting year-round schedule of events. With passion, expertise, and an unwavering commitment to excellence, SJSEL delivers experiences that captivate audiences and put St. John’s on the global stage.
Artwork Location
The mural will extend across the entire back interior wall of the stadium, behind seating sections 112 through 117. The artwork surface consists of a 253-foot-long stretch of cinderblock wall that extends 4 feet down from the ceiling, providing approximately 1007 square feet of paintable surface area.
This wall is architecturally divided by structural cinderblock pillars that vary in width from 2 to 3 feet and project out approximately 18-24” from the wall's surface. These pillars create a series of wall segments of varying widths across the 253-foot span, requiring the artist to consider how the mural composition will flow across these natural divisions.
The entire surface—both the main wall segments and the projecting pillars—is constructed of cinderblock and will be included in the mural design, creating opportunities for the artwork to incorporate the wall's dimensional qualities into the overall composition.
Example of cinder block support pillars.
View from the right-hand side of the mural space.
Perspective from the top of the stands.
Perspective from across the stands.
Budget
The total budget for artist fees, materials, and installation is $25,000*, plus HST if applicable.
For further information about building budgets for public art projects, please refer to CARFAC’s Public Art Fees recommendations.
*A small travel stipend may be available for a selected artist coming from more than 200km away within the province.
Eligibility
This opportunity is open to artists of all career stages. Artists without previous experience painting murals of this size should include a letter of reference to help demonstrate their ability to scale their work up and take on this new challenge.
SJSEL believes that diversity strengthens and enriches us, and we are committed to helping to make our province a more diverse and equitable place. Indigenous artists, artists from racialized communities, and artists from other equity-seeking groups are welcome and encouraged to apply. If you wish to self-identify, please do so in your expression of interest.
Selection Process
This is a two-stage selection process.
The artwork for this project will be selected through a competitive two-stage open call process, guided by Business & Arts NL. A selection committee including artists/art professionals, community members and project representatives will review all eligible Stage 1 applications based on the following criteria:
Creativity and strength of support images
Relevance of experience
Expression of interest and connection between their practice and the project
The selection committee will recommend up to three artists to be shortlisted for Stage 2. Shortlisted artists will be invited to develop an artwork proposal and will have demonstrated the ability to create and execute an innovative, engaging mural that is complementary to the overall environment and project goals.
Estimated Timeline:
Stage 1: Expressions of Interest due: Sept 11
Shortlist selection: Sept 19
Stage 2: Final Proposals due: Oct 17
Final selection: Oct 24
Installation starting: Dec 12
Stage 1 Expression of Interest – Submission Requirements
All applications must be submitted through this online form. The following application materials must be combined into a single PDF and uploaded to the online application form. PDFs must not exceed 10MB in total size.
Project and Applicant Information form: Please complete the online application form found here.
Expression of Interest (1 page or 500–750 words max), a statement outlining your interest in this project, your experience in and approach to creating murals and artwork for the public realm. Do not include proposals at this stage.
Portfolio/Images of recent relevant work (max 10 images) that include artwork title, date, media and dimensions. If you wish to include a video, please provide links to Vimeo or YouTube, along with a timestamp.
CV – Artist resume (three pages maximum). For teams, submit a CV for each artist team member (maximum of 3 pages per member), or a combined CV if the team has an extensive history of working together.
Professional References (optional) You may wish to provide a letter of reference from a professional acquaintance who can speak to your artistic practice and suitability for this project.
Anonymous Survey Information (required) This form is to be completed by the Artist/Artist Team as part of your submission. Once completed, please screenshot the confirmation page and upload it to your submission form. The personal information collected on this form is anonymous and confidential. Your survey answers are not linked to your application in any way.
This is a two-stage competition. At this time, we are not requesting artwork proposals. Applicants will be reviewed based on the merit of their past work, professional qualifications, and experience.
Submissions are due by September 11, 2025, at 11:59 pm NST and shortlisted artists will be notified by September 19, 2025.
Stage 2 Project Proposal – Submission Requirements
The shortlisted artists/artist teams will be invited to develop an artwork proposal that includes a design concept, a detailed budget, and a basic work plan/timeline based on a project brief that will be provided to help shortlisted artists prepare their submissions. Each shortlisted artist will receive a $500 honorarium for this stage once their proposal has been submitted. The selection committee will review the proposals and recommend an artist/artist team to be awarded the project.
Questions? Please Contact:
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes a small travel stipend will be available if a selected artist is coming from over 200km from St. John’s. SJSEL can also provide a letter confirming the opportunity which could be submitted as support material for a travel grant application.