What is the Co-designing a Smartwear Revolution project?

Co-designing a Smartwear Revolution is a large, six-year research project led by researchers at the University of Alberta and funded by the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund. The project involves the co-design of smart clothing that will look like regular clothing, but will have technology embedded in the fabric that can easily support posture, balance, arm movements, and walking. This project aims to create accessible, affordable, functional and stylish “smartwear” to support movement, prevent workplace injuries, and improve quality of life for people with neuro-muscular and skeletal weakness, older adults (+65), and health care professionals, including nurses. Through advanced engineering, textile science, and fashion, we are creating smartwear to be comfortable and stylish clothing that prevents injury, aids in daily movement, and improves wearers’ participation and quality of life, allowing them to age in place, engage in caregiving, take part in the tasks of daily life, or perform work with greater ease and safety.

Smartwear clothing will have technology built into the fabric that can change its shape and stiffness to provide physical support and mobility support as needed. Integrated at the fibre level throughout the clothing using a distributed network of sensors and actuators, smartwear will be worn like ordinary clothing, will prioritize beauty and all-day comfort, and will support the trunk, arms, and/or legs. More information about the technical aspects of the project, as well as about how Smartwear Revolution invites participation and co-design from people with lived experience of muscle weakness, can be found on the project website.

The Smartwear Revolution project is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Vivian Muhshawar. The project has over 100 researchers working across a Textiles & Technology Working Group, a Social Justice Working Group, and an Art & Design Working Group. The Art & Design Working Group is primarily responsible for organizing and hosting the 2028 festival, and it is co-led by Marilène Oliver and Yelena Gluzman.

Festival theme: SUPPORT

The Co-Designing a Smartwear Revolution project involves creating new assistive technology that is worn on the body as clothing. The development of smartwear offers an opportunity for artists to consider how wearable assistive technologies may shape both what bodies can do and how the people who wear them may wish to feel, express themselves, or be recognized by others. For scientists and engineers who create assistive technologies, support is often understood as something that helps with movement, access, safety, communication, or participation. At the same time, support is not a fixed or universal idea. Support can be shaped by relationships, systems, values, and the diverse experiences of those who offer and use it. Support shapes everyday life in many different ways: through people, environments, objects, technologies, routines, and forms of care. It can be physical, emotional, social, cultural, or technological, intentionally designed or developed through lived experience or adaptation. For this call for expressions of interest, we invite artists, performers and designers to engage with the concept of SUPPORT in its many forms and meanings, textures and rhythms, presences and absences.

What we are looking for…

We are open to a range of creative activities in response to the SUPPORT theme and the Smartwear Revolution project. We currently envision curating:

● An exhibition of artworks
● A series of live performances (art performance, dance, theatre)
● A live dress/fashion event to showcase 3-4 capsule collections (a collection of 3 garments/looks).
● Surprise Us : ) We are open to proposals for curated shows, workshops, talks, and new and alternative forms, especially in the virtual and hybrid realm.

The Festival Sites

The 2028 festival will be hosted across multiple venues at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, including UCommons, FAB Gallery, Gallery A, Sound Studies Institute Sound Arts Gallery, McMullen Art Gallery and the Timms Centre for the Arts. More information about the venues and accessibility details can be found below. Although all venues have been selected with accessibility in mind, each space has some limitations and some may be more preferable than others. We invite you to consider which venue would be most appropriate for your work in your second proposal (not at this first EOI stage). Our hope is to fit the venues to the works submitted, not to fit the works to the venues.

All festival activities will be hybrid, existing in both in-person and online formats. All proposed works must be able to exist in both the real and virtual spaces. We are excited to assist with this translation.

As part of the launch of our open call for expressions of interest, we are currently collaborating with the McMullen Gallery for an exhibition of new artwork created by current and recent graduates of the University of Alberta Fine Arts Program and collaborators on the Smartwear Revolution project, from October 5th – 25th, 2026.

Venue Information

Who is eligible to apply?

We are particularly interested in applicants with lived or professional experience related to disability, chronic illness, muscular and skeletal weakness, aging, caregiving, rehabilitation, mobility devices and assistive technology, and healthcare. This may include, but is not limited to, older adults, healthcare practitioners, caregivers, and people with lived experience of disability or chronic illness. We welcome EOIs from artists and artist-researchers of all abilities whose work engages with the themes of this project.

Applicants should be able to demonstrate past experience in artmaking, design or performance and will be asked to demonstrate previous creative experience relevant to their EOI.

The EOI is open to local, national and international artists with options for in-person and remote / online engagement. We are interested in both existing works and proposals for new works. There are no restrictions in terms of nationality, geographical location, age, gender, sexuality, religion, or physical and intellectual disability. Student artists, artist collaborators, collectives and organizations are welcome to apply, though honoraria may differ in some situations. We also welcome partnerships with Edmonton artist-run centres or public galleries who are interested in curating an exhibition that could be part of the 2028 festival.

How to apply

The application process is in two stages.

Stage 1:

The first stage is the Expression of Interest (EOI), where you tell us about yourself and your practice, and pitch ideas about the project that you would like to propose.

For the EOI we request

1. artist statement (250-500 words)
2. artist biography (250-500 words) or short CV
3. examples of 8-10 works
4. project proposal (250-500 words)

The Expression of Interest is meant to be fairly simple and not overly detailed or labour-intensive. The EOI can be submitted through a Google form, where we also welcome submissions in alternate formats including audio or video recordings.

Apply through the Google Form

Apply through an alternative application format

Stage 2:

During the second stage, we will invite you to have a conversation with us about your practice and proposal. From there, selected applicants will receive an honorarium to create a full proposal for their project.

EOI Formats

There are three probable formats for the work you propose. Please identify which of these relate to the work you are proposing.

1. You can propose new work you will make in response to the SUPPORT theme. We strongly encourage artists, designers and performers proposing new works to engage with the research team and we can facilitate meetings and lab tours (either virtual or in person). For more information on the labs and technologies that you could work with, please feel free to contact us or consult the project website.
2. You can propose works that you have made already or that are currently in progress, as long as they relate to the festival theme. In this case, please include images, videos or descriptions of these works and how, if necessary, they would be adapted for the festival.
3. SURPRISE US! If you have proposals for formats other than these (e.g., curating an exhibition in partnership with a local disability arts organization), please explain this in your EOI.
4. Finally, you can also apply to do a 2-month artist residency in Spring 2027. We will support artists, designers and performers to be in residence and engage with one or more of the laboratories, technologies and research methods in our Smartwear Revolution project, and make work in response to these engagements. Residencies don’t have to be in person; we aim to support at least one remote residency.

Learn more about the Artist-in-Residence program

Information Sessions

To support you during the application process, we will host information sessions where members of the team will be available to answer questions. We are also available to provide support outside of these sessions and will seek to accommodate the needs of all potential applicants. If you would like to schedule a meeting to speak with us, please email adwg@ualberta.ca.

Wednesday, October 7th, from 2:00pm – 4:00pm Mountain Standard Time (MST)
Friday, October 16th, from 10:00am – 12:00pm Mountain Standard Time (MST)
By appointment, reach out and we will find a time to connect!

Timelines

EOIs are due on 15th December 2026 and will be reviewed by a diverse, interdisciplinary committee that includes members of the Smartwear Revolution team, as well as external community members with expertise in disability arts, criptech, critical making and art/science collaboration.  First stage results will be communicated by Jan 15th with full applications due 15th February and results announced 15th March.

Selection of EOI’s

If your EOI is selected to move to stage two, we will meet with you to discuss your ideas either virtually or in person, and ask you to complete a longer and more detailed application and budget, where you will specify what you intend to make or contribute. We will provide a small honorarium ($100-$400, depending on scope) or gift card if preferable, to those who complete the full application, which will include a fuller textual and visual description of the proposed work, a detailed timeline, and budget.

If your full application is selected to move forward, this will be formalized with a contract. As this project is being administered by the University of Alberta, all selected artists will need to be registered as suppliers to the university and submit invoices to receive payments. It should be noted that this can take longer than typical artists payments (it currently takes at least 2 months to be registered as a supplier), and the onus is on artists to submit invoices. We have a team that will help you navigate this process. We are committed to working with artists to find ways to prevent payments from jeopardizing disability support programs.

Once artists have been confirmed, we will offer support and mentorship with the creation of the works and preparation for both in person and online presentations at the 2028 festival. Artists will also be expected to supply artist statements and images of work in progress, and be open to contributing to the festival website and catalogue.

What fees will artists receive?

All featured artists will receive recommended Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) / Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists (CADA) / Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (CAEA) fees for their work. Although fees will depend on the scope of work, CARFAC’s 2027 recommended rates for a solo visual art exhibition are $4,376 CAD and $1,094 CAD for a group exhibition of more than 5 artists. In some cases, additional production and material fees may be offered, and other resources, like rehearsal space, studio space and assistance, or facilities may also be available. More information can be found here. In the interest of transparency, our total budget for the Support Festival is $600,000, which will cover ALL artist fees and costs, production, exhibition and publication costs, and festival accessibility costs.  We currently envisage engaging 5 visual artists, 3 fashion designers, 2 performance groups and 2 artists-in-residence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a fee to apply?

No. There is no fee to submit an EOI.

Can I submit my EOI as a video or audio recording?

Yes. However, you still need to complete the Google Form. For mandatory text fields, you can write “See video” or “See attached file” instead of providing a written response. If you have problems completing the Google form, please email adwg@ualberta.ca

Can students, collectives, or organizations apply?

Yes. Student artists, collaborators, collectives, and organizations are welcome to apply. Honoraria may vary depending on the type of applicant and proposal. We also welcome proposals from Edmonton artist-run centres and public galleries interested in curating an exhibition as part of the festival.

Can I apply with more than one proposal?

Each applicant is welcome to apply with one proposal for the festival and one proposal for the artist residency. You may also apply individually and be part of a collective application.

Do I need to make new work for this call?

No. You can propose an existing work, work in progress, or research and development, as long as it connects to the SUPPORT theme.If you are proposing existing or in-progress work, please explain how you would adapt it for the festival. 

Do I need technical knowledge or experience with smartwear to apply?

No. You do not need technical, scientific, medical, or engineering experience to apply. We welcome artists and creative practitioners who are interested in exploring the theme of SUPPORT through their own practices and perspectives.

Do I need to use Smartwear technology in my proposed work?

No. Your work does not need to incorporate Smartwear Revolution technology. You are invited to respond to the project’s themes, research, and ideas in ways that are meaningful to your own practice. If you are interested in working directly with the project’s technologies or research teams, you are welcome to propose that as part of your EOI.

What happens if my proposal changes after I submit my EOI?

Your proposal can develop as you move through the selection process. The EOI is an opportunity to introduce your practice and initial idea. If selected for the next stage, you will have an opportunity to discuss and further develop your proposal with the team before submitting the full application.

Does my work need to exist both in person and online?

Yes. All festival activities will have both in-person and virtual components, so proposed works should be able to take part in both settings. You do not need to have the virtual component fully developed at the EOI stage. We are happy to work with selected artists to explore how their work can be translated across physical and virtual spaces.

What accommodations are available during the application process?

We offer several ways to make the application process more accessible, including:

• Application Information Sessions

• Alternative submission formats, including audio and video

• Direct support by email at adwg@ualberta.ca

• Accommodations upon request

If you need an accommodation that is not listed here, please contact us. We will do our best to find an appropriate way to support your application.

Can I submit my Access Rider with my EOI?

Access Riders are not reviewed as part of the EOI selection process. If you have access needs relevant to submitting an EOI, please contact us and we will do our best to accommodate your needs throughout the process.

Can someone else complete or submit my application for me?

Yes. Someone else can complete or submit your application as long as you have given them your full consent and are comfortable with the information being submitted on your behalf.

If you do not have someone who can assist you and would like support completing or submitting your EOI, please contact adwg@ualberta.ca.

Are the festival venues accessible?

The festival will take place across several University of Alberta venues in Edmonton, including UCommons, FAB Gallery, Gallery A, the Sound Studies Institute Sound Arts Gallery, McMullen Art Gallery, and the Timms Centre for the Arts. Accessibility was considered in selecting these venues, although each venue has its own characteristics and limitations. You will not be asked to determine venue fit at the EOI stage. Venue considerations will be discussed during the full application process. Our goal is to adapt the festival to the works being proposed, rather than requiring artists to adapt their work to a predetermined venue.

What is the honorarium for completing the full application if the EOI is successful?

We will offer a $50 honorarium/gift card for applications of existing work, $100 for an application for a new artwork, fashion designs or performance work. 

Will an honorarium or artist fee affect my disability support payments?

We know this is a real concern. We’re committed to working with artists to find ways to prevent payments from jeopardizing disability support programs. Please raise this with us as early as possible, ideally when we meet after a successful EOI, so we can plan around it together.

Can I submit my EOI in a language other than English or French?

If English or French is not your first language, or you would prefer to apply in another language, please contact adwg@ualberta.ca before the application deadline to discuss available options.

Will I be notified if my EOI is not selected?

Yes. All applicants will receive an email notifying them whether their EOI has been selected to move forward to the full application stage.

Can I apply if I have never worked with a university before?

Yes. You do not need previous experience working with the University of Alberta or another university to apply. If selected, our team will help you navigate the administrative requirements, including supplier registration and invoicing.

Do I need a Canadian Social Insurance Number to participate?

No, international applicants are welcome. Please note that a 15% tax is automatically deducted for international payments, but a tax waiver can be applied for which we can support with. 

Does this project have ethics approval?

Yes. The Smartwear Revolution project has University of Alberta Ethics approval under Pro00153484.