New ArtworxTO Free exhibitions and programs cropping up all over Toronto

TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2022 /CNW/ – ArtworxTO, Toronto’s Year of Public Art: 2021–2022, announces new exhibitions at Hubs across the city, plus additional new projects, events and programs. Over the next month free exhibitions are opening at ArtworxTO Hubs located at Union Station, Cloverdale Common, Scarborough Town Centre and Downsview Park, featuring contemporary art from local and international artists.

The ArtworxTO Hubs are one of many things people can see and do as part of Toronto’s Year of Public Art. There are also self-guided, mobile public art tours powered by Driftscape, plus events and programming across the city. A full list of exhibitions and events can be found at artworxto.ca, along with an interactive art map and favourites tool.

ArtworxTO Hub WEST | Cloverdale Common
March 1 – Until May 29

HOME(LAND) is a series of three  multimedia exhibitions examining how the idea of land is connected to people’s sense of identity, belonging, and home across and between races, regions, cultures, and nations with connections to the four elemental energies from which all of life is created: water, earth, fire and air.

HOME(LAND): Terra Firma (until May 29) is the second in the series. Through contemporary artwork from local and international artists, the exhibition tackles the issues of  bio-politics, environmental governance, borders, displacement, and erasure from a perspective of individual and community resilience.  It features work by Alexandra Gelis, Dana Claxton, Helio Eudoro, MUSE Arts and Nava Waxman.

ArtworxTO Hub EAST | Scarborough Town Centre
February 2 – October / Multiple dates

Scarborough: The Backbone is a dynamic celebration of the arts and the local community. Curated by The Spoken Soul Collective’s Paulina O’Kieffe-Anthony, Dwayne Morgan, and Randell Adjei, Scarborough Town Centre becomes a canvas to celebrate visual and performing arts while connecting to the public through interactive activities. The richness of Scarborough is highlighted through food, fashion, art, music and more.

New installations open this month, including Scarborough Chic by Anthony Gebrehiwot, Scarborough Slang by Omar Hopkinson and Joseph Adinkrah, The Backbone Slide by Kwame Delfish, Scarborough Heroes: A History in Colour by Joseph Osei Bonsu. Plus, online projects Taste of Scarborough and Scarborough Sounds.  

ArtworxTO Hub SOUTH | Union Station
Opening March 2 – TBD

I am land  is a three-part exhibition series that brings provocative and large-scale artworks to Toronto’s Union Station. In the second chapter of the year-long series, I am land that remembers (opening March 2) investigates how shared memories are made and the artist’s role as chronicler.

Exploring monuments and archives, the exhibition questions what we remember, how we remember, and who makes those choices. It reconsiders official history with Iván Argote’s examination of public monuments, Nour Bishouty’s focus on impermanence, and Miles Rufelds and Tania Willard’s critical take on archives.

It also asks why some stories are predominant while others are untold. Artists Venuca Evanán Vivanco, Glenna Cardinal, and artist duo MADEYOULOOK celebrate oral and visual storytelling, while Shellie Zhang traces a transitory space of remembrance with her work.

ArtworxTO Hub NORTH | Downsview
February 16 – May 1

IMAGInuity (February 16 – May 1) is a dialogue of past and future Black ingenuity curated by Queen Kukoyi and Nico Taylor of Black Speculative Art Movement Canada, in collaboration with VR artist SPATIAL-ESK. IMAGInuity is a three-part exhibition:

• Part 1: Inventor Showcase (in-person) – Feb. 16
• Part 2: Visioning Sessions (online) – Feb. 19 – 20
• Part 3: Exhibition of IMAGInuity: Museum of the Future 3022 (in-person & online) – Mar. 23

IMAGInuity is a part of ArtworxTO’s ALL CITY SHINE, a year-long BIPOC street art exhibition curated by Danilo Deluxo at Downsview Park. From a massive 360 ft. mural to surrounding architecture, to digital works, artist interviews and multidisciplinary pieces, it uses public spaces as a canvas of expression for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and BIPOC artists to shine individually and collectively. Also on view now is work by Curtia Wright, Danilo Deluxo, Elicser Elliot, Jacquie Comrie, Kreecha, MEDIAH, Moises Frank(Luvs), Ness Lee, Yung Yemi, and Jieun June Kim.

Other ArtworxTO happenings

Community is… by Hiba Abdallah
Located at all four ArtworxTO Hubs, Community is… is a site-specific, text-based installation. The project highlights each neighbourhood’s unique disposition with large scale text banners that declare and celebrate the meaning of community.

A Place to Put Your Things by Sandra Brewster | The Power Plant
February 5 – September 30

This sculpture is Sandra Brewster’s first public artwork. The piece invites participants to enjoy, “a place to rest and be at peace, to unburden oneself, and simply sway at one’s own pace and rhythm. Play being a central element of the work, the sculpture connects to an inner child and can be engaged by children and adults alike,” says the artist. Facing Lake Ontario, a swing gives new purpose to the location in which it is installed, and its movements can be felt from both near and far. Project funded by an ArtworxTO Partner Grant.

Talking Earth by Santee Smith | Gardiner Museum
May 2022

A new commission to honour the ongoing Indigenous presence on Turtle Island, Santee’ Smith’s installation Talking Earth is an embodied experimental entanglement between forms which honours Haudenosaunee pottery making. It’s a lived encounter with clay, etched from our memory of and from land, ancestors and projected into a present day space. The installation offers a site for education/teachings, contemplation and reconnection to earth. The juxtaposition between traditional inspired material and new media and performance, bridges ancient to present and fracture to intactness. Project funded by an ArtworxTO Partner Grant.

Dinner Party by Jieun (June) Kim | The Artois Collective | Union Station
Opening February 22

Stella Artois has partnered with the City of Toronto’s ArtworxTO program for a year-long initiative, to celebrate Toronto’s multicultural communities through original artwork and culinary activations across the city. The initiative, titled The Artois Collective, highlights Stella Artois’ commitment to diversity, fostering community and helping to build togetherness through the culinary, and visual arts.

As part of the partnership, Stella Artois has commissioned four artists to create murals throughout the city to support the continued development of artists in the community, providing equitable opportunities and improving access to public art.

The program’s first original  mural, unveiled today, was created by Jieun (June) Kim, a Toronto artist selected for her love of murals and illustration art, as well as her passion for creating safe spaces across the city through artwork. Dinner Party spotlights the city’s diverse landscape coming together to savour our city. The design was inspired by Jieun’s experience moving to Canada from Korea and how sharing a meal with friends from different cultures, and introducing her Canadian friends to her own Korean traditions, allowed her to connect with her new home. Dinner Party is on display at Bay St. Concourse, Union Station.

ABOUT ArtworxTO

ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art, 2021–2022 is a year-long celebration of Toronto’s exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it. Working closely with artists and Toronto’s arts institutions, the City of Toronto is delivering major public art projects and commissions, citywide, from fall 2021 to fall 2022. Supporting local artists and new artworks that reflect Toronto’s diversity, ArtworxTO is creating more opportunities for Torontonians to engage with art in their everyday lives. This year, explore your city and discover creativity and community–everywhere. Visit artworxTO.ca for full details

ArtworxTO Hubs are spaces for artistic and community activity led by the next generation of curators, collectives and artists. Through exhibitions, activations, workshops and experiences, the hubs will amplify local artistic identities, recognize their global vibrancy, and empower creative communities. Year-long hubs are located at Downsview Park, Scarborough Town Centre, Cloverdale Common and Union Station. 

lead photo HOME(LAND): Terra Firma, installation view at Cloverdale Common. Photo: Ready2Post (CNW Group/ArtworxTO)

Other articles from totimes.ca – mtltimes.ca – otttimes.ca