Young artists transform Toronto public space in the Making With Place public art series; animating, amplifying, and archiving suppressed, hidden or silenced environmental and social histories.
In this time when monuments are coming down and ‘the single story’ is no longer acceptable for Toronto, it is particularly critical that we live into the reality of that vision. That means surfacing and listening deeply to stories and sharing knowledges that have not typically been honoured or celebrated, and witnessing the expressions of those stories in amplified forms of public art.
We have been co-designing with young artists a set of public projects that build on the Making With Place research project. They focus on surfacing creativity, story, knowledge and leadership that typically goes unnoticed, is silenced or appropriated. They call out (or in) for engagement, recognition, curiosity and invention. They are temporary works that are not passive. They offer different perspectives, work with tensions, and invite new imaginings and co-creation. They require it, actually.
Four immersive and interactive installations will be launched in October and November of 2021, with accompanying podcasts, and online and in-person activations to June 2022.
As part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021-2022.
Queer communities often lack access to inhabiting place, yet have a long history of doing so, somewhere between the public and private.
“What goes through the mind of an artist as they commit themselves to making masterpieces on the sidewalk for pocket change?” – Ayrah Taerb
Multi-sited installations and soundscapes, examining tensions and violences of displacement, while honouring and celebrating community.
Care pods as Radically Loving Alternatives to shame, disposability, and punishment. Community arts involving two public installations, online stories, animations, tools and workshops.
