REQUEST FOR CREDENTIALS

Casino Woodbine is one of Toronto's beloved gambling places first used as a racetrack in 1874. In 1956, after more than 80 years, it became an official racetrack for thoroughbred racing and has held prominent races such as the King's Plate. Casino Woodbine is being developed by Ontario Gaming GTA LP on 33 acres within the overall Woodbine Masterplan. The gaming precinct has been designed by CGL Architects in association with Chris Dikeakos Architects and will become a landmark entertainment destination attracting new local, regional and international visitors. And, essentially, the decision by Council today rejected the expansion of gaming at Woodbine, which has been happening for the last 57 years in terms of horse racing, the past 14 years in terms of. The move comes nearly two years after city council voted against approving a downtown Toronto casino and the Woodbine racetrack expansion. Woodbine Going Through Dino-Sized Revitalization Toronto Construction & Dev May 25, 2017 Ian Johnston, Bisnow While many suburban malls are going the way of the dinosaur, the Woodbine Mall is.

Woodbine Casino Expansion Project Public Art Program

Closing Date: May 18, 2020 5:00 PM EST

Public Art Management, on behalf of One Toronto Gaming, are excited to announce this Request for Credentials (RFC) to all professional artists as part of the Woodbine Casino Expansion project in Toronto, Canada.

We are inviting interested professional artists to submit their credentials for consideration as part of the first stage of a two-stage public art process to select candidates to be considered for this multi-use development.

The development will be comprised of retail, entertainment, office, and hotel venues connected by publicly-accessible landscaped spaces and pedestrian mews.

Located in the Rexdale area of northwest Toronto, the site will be bounded by Rexdale Blvd to the north, Highway 27 to the east, Queens Plate Boulevard to the west, and the existing Woodbine Racetrack to the south. The development site is situated immediately north of Woodbine Racetrack.

The overall development will be home to a performance venue at the northwest of the site, a large casino and gaming facility at the southwest portion, a planned hotel to the east of the casino as well as a 6 storey above-grade parking garage to the east that is bookended by a future parkette site. The central and north portion of the site will have access for parking as well as the hotel drop-off and entrance, but will predominantly be geared towards pedestrians with landscaped spaces throughout.

The project is currently under construction and scheduled for completion by the fall of 2022.

The total Public Art budget for the project is $4,250,000 CAD. The total Public Art Budget includes; artist design fees, administration, travel, engineering, design and supply of structural/foundation elements, fastening and attachment provisions, materials supply and fabrication, insurance, delivery, and installation and maintenance of artwork(s). The goal is to commission art that is iconic, impactful, durable, and requiring minimal maintenance.

Woodbine Casino Expansion Date 2019

The proposed art locations have been indicated on the site plan image included, and the budget allocation for each site will be as follows:

• Location 1: $1,500,000
• Location 2: $500,000
• Location 3: $750,000
• Location 4: $1,500,000

The submission deadline is: 5:00PM EST, May 18, 2020. We regret that only advancing artists will be contacted.

Public Art Management (PAM) will be managing this stage of the project on behalf of the Owner, One Toronto Gaming. Questions must be submitted in writing via email only at the address noted below.

Evaluation Criteria

Woodbine Casino Expansion Date Codes

Each candidate may be evaluated on the basis of the following:

• Aesthetic evaluation: original thinker: strong, contemporary, innovative and original work
• A demonstrated strong sense of scale exhibited through past work coupled with an interest in and ability to create permanent, maintainable, sustainable artwork
• History of public exhibition in reputable public or private institutions, innovative artist-run spaces, and installation projects
• Confirmation of ability to work within a team environment, with a generosity of spirit and patience
• Proven track record and ability to complete projects on time and within budgets (either public art commissions or museum/gallery projects).

Professional standing by peer or art expert references will be a major consideration as well.

RFC Submission Requirements:

For this Stage, we are inviting artists to submit a single document in pdf format.

This document must be labeled with the name of the artist or artist team and must include:

1. A current CV (or one for each member of the team, if applicable);
2. Images of up to a maximum of ten (10) past projects/installations/artworks (up to a maximum of 3 images for each project, if necessary) noting the materials, location, commissioning body and project cost;
3. The names and contact information of two references (preferably related to projects completed within the past 10 years)

Please do not submit concept proposals at this stage.

The deadline for this RFC is May 18, 2020 5:00PM EST.

All inquiries for this RFC must be sent via email to: publicartoronto@gmail.com

Only emailed communications to this address will be accepted. No telephone inquiries are permitted. If the file size exceeds 25MB, email via a file transfer service (preferably Wetransfer or Google Drive).

On the subject line clearly mark: “Woodbine Casino Expansion Project Public Art Stage 1 and [name of the artist/artist team]”.

Artists are responsible for the timely submission of their entries. Incomplete submissions will be subject to disqualification. All submission materials will be retained by Public Art Management and Ontario Gaming GTA LP.

We thank all respondents for their submissions but regret that only advancing proponents will be contacted. Beyond formal notification to finalists, Public Art Management and/or One Toronto Gaming will not enter into any correspondence regarding the artist selection process nor the decision concerning advancing candidates.