New App Launch for Main Street Activations!

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!

From Weeds We Grow: Poetry Workshop Series 

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 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.

From Weeds We Grow:
Honouring our Connections Virtual Exhibit

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 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!

CreateSpace: ShowLoveTO Mural

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.

Experience Yue Moon 2021 Online

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! 

Hoarding Exhibit Highlight: Shared Space

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!

External Opportunities

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, VANS (Ddln: Jul 15, 2021)
• Call for EOI: Public Art Opps at CMHC, Ottawa (Ddln: Jul 16, 2021)
• Workshops: Intro to Mural Art, Mural Routes (Ddln: Jul 19, 2021)
• Ideas From I for Youth Photographers/Filmmakers (Ddln: Jul 19, 2021)
• Artist Call: Big on Bloor Murals (Ddln: Jul 19, 2021)
• Artist Call: ArtWorksTO NEXT Stream (Ddln: Jul 25, 2021)
• Artist Call: 2SLGBTQ+ Artist Residency, Brampton (Ddln: Jul 25, 2021)
• Artist Call: Vanier Gateway Public Art, Ottawa (Ddln: Jul 26, 2021)
• Call for Submissions: Cobalt Connects Mural (Ddln: Jul 26, 2021)
• Artist Call: RE:DE(SIGN), Burlington Public Art (Ddln: Jul 20, 2021)
• Artist Call: Public Art Mural, Lakeshore Village BIA (Ddln: Jul 31, 2021)
• Artist Call: Diversity & Inclusion Mural, Aurora (Ddln: Aug 13, 2021)
• Indigenous Arts Award Nominations, TAF (Ddln: Aug 16, 2021)
• Community Arts Award Nominations, TAF (Ddln: Aug 16, 2021)
• Webinar: Solutions for Social Isolation (Aug 18, 2021)
• Artist Call: ArtWorksTO Foundation Stream (Ddln: Aug 22, 2021)
• Call for Submissions: Shared Terrain, DesignTO (Ddln: Sept 1, 2021)
• Call for Submissions: Pickering Banner (Ddln: Sept 9, 2021)
• Call for Submissions: DesignTO Symposium (Ddln: Sept 24, 2021)
• Community Building Fund’s Capital Stream, OTF (Ddln: Sept 29, 2021)
• Indigenous Arts & Culture Partnerships Fund (Ddln: Sept 30, 2021)
• Call for Independent Projects, DesignTO (Ddln: Oct 8, 2021)
• Artist-Presenter Collaboration Grant, OAC (Ddln: Oct 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)

Building Community During COVID

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!