Artists: Steven Twigg, Curtia Wright, Leone McComas and Katrina Canedo
Photo Credit: Selina McCallum

The Summer 2021 I HeART Main Street program, featuring public art across Ontario produced in collaboration with 26 Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) and 50+ multidisciplinary artists, is in full swing! We are thrilled that this season’s activations can be explored using the brand new STEPS Public Art App, through which you can experience installations virtually, learn fun facts about the BIAs, and meet the talented artists involved. Visit the web app or download on your mobile devices to discover early summer activations in Toronto, Mississauga, and Timmins!

Be sure to follow #MainStreetArtChallenge and @STEPSpublicart for the latest in main street activations. I HeART Main Street is presented in partnership with RBC Royal Bank and the City of Toronto, and generously supported by the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative funded by the Government of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, and Ontario Arts Council. Interested in bringing main street activations to your community? Contact us today!

Photo Credit: Selina McCallum

As part of STEPS community parks activation series, we invite you to connect with Toronto’s Rowntree Mills Park with spoken word poet Zara Rahman through a series of free online poetry workshops! Participants will have a chance to showcase their poetry creations on the From Weeds We Grow Web App and contribute to a meaningful community-engaged project. Registration closes Friday, July 23rd at 4pm EDT.

Photo Credit: Sandra Nakata (Workshop Participant)

From Weeds We Grow is an interdisciplinary public art project that encourages exploration of our shared spaces while connecting community members to each other, the arts, and Rowntree Mills Park in Toronto’s Rexdale community. Last month, STEPS and Myseum hosted a workshop as part of the Myseum Intersections Festival to share how Indigenous peoples honour their relationship to the land through birch bark basket making. Facilitated by Lindsey Lickers, this workshop engaged participants with the first-hand experience of this craft, while also reflecting on individual connections, histories and relationships to the land and environment. Visit the virtual exhibit to view a selection of the beautiful baskets created by participants!

Artist: Jieun June Kim
Photo Credit: Selina McCallum

CreateSpace Public Art Residency projects are launching across Canada this summer, beginning with Jieun June Kim who organized a series of stunning murals with fellow artists to animate a laneway in North York. Coordinated with KJ Bit Collective, this project brightens the streets with colourful artwork while supporting the local businesses, artists and community members impacted by COVID-19. Visit this collaborative project in the laneway behind 4901 Yonge Street, Toronto!

CreateSpace is made possible by support from TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment, City of Toronto as part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021 – 2022, Partners in Art and MAWA.

Artist: Winnie Truong
Photo Credit: Mila Bright

If you missed the magical Yue Moon celebrations that livened up Toronto’s Chinatown with beautiful lanterns created with community workshop participants, as well as Animated Light (an award-winning digital animation installation), visit our new project page to relive the moments! 

Artist: Danielle Cole
Photo Credit: Sharon Mendonca

A place to dream, wander, play, and live – the public parks and greenspaces that surround Greenwich Village serve as inspiration for Shared Space. Artist Danielle Cole’s series of colourful artworks showcase local animals that act as playful substitutes for the people who are joining the community. 

More photos and details are coming soon, but you can check Danielle’s work in person at 847-871 Sheppard Ave W, Toronto and follow our social enterprise @thePATCHproject for more announcements! 

Supporting artists and arts workers, especially those who face barriers in accessing public art opportunities, is at the core of STEPS’ mandate. Below are some of the current opportunities on our radar.

• Artist Call: Mentorship Program, Visual Arts Nova Scotia (Ddln: July 15, 2021)
• Artist Call: Winter Wonderland, Junction BIA (Ddln: July 16, 2021)
• Call for EOI: Public Art Opps at CMHC, Ottawa (Ddln: July 16, 2021)
• Workshops: Introduction to Mural Art, Mural Routes (Ddln: July 19, 2021)
• Ideas From I, Youth Photographer/Filmmaker Workshops (Ddln: July 19, 2021)
• Artist Call: Big on Bloor, Murals on Residential Doors (Ddln: July 19, 2021)
• Artist Call: ArtWorksTO NEXT Stream (Ddln: July 25, 2021)
• Artist Call: 2SLGBTQ+ Digital Artist Residency, Brampton (Ddln: July 25, 2021)
• Artist Call: Vanier Gateway Public Art, City of Ottawa (Ddln: July 26, 2021)
• Call for Submissions: Cobalt Connects, Mural Project (Ddln: July 26, 2021)
• Artist Call: RE:DE(SIGN), Burlington Public Art (Ddln: July 20, 2021)
• Artist Call: Public Art Mural, Lakeshore Village BIA (Ddln: July 31, 2021)
• Artist Call: Diversity and Inclusion Mural, Town of Aurora (Ddln: August 13, 2021)
• Indigenous Arts Award Nominations, Toronto Arts Foundation (Ddln: August 16, 2021)
• Community Arts Award Nominations, Toronto Arts Foundation (Ddln: August 16, 2021)
• Webinar: Solutions for Social Isolation, Tamarack Institute (August 18, 2021)
• Artist Call: ArtWorksTO Foundation Stream (Ddln: August 22, 2021)
• Call for Submissions: Shared Terrain, DesignTO (Ddln: September 1, 2021)
• Call for Submissions: Pickering Community Banner Program (Ddln: September 9, 2021)
• Call for Submissions: DesignTO Symposium (Ddln: September 24, 2021)
• Community Building Fund’s Capital Stream, OTF (Ddln: September 29, 2021)
• Indigenous Arts & Culture Partnerships Fund (Ddln: September 30, 2021)
• Call for Independent Projects, DesignTO (Ddln: October 8, 2021)
• Artist-Presenter Collaboration Grant, OAC (Ddln: October 28, 2021)
• Indigenous Arts Projects Grant, Toronto Arts Council (Rolling Deadline)
• Richmond Street Cycle Track Art Project, StART  (Rolling Deadline)
• Artist Call: Community Public Art Project, Burlington (Rolling Deadline)

Thanks to contributions from community members like you, STEPS has supported over 100 public art initiatives and made over $300,000 in direct payments to Canadian artists and designers since the start of the pandemic.

Consider making a donation to support this important work!