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Design the Season

Call for Submissions!

We are now seeking 3-4 emerging Canadian artists to shape the visual identity of our 2027/2028 season.

In an exciting evolution of our visual storytelling, the Canadian Opera Company’s 2026/2027 season features original design by multidisciplinary Métis artist Halie Finney. Halie created a striking image to represent our season—the distinctly Canadian loon, set against shimmering water—as well as the gimlet-eyed Rogarou for the company’s world premiere of Empire of Wild.

Apply

About the Opportunity

Selected artists will be invited to design:

  • The official 2027/2028 season image
  • Poster art for each opera in the upcoming season

These works will be featured across a wide range of highly visible platforms, including:

  • Digital channels (website, social media)
  • Large-format signage at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto
  • Print materials (house program, season brochure)
  • City-wide campaigns across Toronto, including transit and street-level advertising

All selected artists will be compensated for their commissioned work.

Why Apply?

This is a chance to:

  • Gain national exposure for your work
  • Receive mentorship from experienced creative professionals
  • Create imagery that inspires audiences to experience the power of live opera

Who Should Apply?

We welcome submissions from emerging Canadian artists working in any two-dimensional medium (digital or traditional painting, illustration, print-making, etc.). A strong interest in storytelling, atmosphere, and translating performance into visual form is an asset.

Please note: submissions that include AI-generated or AI-enhanced artwork will not be considered.

How to Submit

Submit your portfolio and relevant work samples through our online form here (or below).

Next Steps

  • May 22: Deadline for submissions
  • June 8: Selected artists notified
  • June through August: Concept development with COC's creative agency
  • September through November: Imagery finalized through iterative reviews

Meet our 26/27 season image artist!

Halie Finney (she/her) is a multidisciplinary Métis artist originally from the Lesser Slave Lake area, specifically Canyon Creek, Alberta. Her creative practice includes work as a tattooist, illustrator, comic book writer, painter, and illustrator, as well as installations and video productions. Halie’s biggest influence has been her experience growing up in the bush in rural Alberta, including all of the plants and animals and people that live there, and her nostalgia for home remains an ongoing inspiration. Halie Finney has shown her work nationally and internationally and recently published her first comic, Cousin Bear Comes to Visit, with Conundrum Press.

"For the seasonal image I decided to feature a loon. The loon is a perfect fit for many reasons; one is because it’s a well-recognized and loved bird in Canada and, more specifically, it’s the official bird of Ontario. The loon also has a distinctive call—it’s familiar and otherworldly at the same time and an animal with such a special voice felt very fitting to represent the Canadian Opera Company for this season. The colour and textures in the loon have a narrative quality to them; there’s moments of soft subtle colour and also dramatic contrast. Surrounding the loon you can see the ripples of water, like sound waves, shimmering around and framing the star of the show.

For the Empire of Wild image, I really wanted to make sure there was a shifting or transformative quality, as well as a feeling of mystery and darkness as I was reading the book, I knew right away what key elements I wanted to include. First was a fur or hair pattern, to add movement and connect the Rogarou to the forest and shadows around it. I used a dark palette and a bright source of light to bring the forms in the darkness to light. Finally, I wanted to use the colours burgundy, bright red, and yellow. The sun has just set, leaving a burgundy sky, and the yellow light emanates a warning glow from the revival tent onto the grass, enveloping Joan, her silhouette facing danger head on. Above, the Rogarou watches, a taste for blood in his mouth, his eye wide and round like a full moon."