EOI - Artist Pride Picnic 2026

North Sydney Council is calling for Expressions of Interest for an artist or creative to develop and deliver a large-scale work and/or community engagement project as part of Council’s Community Picnic on Sunday 14 June 2026. 

In 2023 Council launched the crowd-sourced Mapping Queer North Sydney Project, gathering and celebrating the stories, memories and contributions of the queer community to the history and fabric of North Sydney. In 2025 these stories were projected on Stanton Library as part of Council’s inaugural Pride Picnic in Ted Mack Civic Park. This activation was part of a wider program that included musical and drag performances, food trucks, face paintings and a Pride Puppy Fancy Dress competition.  

For the Pride Picnic in 2026, Council is looking for an artist to build on the initial work undertaken through the Mapping Queer North Sydney Project and deliver an artistic work or program that celebrates the diversity and creativity of the local LGBTQIA+ community.  

Key objectives

• To deliver a highly visible work or program as part of Pride Picnic, to take place on Sunday 14 June 2026 in Ted Mack Civic Park.
• To develop a work or program that engages with the stories and communities of the LGBTQIA+ community of North Sydney.
• To celebrate and make visible the queer community of North Sydney.

Project budget

$15,000 (ex gst)

We are particularly looking for projects/artists that

• Include a multimedia component that lends itself to projection, lighting, sound/music, text, paste ups and/or other outcomes.
• Invite contributions from the community in the development of the work or on the day itself.
• Demonstrate experience and appetite for community engagement, particularly with schools, in the development of some component of the work/project.
• Have a clear conceptual and/or creative remit that could help inform other aspects of programming throughout June with an activation or outcome at the Pride Picnic.

Project timeline

• EOI Opens 2 February 2026
• EOI closes Friday 13 March 2026 at 5.00pm
• Successful applicant end March
• Contracts issued end March
• Project commences end March with final work/project delivered -14 June 2026 as part of Pride Picnic 

Eligibility

• The artist should be a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or an ally.
• The artist does not have to reside in North Sydney but should be based in Sydney and willing to work/travel to and from North Sydney as required.