Call to Artists: Moccasin Designs for The Wandering Spirit Memorial

About this call

Calgary Arts Development invites Indigenous artists and community members to submit moccasin designs for The Wandering Spirit, a permanent Indian Residential School memorial developed by the Indigenous Relations Office at The City of Calgary and being installed at The Confluence in 2027. Created with Siksika artist Adrian Stimson and groundcubed, the memorial centres on a wall of cast children's shoes; the selected moccasin designs will be interspersed throughout the wall, bringing the presence and stories of artists, community members and Residential School survivors into the memorial. Up to 10 designs will be selected and each receives $800. Selected applicants work with the design team and fabricator to adapt the design to the bead/grid template, with installation in spring/summer 2027 and an unveiling in September 2027.

Who can apply

• Limited by country or region
• Medium: Textile / Drawing
• Entry fee: See official site
• Open to urban and rural Indigenous artists and community members with a connection to Calgary and the surrounding area, including members of Treaty 7 Nations. Email your submission to the project curator's address given on the call page: background information (max. 1,000 words) on the significance of the design, its imagery and its connection to you, your family and/or the land, including the residential or day school you or your family attended if relevant and your Nation, plus your name, mailing address, city or town, postal code, email and phone number; and one to five images of the proposed design (photos of finished original moccasins, or the downloadable template filled in by hand or digitally), each with date, materials and the artist's name. Work must be original and belong to the artist; collaborators must be credited. Final designs may be adjusted to the bead/grid layout and available colours. No applications accepted after 4:30 pm MT on November 25, 2026. Successful applicants are notified on December 18, 2026 and submit final designs from December 2026 to January 2027; additional designs may be considered for future installation. The page does not mention an application fee.