By Sarah Ratzlaff
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The Bentway: Rethinking public art amidst COVID-19
The publication of the city’s 10-year public art strategy accompanied an announcement that 2021 would be Toronto’s Year of Public Art. Of course...
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‘Out of this world’ sculptures land in midtown
In Toronto, there are a number of public artworks that re-imagine the human subject. I’m thinking, for example, of Hadley+ Maxwell’s Garden of Future...
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The connections between public art and activism
In this moment of social and political upheaval, as protesters demand racial justice in response to police brutality and systemic racism, people are...
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“Visiting” CONTACT Photography Festival exhibits in the age of COVID
When COVID anxiety was at its peak in late March and early April, photographs of empty public spaces proliferated on social media feeds and news outlets...
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Toronto’s 10-year public art strategy
Last week, Mayor John Tory dropped by OCAD to declare that 2021 would be the year of public art in Toronto. This announcement sets up the release, later...
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Connecting the dots of Nuit Blanche and Toronto Biennial
It’s an exciting time for Toronto. There is a sense of possibility that has always been here but is now manifesting in tangible ways. New models of...
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Time for public art: the New Toronto Courthouse construction site mural
As readers of my column know, I am an avid promoter of site-specific artworks, and I’m not alone. The kinds of conversations we are having today about...
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Understanding Ron Arad’s new public art at Yonge and Bloor
Outside of One Bloor East, two towering cylindrical figures slink around one another. The sculpture’s reflective steel encasement is contrasted with hints...
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Alchemy at the Gardiner Museum
A new piece of public art has been added to Toronto’s public art landscape, one that seeks to comfort, cajole, and seduce. This new piece is Shary Boyle’s...
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Life on the Line: Light in the Tunnel
(Alex Garant, “Midnight”) For the past month, you may have noticed a...
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Public Art Manifesto: Rethinking public art’s possibilities
Works of public art are markers of what a society deems to be important, and the choices we make about what works to erect attest to the shared values and...
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Adam Beck’s monumental “Little Worries”
If you’ve found yourself in downtown Toronto recently, you may have noticed a change to the Adam Beck Memorial, at Queen and University. Constructed in...