Ordre de Montréal Medal

Every year since 1978 (on the initiative of Canadian National originally and under the aegis of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal since 1984) four Montréal personalities have been honoured as Great Montrealers. The process was initially conceived of as an awards ceremony until the Board of Trade formally established the Academy of Great Montrealers in 1988.

The Mayor of Montréal, Denis Coderre, with the agreement of the President and CEO of the Board of Trade, Michel Leblanc, has committed to taking over responsibility for the institution that evolved out of the Academy. An honorary distinction, modelled on national honours such as the Order of Canada, the Ordre national du Québec and France’s Legion of Honour, will be created and decreed by the Ville de Montréal.

A medal is the insignia by which members of such an order are recognized.It is a mark of distinction and pride,and as such its design must be worthy of a UNESCO City of Design. Consequently, the Ville de Montréal’s Bureau du design is issuing this call for proposals and invites professional designers and artisans based in Québec to create, for the Ville de Montréal’s Bureau de l'accueil et du protocole, the medal symbolizing the city’s highest honour.

Proposals are to be submitted anonymously to ensure that they are judged only on the quality of the ideas. A jury of experts will be tasked with choosing 10 finalists, whose medal designs will be exhibited at City Hall. Among the proposals chosen by the jury, the Mayor will then designate 3 prizewinners, with the top prize recipient being awarded the contract for the final medal design and manufacturing of the prototype. This call for proposals is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to showcase the creativity and know-how of local designers and artisans.

About the Ordre de Montréal

Call for proposals Rules (in French only)

The call for proposals is:

• open;
• anonymous;
• free (there is no entry fee);
• multidisciplinary; and
• Québec-wide.

The call for proposals is open to anyone who meets the following conditions:

• Be a member in good standing of a professional order or association in a design field. For the purposes of the call for proposals, “designer” shall also be defined as any graduate of a university program leading to conceptualization or production of projects in a design field, or any person with at least five years’ experience and whose practice in the relevant field is recognized by their peers. In the latter case, recognition must be attested to by a person who would be eligible for the call for proposals under one of the first two conditions listed.

OR

• Be an arts and crafts professional and a professional member of the Conseil des métiers d'art du Québec, or a CÉGEP-level graduate arts and crafts.

AND

• Be capable of producing, themselves, the medal design submitted further to this call for proposals, or be teamed with a manufacturer who assume production.

AND

• Operates primarily from a head office located in the Province of Québec or is a resident of the Province of Québec at the time the proposal is submitted.

In the case of a team submission, the team must include one person who meets the above-listed eligibility conditions.

The jury comprises the following seven members:

• Diane Charbonneau, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
• Lynn Gagnon, Chief of Protocol and Hospitality, Ville de Montréal
• Émilie F. Grenier, narrative experience designer, recipient of the Phyllis Lambert Grant 
• Noël Guyomarc’h, Director, Galerie Noël Guyomarc'h 
• Ana Masut, Managing Director, ico-D International Council of Design
• Suzanne Sauvage, President and Chief Executive Officer, McCord Museum
• Koen de Winter, designer, Professor, École de design de l'UQÀM, Chair, Commission des métiers d'art et arts visuels, Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC)

There will be no compensation for entrants submitting proposals. The Mayor of Montréal will designate the top three proposals among the finalists chosen by the jury. The first-prize winner will be awarded a contract worth $21,700 (taxes not included) for finalization of the design and manufacturing of a prototype. The second- and third-prize winners will receive $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.

Entrants must submit their proposals to the following address and ensure receipt no later than noon on February 4, 2016:

Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal
Call for creative proposals - Ordre de Montréal Medal

C/o Béatrice Carabin
303, rue Notre-Dame Est, 6e étage
Montréal (Québec) H2Y 3Y8

Throughout the entire call for proposals process, any questions must be submitted solely to the professional adviser mandated by the City, Véronique Rioux, industrial designer, at [email protected] Any other communication will be ignored, and may result in disqualification of the entrant in question.

Questions may be submitted in French or in English; answers will be provided in French.