Public art and monuments
Recent Projects | Ongoing Projects | Upcoming Projects
Projects
Public art programs are central to the development and revitalization of cities. Whether small neighbourhood pleasures or large icons, public art works play a critical role in Toronto’s cultural renaissance. The Cultural Services’ collection grows annually through commissions and donations. In addition, Cultural Services supports and facilitates artist proposals for temporary projects and events.
Current calls to artists
Permanent Public Art Work
New Park in Rivertowne
A public art opportunity has been generated by the creation of a new park in the Rivertowne Neighbourhood (Toronto Danforth - Ward 30), a project led by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation and the City's Parks, Forestry & Recreation Division. Located in downtown Toronto, east of the Don River and Don Valley Parkway and north of Queen Street East, the new two and a half acre park is bound by Davies Street on its west flank, Thompson Street on its south, Munro Street on its east and Matilda Street on its north. Click here for details.
Recent Projects
Commissions
Vessel
Artist: Ilan Sandler
Date: 2011
Location: Taddle Creek Park, intersection of Bedford Rd and Lowther Ave
Frontier
Artist: John Dickson
Date: 2009
Location: Four sculptures along Junction Railpath, between Dupont Avenue and Dundas Street
Watertable
Artist: Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak
Date: 2009
Location: Fort York Boulevard, adjacent to the new pedestrian entrance at Fort York
Reticulated Gambol
Artist: Christian Giroux and Daniel Young
Date: 2009
Location: Lee Centre Park, Lee Centre Drive.
MOTH Gardens
Artist: Jeannie Thib with Scott Torrance Landscape Architect Inc.
Date: 2006
Location: Downsview Memorial Parkette, intersection of Keele Avenue and Wilson Avenue.
Evolution Unrolling
Artist: James Mcleod
Date: 2006
Location: Massey Harris Park, 945 King Street West, west of Strachan Avenue
Donations
Forest Walk
Artist: Ed Pien
Date of piece, date of gift: 2009, 2011
Gift of: Tridel
Location: Wellesley Central Park, intersection of Wellesley and Sherbourne Streets
Canoe Landing Park
Artist: Douglas Coupland
Date of piece, date of gift: 2009, 2011
Gift of: Concord Adex Developments
Location: Canoe Landing Park, between Lake Shore Blvd and Fort York Blvd, at Dan Leckie Way
Al Purdy
Artist: Veronica and Edwin Dam de Nogales
Date of piece, date of gift: 2008
Location: Queen's Park Circle, north-east section.
George Faludy
Artist: Dora de Pedry Hunt
Date of piece, date of gift: 2006
Location: George Faludy Place, intersection of St. Mary Street and St. Nicholas Street.
Gwendolyn MacEwen
Artist: John McCombe Reynolds
Date of piece, date of gift: circa 1970, 2006
Gift of: The Gwendolyn MacEwen Park Memorial
Location: Gwendolyn MacEwen Park, Walmer Road at Lowther Avenue
Elevated Wetlands
Artist: Noel Harding
Date of piece, date of gift: 1998, 2005
Gift of: Plastics and Art Ltd. Partnership No.1
Location: Taylor Creek Park
Erratic Boulder
Artist: Moira Doyle
Date of piece, date of gift: 2005
Gift of: the artist
Location: Christie Pits, intersection of Bloor Street and Christie Street
Major restorations and relocations
Flower Power
Artist: Mark di Suvero
Date of piece, date of restoration: 1967, 2010
Location: Cityplace, west of Spadina Ave south of Front Street
Salmon Run
Artist: Susan Schelle
Date of piece, date of restoration: 1991, 2006
Location: Bobbie Rosenfeld Park, Blue Jay’s Way, south of Front Street
Ned Hanlan
Artist: Emanuel Hahn
Date of piece, date of restoration: 1926, 2004
Location: Hanlan’s Point, Toronto Islands
Temporary
Nature in the Garage
June 29 to August 6, 2006
Curated by: Janet Bellotto, in partnership with Gallery 1313, liveARTs, Cultural Services.
Artists: Mary Anne Barkhouse, Catherine Bodmer, Maria Fernanda Cardoso, John Dickson, Noel Harding, Yvonne Lammerich, Gwen MacGregor, Rod Strickland, Noboru Tsubaki, Diing-Wuu Wu Walis.
Networked City
May 26 to June 25, 2006
Curated by: InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre and featured as part of the Humanitas Festival (Cultural Services).
Artists: Marla Hlady, Germaine Koh, Luis Jacob, [murmur], Paulette Phillips.
WADE 2006
July 7 to 9, 2006
Curated by: Christie Pearson and Sandra Rechico.
Artists: Atanas Bozdarov + Tomasz Smereka, Michael Caines + Leah Decter, Peter Chin, Sandra Gregson, John Greyson + Margaret Moores, Marcia Huyer, Yam Lau, Shannon McMullen + Fabien Winkler, Hazel Meyer, Theodor Pelmus, Eugenio Salas + Michele Stanley, Tony Stallard, Chrysanne Stathocos, S.U.R.G.E., Nick Tobier.
Ongoing Projects
Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant
The greening of the Leslie Street Spit area and refurbishment of the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant presented an excellent opportunity for a large-scale public art commission integrated into the redevelopment. Cultural Services worked with Toronto Water and the project design team to bring artist David Pearl to work collaboratively with the landscape architect project team. Pearl has developed an art concept for the site which includes an artwork which wraps the odour control stack, "water lights" through the new park, and a monumental sculpture.
Dawes Road
Cultural Services' Public Art Office has been working with various City departments to coordinate a number of improvements to Dawes Road, including the relocation of the intersection of Dawes Road and Victoria Park Avenue. The proposed changes provide an opportunity for public art and artists were asked to pair up with qualified Landscape Architects and consider the entire site as an artwork concept. The winning concept, Dawes Crossing, by Noel Harding was selected in September 2011 and will be complete October 2012.
Dufferin Jog Elimination
Toronto Transportation and Toronto Planning, Urban Design have built a new underpass to allow Dufferin to intersect Queen directly. A public art component for this project will be unveiled in autumn 2011, a spectacular series of mosaic panels by artist Luis Jacob, title "The Hall of Community's Spirits".
Grounds for Art
The redevelopment of Regent Park and the new streets being laid out in this process presented a terrific opportunity to incorporate creativity at the ground level, with custom designed maintenance covers for the area’s water systems. A city-wide competition was administered by Cultural Services and 275 people submitted nearly 600 designs to the Grounds for Art Public Art Competition. The winning designs for the three categories are now being turned into templates for fabrication and will arrive in Regent Park as the new streets are built. And the winners are:
Water valve cover:
Rene Zamic.
Storm sewer cover:
DeMuth Flake
Sanitary cover:
Xin Xu
The custom maintenance covers for Phase 1 were fabricated and installed in 2011, with future phases now in development.
Hydro Corridor Bike Posts
In July 2009 the City of Toronto’s Transportation Services was awarded funding through the Recreation Infrastructure Canada Program in Ontario and the Ontario Recreation Program to develop seven multi-use off-road trails to be located at hydro and former rail corridors. To be completed by summer 2011, the infrastructure project adds approximately 30 kilometres of new and 4 kilometres of upgraded off-road bike and multi-use trails to the City of Toronto’s Bikeway Network..This project presented a public art opportunity for the commissioning of artistically designed bicycle stands (lock-ups) and artists Marianne Lovink and Scott Eunson were selected through a competitive process to realize their concept "Bike Plants".
June Callwood Park
In 2005, the City of Toronto dedicated a new park space for June Callwood, to honour her tremendous role in the development of social aid organizations in the city. Parks, Forestry and Recreation have completed a competition for the park design, awarding the project to landscape architects gh3. In 2009, the artwork concept, OKTA, by artists Steve Bates and Douglas Moffat, was selected through a two stage open competition. This piece is now in development and is expected to be unveiled with the park opening in 2012.
Lisgar Park Public Art
As part of the development of a new park in the West Queen West Triangle, the Public Art Office is working with community members, to ensure that the Lisgar Park Master Plan Concept presents a design that can support the most important, ground-breaking, challenging and exceptional contemporary art.
Regent Park Big Park
As part of the redevelopment of Regent Park, a large central park is being built which will include various community amenities including a new aquatic centre. The Public Art Office is working with Parks, Forestry and Recreation to commission an art component for the park. In 2010, artist Dan Bergeron was selected, to develop his concept titled "Faces of Regent Park" with the project landscape consultants, The Planning Partnership. This project is expected to be complete in 2012.
Regent Park Community Recreation Centre
As part of the redevelopment of Regent Park, a new community recreation centre is being built. The Public Art Office is working with Parks, Forestry and Recreation to commission a public art component for the recreation centre, titled "Model Home"by artist Jyhling Lee, which will involve members of the community in its development and will be unveiled with the completion of the centre in spring 2013.
Toronto Transit Commission
Cultural Services works closely with the TTC on public art programs related to the Commission’s Capital improvements. To this end, Cultural Services has worked with the TTC to develop a public art policy for the transit system as well as retain an in-house public art consultant who will be overseeing a number of public art commissions coming on line over the next couple years. The TTC is building the York University Busway and Spadina subway Extension as well as making improvements to Union Station and a number of stations along the Bloor Line including Victoria Park, Pape, Dufferin, Islington and Kipling stations, all of which will have public art components. To find out more about the TTC public art programs, click here and search under “public art”.
Waterfront Toronto
Cultural Services' Public Art Office works with the Waterfront Secretariat and other City divisions and Waterfront Toronto to nsure that there are public art components for all upcoming waterfront public realm developments. This included the development of an extensive Public Art Strategy for the West Donlands, which can be viewed here.
Weston Mt. Dennis
Street upgrades and a traffic calming enlarged sidewalk inserted at the corner of Weston Road and Dennis Avenue, are being considered as a gateway site to the Mount Dennis neighbourhood and have been chosen as the site of a new public art work to be commissioned by the City. Artists Christian Giroux and Dan Young were selected for this commission.
York Community Recreation Centre
The Public Art Office is working with Parks Forestry and Recreation to commission an artwork for the grounds of the new York Community Recreation Centre, designed by Perkins + Will, at Eglinton Ave West and Black Creek Drive. A Call to Artists for Expressions of Interest in this project closed September 30th. A short list of artists will be invited to develop proposals for the site and a winning concept will be selected in December 2011, for completion in 2013.
Upcoming Projects
Artstage Donation
Artstage is a privately sponsored public art exhibition overlooking the north side of Highway 401 between Renforth Drive and DIxie Road. There are currently 3 contemporary pieces installed at this site. In 2010, two of these pieces will be donated to the CIty of Toronto Public Art and Monuments Collection and moved to permanent locations in our parks and open spaces.
Kipling Acres
The Public Art Office is working with City Planning, Long-Term Care Homes and Services and site architects MontgomerySisam to identify public art opportunities within a major redevelopment of Kipling Acres Long Term Care.