Project Overview
The selected artist will create one original artwork inspired by Fernie Alpine Resort.
The artwork should reflect the artist's personal interpretation of the resort in the winter—think skiing and snowboarding, the iconic Lizard Headwall, five famous bowls, lift infrastructure or another creative concept that is distinctly connected to Fernie Alpine Resort. The artwork must be clearly related to Fernie Alpine Resort rather than a general Fernie or Elk Valley landscape.
The artwork will be printed on our "Featured Artist" merchandise that will be available for sale at the Sports Alpine Retail shop for the Winter 2026-27 season.
Artist Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Reside within the Elk Valley during the Winter 2026–27 season (December through April)
- Elk Valley consists of Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford, Elko, Jaffray or Grasmere and the immediate areas surrounding those towns.
- Be the original creator of all submitted artwork.
- Be at least 19 years of age (or submit with parental/guardian consent if under 19).
Artwork Requirements
The final artwork must:
- Be an original work created by the artist.
- Clearly represent Fernie Alpine Resort winter.
- Be suitable for reproduction on apparel.
- Use a maximum of three (3) colours.
- Be capable of being supplied as vector artwork (AI, EPS or SVG preferred)
- Be suitable for screen printing.
The resort reserves the right to request minor adjustments to optimize the artwork for apparel production while preserving the integrity of the original design.
Artist Compensation
Fernie Alpine Resort will provide the selected artist with the following:
- $750 Artist Fee.
- Wall display space inside Slopeside Café throughout the 2026–27 winter season for a featured artist gallery of their work.
- Recognition as the Fernie Alpine Resort Featured Local Artist for the 2026-27 winter season
- A dedicated Featured Artist profile on the Fernie Alpine Resort website.
- Social media promotion highlighting the artist and their work on Fernie Alpine Resort's social media channels.
- Additional marketing opportunities throughout the season, where appropriate.
- Two complimentary limited-edition t-shirts featuring the selected artwork.
Artwork Usage:
In consideration of the artist fee and promotional opportunities provided by Fernie Alpine Resort, the artist grants Fernie Alpine Resort license to reproduce and use the selected artwork on merchandise and marketing materials.
Submission Requirements
Interested artist should fill out our application form here: https://form.jotform.com/SKIRCR/featured-artist
Submission requirements will include
- Contact information
- A short artist biography
- A brief statement describing why you would like to be our featured artist
- Portfolio or website links and/or social media links (if available)
- Description of their concept and image and/or a rough sketch of their concept or inspiration for how they would interpret Fernie Alpine Resort.
Selection Criteria
A panel of resort marketing and retail professionals from the resort will evaluate the designs based on the following criteria:
- Artistic quality
- Creativity and originality
- Connection to Fernie Alpine Resort
- Suitability for merchandise
- Overall visual impact
Timeline
Submission Deadline: September 15th, 2026
Artist Selected: September 23rd, 2026
Final Artwork Due: By October 13th, 2026
Limited Edition Merchandise Launch: Start of the Winter 2026–27 Season
Through this program, Fernie Alpine Resort aims to support local artists by providing meaningful exposure, professional opportunities, and a platform to share their work with thousands of guests each winter. We look forward to seeing Fernie Alpine Resort through your eyes.
