Call for Artist Submissions: Family Zone​

Supercrawl is a free annual outdoor art and music festival held in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, showcasing a diverse and dynamic lineup of music, art, fashion, theatre, dance, performance, talks, crafts, food and fun. In 2022, Supercrawl covered 20 city blocks and attracted more than 275,000 visitors over the course of the weekend.

What Are We Looking For?

Supercrawl was founded out of a desire to showcase the city’s cultural vibrancy and eclectic arts landscape, and remains dedicated to honouring, showcasing and celebrating all varieties of creative work. Supercrawl prioritizes curating a diverse and representative festival lineup. We recognize our responsibility to amplify voices that have traditionally been marginalized, both in our community and in society as a whole.

First introduced in 2012, Supercrawl’s Family Zone features joyous and engaging programming that showcases Hamilton’s abundant creative talent and wealth of community cultural organizations. Its eclectic lineup of hands-on activities fosters creativity, compassion, and the capacity to see potential all around us. Supercrawl’s Family Zone packs oodles of interactive creative play into a two-block run of the festival corridor — York Blvd between Park & James — where community groups are invited to promote interactive creative fun for families and kids, featuring a wide array of participating organizations. All of the zone‘s activities are geared to engage and entertain young people 12 and under.  On the heels of the 2019 festival, Supercrawl’s Family Zone programming earned a Festivals & Events Ontario (FEO) Achievement Award for Best Youth Initiative, while Supercrawl itself was named one of the FEO’s Top 100 Festivals and Events for the fifth consecutive year.

Festival staff are seeking expressions of interest from local child- and youth-centred organizations for consideration as featured partners in this year’s Family Zone, which is located in the heart of the festival around the intersection of James North and York/Wilson. Prospective applicants must be located in Hamilton, Burlington, Grimsby, or the Six Nations of the Grand River.

Supercrawl prioritizes curating a diverse and representative festival lineup. We recognize our responsibility to amplify voices that have traditionally been marginalized, both in our communities and in society as a whole. Supercrawl is committed to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, and strives to create an environment in which all participants may flourish. We are committed to removing systemic barriers to access and opportunity, and welcome artistic proposals from artists of all backgrounds, including but not limited to Indigenous, Black, people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, women, people with disabilities, and members of equity-seeking communities. Submissions will be evaluated and selected by a small jury of artists from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. We welcome submissions from artists of all backgrounds,  including but not limited to Indigenous, Black, people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, women, people with disabilities, and members of equity-seeking communities.

Fees & Resources

There is no fee associated with this opportunity; the festival supplies participating organizations with a 10×10 foot on-street footprint from which to offer programming.
Tents and tables must be supplied by participating organization.
Exhibition of animals (e.g. petting zoos, animal rides, interactive animal exhibits) will not be permitted.
Applicants must be able to participate in the full weekend’s programmed hours: Friday 6pm-9pm, Saturday 12pm-8pm, Sunday 12pm-8pm. All activities offered must be free of cost to families and children.
Marketing or fundraising is not permitted onsite.

Supercrawl will be assigning significant resources to marketing leading up to the festival, and during the event. The festival will provide schedule signage, produce posters and handbills, and include programming details both in printed materials and on the Supercrawl website. Audiences are estimated at approximately 90,000 people over the duration of the performance day.

Dates & Location

Family Zone programming at Supercrawl 2023 will take place Friday September 8 (6pm-9am), Saturday, September 9 (12pm-8am) and Sunday September 10 (12pm-8pm). All performances will take place along York/Wilson adjacent to James Street North.

CLICK HERE FOR SUBMISSION FORM

Submission Package Elements

• Contact info (artist name, email, phone number);
• Name of Organization
• Location (i.e. city/town, province/territory/state, country);
• Brief Organizational Background or Performer Biography;
• Organization Status (For Profit/Registered Not For Profit);
• Programming proposal;
• Previous Supercrawl participant (yes/no);
• Website URL (if applicable);
• Social media links (if applicable)

CLICK HERE FOR SUBMISSION FORM

Deadline for submissions: Friday, March 31, 2023 at 11:59pm ET.​ Late submissions will not be considered.

Successful applicants will be contacted in May 2023.

Artists are encouraged to contact organizers to receive clarification and/or additional information as needed to complete applications.

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