Moccasin Designs for The Wandering Spirit Memorial at Calgary Arts Development

Calgary Arts Development and the City of Calgary's Indigenous Relations Office are inviting moccasin designs for The Wandering Spirit, a permanent Indian Residential School memorial to be installed at The Confluence in 2027, created with Siksika artist Adrian Stimson and landscape architects groundcubed. The heart of the memorial is a wall of cast children's shoes, and selected moccasin designs will be set among them, bringing the stories of artists, community members and survivors into the work.

The call is 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. Applicants email up to 1,000 words on the meaning of their design and up to five images, either photographs of finished moccasins or a design drawn on the project's template. Selected artists will work with the design team and fabricator to adapt their design to the bead grid.

Each selected design receives C$800, covering time spent with the design team. Applications close at 4:30pm MT on 25 November 2026; successful applicants are told on 18 December 2026, with installation in 2027 and an unveiling in September 2027.