Cultural Projects

Check out the various projects, both permanent and temporary, that the City of Niagara Falls Culture Division has undertaken.

Artist Database

ARTIST CALL FOR INTEREST FOR CONSIDERATION [IFC]

The goal of this IFC is to expand our awareness of artists and creatives who are interested and available to participate in Niagara Falls arts projects. Submissions will assist Advisory Panel members when considering artists and other participants for Niagara Falls arts initiatives like murals, street art, utility box wraps, signage or any other potential visual arts project.

A few tips before you start:

• We'll ask about your experience, interests, and future plans.
• We'll ask for details about your past projects (your role, project dimensions, locations, installation/creation dates, mediums, etc.)
• If your role in a project was anything other than "artist" (producer/facilitator/organizer/etc), we'll just ask for the event details (name/location/date/etc) or just for details of your volunteer/mentorship involvement.
• Have a few jpg images ready. You'll have the option to submit up to 6 images (2 per project; 3 projects max). All images must be jpg/jpeg and 1 MB (1000 KB) or less, each. Label each artwork with your LAST NAME, title.
• This form is thorough. It will take about 30 minutes to complete.
• You'll have a chance to review and edit your answers after each section.
• If you wish to begin but cannot complete in one go either: a) do not close the browser or b) skip to the end, make sure your email is entered, and you will receive a link to allow you to continue editing at a later date.

For more information, contact [email protected]. 

Trail Mix

Trail Mix is an auditory accompaniment to your walk, featuring the work of local artists. You can listen to the mix while enjoying the sights of the Millennium Trail. QR codes along the trail will take you to music, humour or spoken word on your smart device.

Check out the Trail Mix page to learn more!

Niagara Falls Urban Walls

The City of Niagara Falls Culture created a street art and mural program for the benefit of our residents, communities and businesses. Additions of street art benefit urban environments by creating a safer community and encourage stewardship and public realm enhancement. They attract art-loving pedestrians.

Murals don’t serve simply to brighten your day, they also are an integral part of creating a safer community and supporting graffiti prevention. To establish this, Niagara Falls Urban Walls [NFUW] began the process of enabling artists and locals, along with building owners, to collaborate on the process of creating art in public spaces. By layering knowledge via exceptional mural workshops from Mural Routes out of Toronto, enabling local artists on real projects via commissions and mentoring opportunities, by creating an Artist Database that lets building owners and City Staff know who is available and interested in applying for a variety of art initiatives, and with community consultation on what local residents and businesses wish to have in their neighbourhood, NFUW has created a strong platform to grow it’s Urban Walls program from.

Niagara Falls Urban Wall Program will;

• Enhance Niagara Falls’ streets and public spaces
• Engage and vitalize Niagara Falls communities through physical enhancements and related events
• Showcase local artists and mentor emerging talent
• Counteract graffiti vandalism
• Foster a greater sense of belonging among all
• Celebrate the creativity of our rich and varied cultural communities

We invite local building owners to submit their walls for consideration. Artists, local stakeholders and community provide input in focus groups, enabling the work to be a reflection of the desires of the community. A panel of arts and culture adjudicators select the final designs. The City of Niagara Falls is currently providing funding, structure and support for the artist/artist teams to create temporary work that will last up to 5 years.

For further information, please contact: [email protected] 

Wheat Paste Art

The purpose of these works is to provide a temporary installation of Street Art that will resonate with the history of the city, the local residents who may well remember the building or neighbourhood’s earlier functions, and an art-appreciating public who may enjoy the installations. The work is created to celebrate historical elements of this building as well as to share art in unexpected places throughout Niagara Falls. 

What is Wheat Paste?

From WIKI [abridged]:

Wheat paste is an adhesive made from wheat flour or starch, and water. It has been used since antiquity for various arts and crafts such as book binding, collage, papier-mâché, and adhering paper posters and notices to walls. It has also commonly been used by commercial bill posters since the 19th century. In particular, it was widely used by 19th and 20th century circus bill posters, who developed a substantial culture around paste manufacture and postering campaigns. In the 1890s, the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's posters were so popular that instructions were published on how to peel down the pasted posters without damage.

The 11 locations and artists selected are:

• Niagara Military Museum/ Armoury, 5049 Victoria Ave. /Jan DiMartino
• Canadian Specialty Castings, 4248 Broughton Ave. /Jennifer Judson
• Chippawa Town Hall, 8198 Cummington Sq E. /Brian Crolly
• Firehall Theatre, 4990 Walnut St./ Andrea Letourneau /www.letourneauart.com
• Heart Niagara, 4635b Queen St. /Emily Andrews/ @ms.emily.andrews
• Hilton Niagara Falls/Fallsviwew- Backside of Hotel on Stanley Avenue, 6361 Fallsview Blvd. /Sara Lou Stuart  / www.serpentyl.ca
• Niagara Falls History Museum, 5810 Ferry St. /Emily Andrews/ @ms.emily.andrews
• Niagara Railway Bridge Underpass, Niagara Parkway, Between Park  Street and Bridge Street. /Elizabeth Chitty/ elizabethchitty.ca
• Old Stone Inn, 6080 Fallsview Blvd. /Joanne Ring/ facebook.com/joanneringdesigns
• Post Foods, 5651 Lewis Ave. /Dougie Hayz/ www.facebook.com/wackmagic
• Royal Canadian Legion, 5603 Spring St. /Anthony Haley/ @anthonyhaleyart