I HeART Main Street 2022

Entering the third year of I HeART Main Street, this program supports Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) of all sizes across Ontario to provide meaningful opportunities for Canadian artists and strengthen business-community relationships. Participating BIAs and artists will have a chance to win prizes valued at $30,000 for future placemaking initiatives to recognize exemplary projects that engage communities, transform main streets, and inspire innovation. Below you will find links that lead to our Ontario public art projects.

Project at a glance

Location: Various cities across Ontario

BIAs: Bloor Annex, Bloor West Village, Chinatown, Cooksville, Clarkson Village, Downtown Bench Beamsville, Downtown Barrie, Downtown Bench Beamsville, Downtown Bolton, Downtown Brockville, Downtown Greater Napanee, Downtown Milton, Downtown Timmins, Downtown Whitby, DUKE Heights, Eglinton Way, Elora, Mimico by the Lake, Mount Dennis, Oakwood Village, Ottawa Street, Pape Village, Rosedale, Trenton, Upper Village, Uptown Yonge, ZAC Vanier and more!

Artists: Wenting Li, Hour Studio Space (James Lai and Alexis Venerus), Kayla Buium, Jenn Kitagawa, Ailsa Craigen, Asli Alin, Enna Kim, Vivian Rosas, Justine Wong, Whyishnave Suthagar, Tee Fergus, Kseniya Tsoy, Yulia Tsoy, Moonlight Murals Collective (Yasaman Mehrsa, Melika Saeeda, Ghazaleh Rastgar), Farida Zaman, Yen Linh Thai, Monica Wickeler, Sara Sarhangpour, Sue Todd, Joseph Sagaj, Saroja Ponnambalam, Jacquee Lavallee, Yen Linh Thai, Sima Naseem, Jenn Kitagawa, Katie Green, Marlisha Lewis, Alessandra Vai, Oksana Hawrylak, Christopher Bennett, Meaghan Claire Kehoe, Naomi Smith, Wayne Simpson, Kayla Buium, Mehtap Mertdogan, Pam Lostracco, Earth Sky Collective, and more!

Project Photographer/Videographer: May Shi, Marc Beach, Kyle Jarencio, Anushay Sheikh

Year: 2022

Services: I HeART Main Street Program

About the Program

I HeART Main Street is a program that started at the height of the 2020 pandemic to provide Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) with the supports they need to activate main streets across Ontario through creative placemaking and public art. From hiring artists and building staff capacity, to showcasing local business stories and engaging communities through one-of-a-kind public artwork, this program provides paid opportunities to Canadian artists while fostering community through challenging times.

This year’s supports include:

• Pro-bono creative placemaking and public art services
• Connections to multidisciplinary artists and creatives
• Artist fee subsidies
• Audio-visual documentation
• Promotional tools and features on the STEPS Public Art App

If you are a BIA or business organization interested in bringing more public art to your neighbourhood, learn more our main street recovery services and apply to the I HeART Main Street program. You can also follow along @STEPSPublicArt and #MainStreetArtChallenge for the latest project installations and announcements.

I HeART Main Street Public Art Activations

The new year started off on a high note with amazing winter-themed window murals activating the main streets of Bloor West Village and Rosedale with local businesses! Other main street celebrations included Lunar New Year with Toronto’s Chinatown BIA (one of the previous 2020 I HeART Main Street award winners) and NoVacancy storefront activations with DUKE Heights BIA as part of the City of Toronto’s StrollTO initiative.

I HeART Main Street Awards and Recognition

Congratulations to the following Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) and artists for being selected as the winners of this round of I HeART Main Street! The winners were selected by an Award Committee consisting of local cultural and business leaders, as well as community representatives.

Community Engagement Award Winner
Oakwood Village BIA for the projects Weaving the Future by Moonlight Murals Collective and mosaic tables by Mehtap Mertdogan and Jennifer Chin.

Innovative Award Winner
Bloor Annex BIA for Interconnection Audio Stories: Knowledge, Myths and Legends by audio artist Saroja Ponnambalam with original mural artwork by Indigenous mural artist and storyteller Joseph Sagaj and Indigenous storyteller Jacque Lavallee.

Transformation Award Winner
Downtown Brockville BIA with artist Oksana Hawrylak who produced a one-block fence banner for the community.

Project Partners and Supporters

I HeART Main Street, presented in partnership with RBC Royal Bank 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.