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Happy Pride from STEPS!

Okuda San Miguel's Equilibrium Mural in Toronto
Join STEPS this month and all year-round in celebrating and empowering the works and achievements of LGBTQQIP2SAA+ artists and community members. Check out free events happening in your city through Pride at Work’s ProPride 2022: Resurgence, explore public art projects such as the Celebrating Queer Black Lives Mural, last summer’s Queer Gardens, and the 2018 Equilibrium Mural, and dive into learning resources (including podcasts, articles, and toolkits). 

STEPS Blog: Indigenous Placemaking in Public Libraries

The Calgary Public Library taken from above that shows wooden staircases and floors and sculptures. There is the STEPS logo in the top left corner and a teal blob graphic on the bottom left corner with text reading "Thought Leadership STEPS Blog Series, Indigenous Placemaking in Public Libraries"

In recognizing and celebrating the contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples for National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, 2022, the latest STEPS Thought Leadership Blog covers emerging public art projects that address Truth and Reconciliation specific to libraries, archives, and cultural memory institutions. 

Read the full article to learn about Indigenous-led placemaking, group art activities, and advisory committees taking place in public libraries across Turtle Island.

Continue Reading

I HeART Main Street Enters Third Summer!

Hear from some of the artists who took part in #MainStreetArtChallenge with Business Improvement Areas (BIAs).
Since the start of the pandemic, I HeART Main Street presented in partnership with RBC, continues to support Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) and artists in bringing public art to main streets to boost economic recovery and community engagement. This program is accepting applications to bring creative summer placemaking ideas to life! Rewatch the information session, hear from artists about the impact of public art, and apply by June 28, 2022.

Call for STEPS Board Members

A blue graphic with the STEPS logo in the corner and white text in the middle that says "Apply Today! STEPS Board of Directors, Seeking up to Five new directors with unique skill-sets and passion for the arts!
With an ambitious growth plan for the next five years, STEPS is expanding our Board of Directors comprised of deeply passionate and hardworking individuals who provide strategic foresight and expertise to the organization. If you are passionate about the arts and meet the qualifications, consider applying by August 8, 2022!

Events/Opportunities

A Black artist painting with a little kid at a park
Multiple Dates (July-Sept)
From Weeds We Grow Park Events
Take part in free visual arts and creative writing workshops, storytelling, Indigenous teachings, and park walks! This program is a public art project connecting communities to the arts, each other, and public spaces.
A digital collage artwork by Queen Kukoyi of a side profile of a Black woman with overlapping imagery of colourful gear-looking circles and a sci-fi-esque background.
Free Accessibility in Public Art Videos
Missed the last accessibility panel discussion? View the collection of past virtual talks with artists and cultural workers as offered through CreateSpace and supported by the Bulmash-Siegel Foundation.

Public Art Near You!

Artist Saroja in a park and recording audio in the nature

Interconnection Audio Stories
(Toronto, Ontario)

Visit the Interconnection Mural at Paul Martel Park in the Bloor Annex and use the STEPS App to hear more about the legends and knowledge of Indigenous worldview, culture, and ancient stories! 
 

Moving Forward Mural
(Mississauga, Ontario)

Artist Matthew Salisbury animates the city’s diversity, architecture and community energy in this interior mural at the Erin Mills BMO Branch as part of the BMO National Mural Series.

Building Community During COVID

A group photo of artists, community members, STEPS, and project partners of Safe Flight Home, a community arts project in North York, Ontario. The group is standing in front of Downsview Park TTC Subway Station with the glass building protected by bird-safe white vinyl window decals of birds.
Thanks to contributions from community members like you, STEPS has supported over 150 public art initiatives and made over $510,000 in direct payments to Canadian artists and designers since the start of the pandemic, including $420,000 in 2021 alone.

Consider making a donation to support this important work! 
Donate Today

Resources for You

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

External Opportunities

More Public Art Opportunities
Additional Community Resources
Featured artists, creatives and photographers in this month's issue:
Okuda San Miguel, Adrian Hayles, Kayla Buium, Stephanie Bellefleur, Sharon Mendonca, Curtia Wright, Arjun Lal, Chris Perez, Sue Todd, Ailsa Craigen, Aidan Kenny, Anushay Sheikh, Joseph Sagaj, Jacque Lavallee, Saroja Ponnambalam, May Shi, Matt Salisbury, Mila Bright, Fatspatrol, Kyle Jarencio, Queen Kukoyi, Zara Rahman, Selina McCallum, Sean Martindale, Diego Rojas

Connect with STEPS

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The STEPS office is based in the Ancestral Wendat territory and the shared territory of the Anishinaabeg and the Haudenosaunee, covered by The Dish With One Spoon treaty, and later, Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands. As a national organization, we acknowledge and are grateful for this land on which we work, play and create, that is still home to Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island.

STEPS is committed to cultivating safe spaces for Indigenous voices to be heard. We encourage you to learn more about the land where you reside at native-land.ca

Thanks to our Funders and Supporters

Three rows of organization logos, including Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Government of Canada, Ontario Government, City of Toronto, Ontario Trillium Foundation, RBC, TD, CIBC, Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts, and Partners in Art
Copyright © 2022 STEPS Public Art, All rights reserved.


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