City of Toronto public art opportunities and updates on commissions, installations and unveilings.
A new permanent public artwork is coming to Humber Bay this summer.
“Campfire,” by Michael Belmore and Herman Mejia, will be installed in Etobicoke near the new Humber Bay Shores plaza, between the recreational trail and the waterfront. The completed artwork will be 12 feet tall and made of Corten and stainless steel. An Indigenous-led project, the new public artwork will be an iconic waterfront landmark and gathering place.
The installation of the public art will occur in two phases: the concrete foundation will be poured in early August and left to cure. The installation of the sculpture will take place over ten days in mid-August. During these phases, construction hoarding will block off approximately 85 square metres for the installation to occur safely (the area marked in red on the attached map). Pedestrian access along the walkways to both the north and south of the installation site will not be interrupted. After installation, mediation and landscaping will occur at the end of August.
Residents’ patience during the installation process is appreciated.
Katriina Campitelli
Public Art Officer
Katriina.Campitelli@toronto.ca
Applications to the Public Art Summer Mentorship Program are now closed. The successful candidates will be announced in the coming weeks.
The City of Toronto is offering a new opportunity for three Toronto-based emerging public space artists.
Artists need training and experience to transition from studio practice to public art, often struggling to secure public art commissions without adequate and timely experience. Through the Public Art Summer Mentorship program, each of the three selected emerging artists will receive:
The Toronto Sculpture Garden is a public park and exhibition space at 115 King Street East that acts as a stepping-stone between studio work and public art, providing artists with the opportunity to work experimentally in public space.
The City of Toronto’s Public Art Strategy and the Public Art Strategy Implementation Plan (Phase 1) outline the City’s commitment to enhance existing and develop new career-building resources and mentorship programs for emerging public artists.
The City of Toronto is pleased to announce that artist Shellie Zhang has been commissioned for the Wabash Community Recreation Centre public art project. Her proposal, ‘Part of the Whole,’ was selected through a competitive public art process and was favoured by the community. Inspired by stories of the surrounding neighbourhood rallying together to create public greenspace, the artwork is a large hanging beaded curtain sculpture featuring the image of a sunset against a green landscape with wildflowers. The sculpture will be suspended in the multi-story lobby of the new Wabash CRC. This will be the artist’s first permanent public art commission.
Shellie Zhang (b. Beijing, China) is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist. By uniting both past and present iconography with the techniques of mass communication, language and sign, Shellie explores the contexts and construction of a multicultural society by disassembling approaches to tradition, gender, the diaspora and popular culture. She creates images, objects and projects in a wide range of media to explore how integration, diversity and assimilation is implemented and negotiated, and how manifestations of these ideas relate to lived experiences. Shellie is interested in how culture is learned and sustained, and how the objects and iconographies of culture are remembered and preserved. For most of her time in Toronto, the neighbourhood of Parkdale was her home.
The Wabash CRC, designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, will be a four-story community space located at the southeast corner of Sorauren Park, adaptively reusing the existing former Canadian Linseed Oil Mills Ltd. building. Learn more about Wabash Community Recreation Centre.
Applications to the Public Art Summer Mentorship Program are now closed. The successful candidates will be announced in the coming weeks.
The City of Toronto is offering a new opportunity for three Toronto-based emerging public space artists.
Artists need training and experience to transition from studio practice to public art, often struggling to secure public art commissions without adequate and timely experience. Through the Public Art Summer Mentorship program, each of the three selected emerging artists will receive:
The Toronto Sculpture Garden is a public park and exhibition space at 115 King Street East that acts as a stepping-stone between studio work and public art, providing artists with the opportunity to work experimentally in public space.
The City of Toronto’s Public Art Strategy and the Public Art Strategy Implementation Plan (Phase 1) outline the City’s commitment to enhance existing and develop new career-building resources and mentorship programs for emerging public artists.
Katriina Campitelli, Public Art Officer, will lead the Public Art Summer Mentorship program including facilitating studio visits, workshops, and regular check-ins.
In early 2021, artist Brandon Vickerd was awarded the contract for the DUKE Heights BIA Landmark Public Artwork. The winning artwork, entitled ‘The Heights’ was selected by a specially convened Selection Panel composed of arts professionals and community members.
Brandon Vickerd is a sculptor whose site-specific interventions, public performances and object-based sculptures act as a catalyst for critical thought and engagement with the physical world. Purposely diverse, his studio work straddles the line between high and low culture, acting as a catalyst for critical thought and addressing the failed promise of a modernist future predicated on boundless scientific advancement. Whether through craftsmanship, the creation of spectacle, or humor, the goal of his work is to provoke the viewer into questioning the dominate myth of progress ingrained in Western world views.
The Heights is a partial representation of the Elia Public School that once stood on the northeast corner of Keele St and Finch Ave W, rendered in Corten steel and cantilevered forty feet above the ground. With its innovative use of symbolic architecture, The Heights highlights the continuity between the past and the present. The sculpture evokes the history of the Keele and Finch area while celebrating the vibrant future of the community. This large-scale artwork incites a conversation around the evolution of the neighbourhood from its semi-rural history, to its life as an industrial centre, to the rapidly expanding urban centre that residents experience today. The Heights is specifically designed to enhance the experience of commuters along Keele St and Finch Ave W, whether they are viewing the artwork from a passing car, the sidewalk below or the bike lanes.
Situated at the northernmost part of the city of Toronto, DUKE Heights is one of the highest points of the city. Nestled between Downsview Park and York University, the area has great potential and is home to a wide variety of uses from residences through to an innovative mix of businesses. With the TTC, GO transit, the under-construction Finch West LRT and various highways surrounding the BIA, the community is better positioned than any other business area for strategic and planned growth.
DUKE Heights BIA began as the Dufferin Finch BIA in 2014. This newly created Business Improvement Area elected a group of business leaders who had a new vision for the area. A vision of change. Of opportunities and untapped potential. The DUKE Heights BIA is Ontario’s second largest BIA with over 2500 businesses employing over 32 000 people.
The DUKE Heights BIA’s primary objective is to promote the potential of the area, provide support to businesses in the area and inject new resources to tap into the potential of the community.
These goals will be expressed in physical form through a permanent work of art to be placed in the substantial median at one of the busiest and most important intersections in Toronto at Keele St and Finch Ave. The site has been identified and is governed by specific requirements for placement, loading and public safety.
The completed commission will be part of the daily experience for commuters and area residents and workers and will be experienced by a vast audience. It will symbolize the dynamism of the DUKE Heights BIA.
Above all, it is expected to: engage the community at large in the urban and employment neighborhood; serve as a memorable and welcoming landmark; serve as a source of pride for the community.
Katriina Campitelli (she/her)
Public Art Officer
647-458-5657
Katriina.Campitelli@toronto.ca
The City of Toronto is pleased to announce the successful artist team for the new park at 254 King Street East: Oluseye Ogunlesi, Odudu Umoessien, Ogbe David Ogbe, Chukwuebuka Stephen Idafum, Abel Omeiza, and Folusho Afun-Ogidan. The park design is inspired by the histories of Black migration that have shaped Toronto, and will include public art, seating, and a water feature.
More information about the project is available on the park project page.
The City of Toronto is pleased to announce that artist Roda Medhat has won the Overlea Boulevard public art competition. The commission will include sculptural and two-dimensional artworks integrated into the public realm along Overlea Boulevard between Thorncliffe Park Dr and Don Mills Rd. Roda is a Kurdish-Canadian artist who seeks to use sculpture to bridge cultural divides and promote a sense of shared human experience.
The eastern segment of Overlea Boulevard from Don Mills Road to Thorncliffe Park Drive is planned for upcoming road work. This includes the Charles H. Hiscott Bridge (“Overlea Bridge”), Don Mills Road/Gateway Boulevard intersection and Thorncliffe Park Drive East intersection. The bridge and sidewalks will be widened and redesigned to address concerns about personal safety.
The Overlea Bridge superstructure is planned for replacement in the next five years. This level of construction hasn’t happened since the 1960s when Don Mills Road was last reconstructed and the Overlea Bridge was first built. This part of Overlea Boulevard is a key link between Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park neighbourhoods.
Led by the City’s Transportation Services and Engineering & Construction Services Divisions, the Overlea Boulevard and Bridge Renewal is located across two of the City’s 31 Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (identified in the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020), where the City works with residents, businesses and agencies to make the changes the neighbourhood needs so that it works well for all its residents. The area is densely populated and home to a high number of residents born outside of Canada who speak Farsi, Urdu, Mandarin, Arabic, and Slovak.
The Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park neighbourhoods, while characterized by clusters of high-density high-rise apartment buildings, are also rich in open urban and green spaces. The bridge is adjacent to the Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute and Valley Park Middle Schools, and therefore many students cross the bridge on foot at least twice per day. Over the past several years, professional public consultations, workshops and Pop-up Citizen Forums seeking input from the community for desired design interventions, resulted in building successful partnerships with residents. The Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park Neighbourhood Plan that emerged from this process contains a series of recommendations grounded in the ideas of community members, with strategies to work towards implementation. Residents support several enhancements to make the infrastructure safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and promote a sense of neighbourhood identity. This would include interventions at Overlea and Thorncliffe Park Drive West to widen sidewalks, protect vulnerable road users, add vegetation, and incorporate beauty and identity through public art and streetscape design.
The bridge design is currently underway, led by the City’s Engineering and Construction Services Division. It is anticipated to be completed by Q2 2024 and tendered in Q3 2024. The roadworks design competition is currently ongoing. Construction under one contract (both road and bridge) is planned for 2024-2026. Public art funding is provided by the City of Toronto’s City Planning-Urban Design and Transportation Services divisions.
The communities of the Williams Treaty First Nations, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Huron-Wendat, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Kawartha Nishnawbe First Nation, and the Metis Nation of Ontario all have connections to this territory.
Additional information on Renewing Overlea Boulevard.
In fall 2022, a specially convened selection panel composed of arts professionals and community members met to evaluate the applications. Of the submissions, the panel determined a shortlist of six artists to proceed to the second stage of the competition. The selected artists will have their proposals evaluated in winter/spring 2023.
The shortlisted artists are:
The Etobicoke Civic Centre (ECC) is a new civic centre in the former suburb of Etobicoke located on a 13.8 acre property bounded by Kipling Avenue to the west, Bloor and Dundas Streets to the north and the TTC/CPR rail corridor to the southeast. The ECC is situated on the Ancestral territory and gathering place of the Anishnaabe, the Haudenosaunee, the Tionontati (Petun), the Wendat, and the treaty territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit.
Locally known as the Westwood Theatre Lands and “spaghetti junction,” the notoriously complicated “Six Point Interchange” where Kipling Avenue, Bloor Street and Dundas Street intersect is currently undergoing a major reconfiguration. Situated at the heart of the new community being built, the ECC will replace the existing municipal buildings at 399 The West Mall and incorporate a new civic hub and a civic square.
Following an international competition, design of the Civic Centre was awarded to internationally acclaimed architect, Henning Larsen and Adamson and Associate Architects and PMA Landscape Architects (the “Design Team”). Completion is expected for the winter of 2027/2028.
Four public art commissions are in design development having been awarded to Indigenous artists.
Conceived as an “integrated civic hub” this mixed-use development will feature municipal offices, a Council Chamber, civic offices and a citizen services centre, multi-purpose meeting rooms, a daycare centre, a community recreation centre with a pool and running track, a Toronto Public Library District Branch, an art gallery, and a large outdoor civic square surrounded by ample new sustainable landscaping. CreateTO, in collaboration with the City of Toronto’s Economic Development and Culture division and the Indigenous Affairs Office initiated the Public Art Program as an integral component in the design and development of the new ECC. The project is now being implemented by Corporate Real Estate Management of the City of Toronto, with the assistance of advisors Karen Mills and Rebecca Baird.
Ward 3: Etobicoke-Lakeshore
The City of Toronto is pleased to announce that artist Kellen Hatanaka has been selected for the Davisville Community & Aquatic Centre public art competition. Kellen is an artist, designer and illustrator based out of Stratford, Ontario. The forthcoming Davisville CAC will include indoor swimming pools and multi-purpose rooms to serve various community needs, particularly supporting students from nearby schools. The commission will include a new public artwork in the two-story atrium and custom mosaics throughout the building’s stairwells.
The Davisville CAC is a capital project of the City’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division (PFR), in partnership with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). The new City facility is located on the Davisville Junior P.S. site and will share space with the new school. The school will have access to the City swimming pools and the City will have access to the school’s gymnasium and underground parking garage.
The new City aquatic centre will be located in the Davisville Village neighbourhood, near the intersection of Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue. Designed by CS&P Architects, the centre will provide residents with a three-storey recreational aquatic facility, including a 6-lane, 25-metre lane pool, a leisure/tot pool with gender neutral washrooms and change rooms, multi-purpose spaces, and an active roof.
It will be a valued community space, inclusive and accessible to multi-generational residents that encourages health and well-being through its sports and recreational programming, informed by community consultation to date.
The City of Toronto intends to design and construct a Net Zero Energy Building to attain Net Zero Energy operations through incorporating strategies to deliver Energy, Water and Waste reduction.
Katriina Campitelli
Public Art Officer
647-458-5657
Katriina.Campitelli@toronto.ca
In fall 2022, a specially convened selection panel composed of arts professionals and community members met to evaluate the shortlisted applications. Three artists/artist teams have been selected for this project and will be announced shortly.
The WNYCC is a project by the City’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division and Children’s Services, and is being designed by the collaborative team of Maclennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA) as the prime consultant and landscape designer, and architectural sub-consultant Bortolotto, responsible for the Child Care Centre. The new WNYCC will provide residents with a state-of-the-art community and recreation facility, a licensed daycare and a new park. It will include an aquatic centre, a gymnasium with a walking track, a fitness centre with dance and aerobic studios and flexible multi-purpose rooms. It will be a place for the community to gather and socialize ; a place that cultivates creativity, health and well-being, inclusivity and accessibility for all ages.
The City of Toronto intends to design and construct a Net Zero Energy Building to attain Net Zero Energy operations through incorporating strategies to deliver energy, water and waste reduction.
The site is in close proximity to the Humber River and the project aims to make connections with the surrounding neighbourhoods and parks, including the Humber River Trail.
Ward 7 – Humber River-Black Creek
In spring 2022, a specially convened selection panel composed of arts professionals and community members met to evaluate the shortlisted applications. Five artists have been selected for this project and will be announced shortly.
The George Street Revitalization Project (GSRP) combines community, social and health supports and housing services in one connected city block. The proposed facility will replace the Seaton House emergency shelter and renew some vacant heritage residential sites such as the historically-significant Fegan House, with a new facility that will contain a City-operated long-term care home, transitional housing with supports, a transitional shelter for women and men, an emergency shelter for men, and a community hub for residents and neighbours. Construction is anticipated to start in summer 2022 and end in 2026.
Ward 13: Toronto Centre
