Inspired Art Impact
Main Streets are areas that offer essential economic, social, and cultural functions and opportunities for communities. Recently, they have faced many challenges, including changing consumer behaviour, increasing social issues, and more, which COVID-19-related impacts have exacerbated.
Through in-depth research, interviews, and analysis, STEPS and our partners and collaborators at Toronto Metropolitan University will identify ways to improve the main street vibrancy, aiming to provide metrics that demonstrate the value of public art to decision-makers.
The study intends to develop and pilot a toolkit that STEPS, central street community groups, Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), and city developers working to revive main streets and core spaces in cities can implement to evaluate and measure the impacts of public art projects.
If you require any project information provided to you in a different format or language, please contact us.
Artist Credit: Oksana Hawrylak for I HeART Main Street
Photo Credit: Marc Beach Photography
Inspired Art Impact: Main Street Toolkit
Through research, community interviews and public art pilot study projects with Toronto Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), Inspired Art Impact is a report and toolkit for knowledge sharing and to support the development of public art initiatives within main streets.
Download the Inspired Art Impact Toolkit to help you implement public art projects in your main streets, as well as evaluate and measure the community impact of the projects. We thank all of the contributors who took part in the pilot studies, development, writing and design of this toolkit, including Toronto Metropolitan University, Riverside BIA, Eglinton Hill BIA, Pam Lostracco and the team at STEPS.
The toolkit was officially launched on June 29, 2023 through a virtual presentation that presented the data collection and analysis tools. Watch the recorded event with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation below and access the full transcript (PDF).
Learn more about STEPS Public Art’s cultural planning work for similar projects and cultural research.
BIA Public Art Pilot Studies
Riverside BIA
Location: 721 Queen St E, Toronto
Riverside BIA worked with artist Meghan Cheng to create You Were Here, an immersive public art installation in Toronto’s East End neighbourhood.
This installation includes hundreds of 3D-printed butterflies and interacts with community members by lighting up as passersby walk past the installation exhibited in a local business storefront.
This public art project joined the 40+ public art installations weaved throughout the Riverside community. A self-guided walking tour via the STEPS Public Art App was created to highlight the neighbourhood’s art-filled streets to further engage residents and visitors. This tour is best viewed in the mobile app via Google Play and App Store.
You Were Here is also supported by I HeART Main Street and the CreateSpace Public Art Residency.
Eglinton Hill BIA
Location: Eglinton Ave W and Keele St, Toronto
Eglinton Hill BIA and local artist Moises Frank brought a new community mural called Sharing Stories of Migration to Toronto’s Eglinton Hill neighbourhood. Community surveys were conducted to gather feedback about the mural concept and understand what public art means to residents and local business owners.
This project is also supported by STEPS’ I HeART Main Street Program.
Community Events
Past Events
- June 29, 2023: Inspired Art Impact Launch: Assessing the Potential of Public Art on Main Streets
- May 11, 2023: Mural Unveiling and Celebration with Eglinton Hill BIA and Moises Frank
- October 20, 2022: You Were Here Unveiling with Riverside BIA and Meghan Cheng
Funders and Partners
This project is made possible through our partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University. We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the City of Toronto, MITACS, RBC Royal Bank, the Government of Ontario, Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts. The City of Toronto’s Main Street Innovation Fund is funded by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
