I HeART Main Street Support for BIAs
I HeART Main Street (also known as Main Street Art Challenge), by STEPS Public Art and RBC, helps Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) and local artists across Canada activate main streets with public art, placemaking, and cultural planning. Since 2020, I HeART Main Street has engaged 50+ BIAs and 220+ artists to create 200 public art installations across Canadian commercial main streets.
We believe BIAs and local businesses are the heart of our communities. We also know public art has the power to bring communities together, increase tourism and economic development, and make public spaces more safe and welcoming. If you’re a BIA or municipality interested in transforming your main streets into colourful canvases for public art and community engagement, contact us to get the conversation started!
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About I HeART Main Street
Creative placemaking and public art services
STEPS provides tailored coaching to help BIAs generate ideas, support logistics planning, connect with artists and other resources to realize their creative visions. We encourage you to think big – this is your chance to experiment with new forms of public art and community engagement to turn your main street into a cultural destination!
Depending on your budget and interested stream of support, some ideas include:
- Quick turnaround projects: These are concise and straightforward projects with a tight timeline and smaller budget. This includes projects like decals, window animations, electrical box wraps and many more!
- Tourism-focused projects: These projects enhance tourism through public art and placemaking, with a primary goal of attracting visitors and increasing area awareness. Examples include: Selfie stations, local story sharing, and wayfinding.
- Community engagement projects: These projects include a community engagement component, such as events, arts workshops, surveys, or co-created artworks.
- Mural projects: These include unique outdoor murals featuring artists from equity-deserving communities. These painted murals can be on walls, the ground, or in other public spaces!
- Large-scale projects: This stream supports a larger-scale flagship project with a stronger urban planning focus and a lasting impact on the community.
- Innovative solutions to urban challenges: This project centers on innovative approaches to address urban challenges, including community needs and heritage preservation. The primary objective is to utilize novel approaches, technology, multidisciplinary collaboration, and sliding-scale art and placemaking initiatives to tackle various challenges.
Connections to artists and designers
We have a network of talented Canadian artists and designers who work across mediums to bring your ideas to life. If you have connections to local artists in your community, we’d love to work with them!
STEPS is committed to amplifying the voices of Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Métis), Black, newcomer, LGBTQQIP2SAA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit, asexual, allies, along with additional sexual orientations and gender identities), racialized, disabled, and equity-deserving artists and communities.
Photo/Video and Promotional Services
STEPS supports BIAs in visually capturing photos and/or videos of their activations by hired documentarians. STEPS also provides promotional marketing support to raise awareness about BIA projects for cross-promotion and storytelling.
“STEPS is like the coach of the team and helps manage and guide the direction of a project extremely well. Every time we work with STEPS, I learn much more about the art world and working with artists.”
Eligibility
Are you a Business Improvement Area (BIA) or community group interested in creative placemaking to create welcoming main streets for residents and visitors? Whether you have a public art vision in mind or don’t know where to start, we’re here to walk you through the process. From facilitating artist calls and community engagements to navigating artist contracts and installations, we have the experience and expertise to accomplish your community goals.
Schedule a call with us today to revitalize your main streets!
Artist Credit: Omar Hopkinson
Image credit: Brian Coleman for Downtown Milton BIA
Participants
I HeART Main Street 2024
I HeART Main Street 2024 is bringing more public art to communities near you! Highlights include:
- Streetcase Showcase video production by Mainspring Media for Downtown Carleton Place BIA in Ottawa, Ontario
- Valentine-themed window murals for Ottawa Street BIA in Hamilton, Ontario
- Painted planters and benches by four artists for Roncesvalles Village BIA in Toronto, Ontario that stretch the 2 kilometre main street
This year is presented in partnership with RBC through RBC, and generously supported by Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council.
I HeART Main Street 2023
Learn more about the 2023 public art projects happening across the country as part of I HeART Main Street! This year is presented in partnership with RBC, and generously supported by Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and funding provided by the Government of Ontario.
Highlights include:
- Short documentary film by Anushay Sheikh with Downtown Barrie BIA (Barrie, Ontario)
- Traffic box animation by Nyle Migizi Johnston with Streetsville BIA (Ottawa, Ontario)
- Community ground mural by WKNDRS with South Granville BIA (Vancouver, British Columbia)
- Window light projections by Ballinran Entertainment with Downtown Port Colborne BIA (Port Colborne, Ontario)
- Digital printed mural by Kawama Kasutu with North End Business Association (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
I HeART Main Street 2022
Explore all the 2022 summer and fall public art activations for main street recovery! This year is presented in partnership with RBC and generously supported by Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and funding provided by the Government of Ontario.
Highlights include:
- Street pole and utility box animations by Katherine Theresa Montigny with Downtown Timmins BIA (Timmins, Ontario)
- Painted picnic tables by Alessandra Vai, Gaby Franks and local students with Downtown Bolton BIA (Bolton, Ontario)
- Butterfly light and motion installation by Meghan Cheng with Riverside BIA (Toronto, Ontario)
- Large mural installation by Kellen Hatanaka with Downtown Stratford BIA (Stratford, Ontario)
- Mural installation by Omar (Oms) Hopkinson with Downtown Milton BIA (Milton, Ontario)
I HeART Main Street 2021
Check out the 2021 summer and fall public art activations that happened across Ontario! This year is presented in partnership with RBC and ShowLoveTO produced by the City of Toronto, is generously supported by the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative funded by the Government of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, funding provided by the Government of Ontario, and Ontario Trillium Foundation for activations in Peel Region.
Highlights include:
- Two murals by Jocelyn Kearns with Belle River – On the Lake BIA (Belle-River, Ontario)
- Alleyway and patio murals by GETSO and Chris Perez with Downtown Whitby BIA (Whitby, Ontario)
- Parkette murals by Justine Wong and Toko Hosoya with Toronto Chinatown BIA (Toronto, Ontario)
- Street pole animations by Sima Naseem and Yen Linh Thai with Clarkson Village BIA (Mississauga, Ontario)
- Fence activation by Oksana Hawrylak with Downtown Brockville BIA (Brockville, Ontario)
- Paper and light window installation by Hour Studio Space with Bloor West Village BIA (Toronto, Ontario)
I HeART Main Street 2020
See the 2020 public art activations in the inaugural launch of I HeART Main Street (also known as Main Street Art Challenge) that took place across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) during the COVD-19 pandemic. This year was presented in partnership with RBC.
Highlights include:
- Hoarding exhibit by Lindsay Hill with Malton BIA (Mississauga, Ontario)
- CafeTO patios by Duncan C. McLean and Fatspatrol (Toronto, Ontario)
- Ground mural by Gosia Komorski and Leslieville BIA (Toronto, Ontario)
STEPS provided the artistic, administrative, and visioning support; their resources allowed for passion to be clarified and articulated into a professional project that is available for our growing networks! We now are home to an incredible piece of public-facing art!
Supporters
I HeART Main Street 2024 is presented in partnership with STEPS and RBC, and generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Ontario.
