As far back as the 1870s, football has been the beating heart of Footscray, and its football club, the Western Bulldogs, have been synonymous with the land west of the Maribyrnong River, from its days as an industrial borough to the increasingly gentrified streets we see today.

We are represented by four elite men’s and women’s football teams, participating in the AFL, VFL, AFLW and VFLW competitions. The Bulldogs have won two AFL premierships (1954 and 2016), one AFLW premiership (2018) and two VFL premierships (2014 and 2016).

However, the Western Bulldogs are more than a football club to the people in and of our community. We have a long and proud history as the community club of the AFL, including delivering innovative and engaging programs through our Community Foundation, that provide real outcomes for the people living and working in our backyard and broader regions.

We are located at Mission Whitten Oval in West Footscray, and also have a presence with an office in Ballarat. Our home base has recently undertaken a multi-million-dollar redevelopment, which will enhance opportunities for the Western Bulldogs to provide diversity & inclusion programs and initiatives as the updated facility comes to life.

Our geographical reach extends throughout Victoria, particularly through the west of Melbourne and the western corridor to the South Australia border. That reach extends across the country through our members, fans and supporter groups in different states.

Through engagement in the AFL and AFLW competitions, coupled with the efforts of our community foundation, our influence extends nationwide. The Club's presence on digital platforms amplifies this reach significantly and serves as a vital communication tool. It plays a key role in educating our members and fans about our Pride and LGBTQI+ community.

The Western Bulldogs have a strong and unwavering commitment to being a safe, inclusive and welcoming Club for our Pride and LGBTQI+ community.

Our vision for fostering inclusivity is to build a culture of equality and respect for our Pride and LGBTQI+ community. We aim to be a beacon of support and understanding, creating an inclusive and diverse environment where shared experiences are acknowledged and negative stereotypes are challenged. Leveraging our unique reach and influence, we strive to illuminate the way toward a more inclusive and equitable future for everyone and celebrate inclusiveness and gender diversity, and welcome all people, no matter their sexual orientation.

The Club has long prided itself on the way it represents and includes its members, fans and the community, and in February 2022 formalised our dedication to the space with the launch of our inaugural Diversity& Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP). The DIAP includes four key areas - Gender Equity, LGBTQI+, Multicultural and People with Disability and focuses on governance & strategic pathways, education & training, Football and events & communication. You can view the Club’s DIAP here which sits alongside the Club’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

Since its inception in 2018, the Bulldogs and Blues celebrated a Pride game every season – with St Kilda and Melbourne joining in 2020 – before it was extended to a league-wide Pride Round in 2021.

For the first time in the Club’s history, the Western Bulldogs are undertaking a formalised EOI process seeking a digital artist who would like to collaborate with the Club to co-design our Pride Round guernsey for 2025.

The Club acknowledges that the artwork creation would ideally involve an artist, who identifies as being a part of the Pride & LGBTQI+ community, in consultation with the Club and our AFLW players.  A collaborative approach will ensure shared knowledge and stories and aims to celebrate our Pride & LGBTQI+ community.

The successful design will be proudly worn by our AFLW players in the 2025 Pride Round and may also be used across other promotional products and design elements.

The artist will spend time with key stakeholders across the Club including our DIAP Working Group members and current AFLW players to ensure that the design is representative of both our Club and our community.

The Club acknowledges the importance of collaboration of our local region in this process. Our preference is for the chosen artist to have a connection to, or reside in, the Club’s catchment area – the western region of Victoria.

The Western Bulldogs invite you to submit your interest in the development and design of a mutually

agreeable story and creative design for the Club’s 2025 Pride guernsey on the terms and conditions contained below.

Once the chosen artist is selected, the collaboration process will commence. The chosen artist will then complete the design process using the required design tools and templates by the set deadline - refer to the Timing section below.

Please note that the Club will work together with the successful artist in the lead up to the 2025 AFLW Pride Round to find suitable times for storytelling and promotional purposes.

• Please email people@westernbulldogs.com.au providing up to 5 (maximum) examples of previous artwork – please send all examples of work in one email.
• Digital art forms are preferred.
• Submissions should be accompanied by a short supporting Artist Statement of up to 1,000 words (maximum) including how the artist is connected to the Club’s catchment area – the western region of Victoria. Artists are also encouraged to include details of organisations, charities, and community work in their Artist Statement.
• Deadline: Submissions close COB Wednesday 18 September 2024.
• All submissions will be reviewed by the Club’s DIAP Working Group. The successful artist will be notified via email and phone.

• The artist fee/commission is confidential and payable to the artist upon acceptance of the completed artwork.
• The legal title to the artwork (ownership) will be with Western Bulldogs.
• The artist is required to sign a copyright waiver and confidentiality agreement.
• The artwork is not to infringe anybody’s intellectual property or cultural rights.
• The successful artist should be available for PR activities (if applicable) in the lead up to and during 2025 AFLW Pride Round (dates and activities to be confirmed but may include involvement in player related promotions etc.).
• Further, the artist agrees that the elements and all of the design may be used across other communications pieces, including but not limited: game day, signage, lighting, merchandise, collateral, website, social media, PR etc.

Please note the below dates may be subject to change

Please email your completed EOI (including examples of artwork and artist statement) to people@westernbulldogs.com.au by the EOI deadline date & time.

Any other queries can be directed to:

Sally Zacharewicz
People & Culture Manager and RAP Chair
sally.zacharewicz@westernbulldogs.com.au