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News

Call for 2022 Residency Artists

Calling emerging and mid-career level artists! Apply to the 2022 CreateSpace Public Art Residency, a national program supporting Black, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and racialized artists in realizing projects in their community. Explore last year’s residency and take part in this year’s program which will run from March to December.

CreateSpace is funded by the City of Toronto as part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021–2022, TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment, and Canada Council for the Arts.

Apply by January 31, 2022

Public Art Forum in Full Swing!

A gif of screenshots from artist Lori Blondeau's online keynote speech. The images feature a presentation of artwork alongside an image of the artist speaking.

The CreateSpace Public Art Forum began earlier this month with virtual workshops by artist facilitators and a special Keynote Speaker event with Lori Blondeau. This program is an opportunity to develop public art practices, engage with peers and established artists, and produce artistic responses to the workshops that challenge inequities existing in public space, and an example of STEPS' artist capacity building initiatives.

Supported by Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, and CIBC, the forum runs until January 30, 2022 with programming accessible to the public.

Learn More

Events/Opportunities

Photograph of artist Paddy Leung working on a row of beautiful Chinese lanterns arranged in a row on a table.

Lunar New Year Celebrations (Late Jan)
Yue Moon 完滿: Tiger With Wings 如虎添翼 celebrates 180+ artworks by workshop participants culminating in lanterns animating Toronto’s Chinatown. This exhibit is part of the 2022 DesignTO Festival.

Close up photograph of a wall mural which features large, block letters painted with multicoloured diagonal lines against a black background.

Artmaking Workshops (Sundays in Feb)
Join Bareket Kezwer for family-friendly virtual workshops in support of a new mural coming to the Toronto Beaches Sandbox Community Hub! If the event you would like to attend is full, email us to be placed on a waitlist!

Close up photograph of a storefront with the sign 'Brampton.Downtown'. The storefront window is decorated with illustrations of yummy sweets set against a pale pink background.

Brampton 1-Minute Community Surveys
STEPS and the City of Brampton want to hear from you! Share your feedback on the Traffic Box Art Pilot Project and Window Activation Project, and how public art impacts the streets of Brampton.

A photograph of a ground mural painted in geometric and organic shapes, painted in shades of blue and orange painted on the main street. The artist and community members pose beside it.

I HeART Main Street BIA Program (Ongoing)
Join the 50+ Business Improvement Areas across Ontario who have accessed artist fee subsidies and placemaking support. We still have a few spaces for Spring 2022 activations. Apply to the program today to build stronger communities through public art!

Public Art Near You!

A photograph of a large scale wall mural on the side of a building. The mural features a winding retro film role, with imagery of people, birds, insects and animals.

Leslie Nymark Mural Unveiling

Congratulations to Jessey (Phade) Pacho, collaborating artists, Toronto Community Housing, Tridel, and Leslie Nymark residents on the completion of a community-driven mural! This project celebrates the stories of new and returning tenants of this North York community.

An image of a building with window murals that feature illustrations of a colourful cityscape.

NoVacancy Storefront Activations

Spot 4 new vibrant storefronts by the talents of 7 artists and youth along Finch Ave W, North York in DUKE Heights! This project is supported by the City of Toronto’s StrollTO initiative and STEPS’ I HeART Main Street BIA program for pandemic recovery.

Building Community During COVID

Close up photograph of artist Wenting Li drawing window murals with a white marker. The mural features winter themed imagery combined with illustrations of plants and animals.

Thanks to contributions from community members like you, STEPS has supported over 150 public art initiatives and made over $650,000 in direct payments to Canadian artists and designers since the start of the pandemic, including over $450,000 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.

Impacts of Anti-Black Racism Survey, Nia Centre (On-going)
8th Annual RISE Artist Summit (Jan 28-30, 2022)
Artist Call, FoodShare Annual Block Party (Ddln: Jan 30, 2022)
Digital Peer-Learning Incubator, YTB Gallery (Ddln: Jan 31, 2022)
My Main Street Placemaking Funding Program (Ddln: Feb 1, 2022)
Artist Call, Mount Pleasant Community (Ddln: Feb 7, 2022)
Artist Call, KIAC Artist Residency (Ddln: Feb 15, 2022)
Exhibition Call, ODD Gallery (Ddln: Feb 15, 2022)

More Public Art Opportunities

Additional Community Resources

Featured artists and photographers in this month's issue:
Shelby Gagnon, Paddy Leung, Meegan Lim, Jessey Pacho, Moises Frank, Alex Popelavskis, Whyishnave Suthagar, Moonlight Murals Collective, Tee Fergus, Kseniya Tsoy, Yuliya Tsoy, Wenting Li, May Shi, Gabrielle Lasporte, Selina McCallum, Aditi Kashyap, Amye St John, Annmarie Claudette, Malachi Watson-Narcisse, Michel Nwoye-Vincent

Connect with STEPS

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. 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