For the third year in a row, the Delegation of the European Union to Canada and the Global Centre for Climate Action at OCAD University are partnering to support artists, designers, and scholars across Canada and the EU in developing and presenting artworks that expand how we imagine and engage with climate action.
Artists residing in Canada and the European Union are invited to develop a site-specific, original projection artwork for the Canada Malting Silos, located on Toronto’s waterfront, to be presented at Nuit Blanche Toronto on October 3, 2026.
Deadline for applications: May 11, 2026
Info session on the call for submissions: May 1, 2026
There is a virtual information session being held on May 1 at 9 a.m. (EDT) for artists to learn more and start the application process.
Register to attend the May 1 information session and gain access to the Nuit Blanche Toronto 2026 projection models and site photos.
The information session will provide an overview of the opportunity and address questions about the application process and submission requirements. Participants will receive an email containing the connection details in advance of the session.
Theme: What We Carry Forward
This year’s installation will explore the theme of What We Carry Forward, and the idea of memory, responsibility, and the futures we sustain.
Memory, responsibility, and the futures we sustain
Framed by Nuit Blanche’s 2026 theme, Tomorrow’s Memories, this project positions the Canada Malting Silos, measuring approximately 350 ft by 200 ft, as a vessel of memory and projection, a site where past, present, and future converge.
What do we carry forward, and what do we choose to leave behind?
Artists are invited to reflect on how we remember the past through stories, landscapes, ecosystems, and collective experience, and how these acts of remembering shape the world we inhabit today. This call embraces a sense of togetherness and shared journey, recognizing that the futures we imagine and build are not individual, but collective.
Proposals may explore themes of care, connection, resilience, and shared responsibility within interconnected social and ecological systems. Artists are encouraged to consider how we move forward together across communities, geographies, and generations toward more just and sustainable futures.
This call invites poetic, interpretive, and visually ambitious works that move beyond critique. Projects may consider repair, regeneration, and the possibilities of collective renewal. In alignment with shared EU and Canada priorities, artists may also reflect on environmental stewardship, climate responsibility, and the ecosystems that sustain life and community.
Through projection at monumental scale, the silos become a canvas for reflection and imagination, connecting how we remember, what we carry forward, and the futures we are collectively shaping.
MORE INFORMATION ON CALL FOR ARTISTS
Find out more about the selection details, eligibility requirements and other details regarding the call for artists on the EU website.