ArtworxTO: Carnival Portal | Home on Native Land | Intangible Adorations Caravan | and more

ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021-2022 is a celebration of Toronto’s incredible collection of public art and the artists behind it, creating more opportunities for the public to connect and engage with artwork in their everyday lives.

Working closely with artists and Toronto’s arts institutions, ArtworxTO is working to address gaps in the collection, such as the under-representation of equity-deserving communities and their histories, as well as geographic areas of the city where there are fewer public art works.

From fall 2021 to fall 2022 the City of Toronto is helping to deliver more than 350 new murals, installations, exhibitions, art events, performances and productions, citywide. This year, explore your city and discover creativity and community–everywhere.

This week’s ArtworxTO Highlights:

Twins of Sankofa and Tribute To A Bachannalist Monument by Quentin Vercetty on view until September 4th at ArtworxTO Pop Up Hub: Carnival Portal at Yorkdale Shopping Centre (3401 Dufferin Street)

Last Chance to See ArtworxTO Pop Up Hub: Carnival Portal at Yorkdale!
Don’t miss your chance to experience ArtworxTO Pop Up Hub: Carnival Portal at Yorkdale Shopping Centre (3401 Dufferin Street) before it closes to the public September 4, 2022.

Carnival Portal, curated by Dwayne Dixon, exhibits a series of alternate stories about Carnival as you travel through time and space. From its oppressive origins to its infectious expression of love and unity, visitors will experience a sensation that is, quite frankly, otherworldly. This exhibition will expand your understanding and appreciation of Caribbean carnival culture and its ancestral journey through the lens of future generations.

Learn more about ArtworxTO Pop Up Hub: Carnival Portal

Mo Thunder, From The Earth, 2021. Digital print on canvas. Courtesy of the artist.

Home on Native Land Now On View At ArtworxTO Hub EAST
The final exhibition in Spoken Soul Collective’s Scarborough the Backbone, titled Home on Native Land is now on view at ArtworxTO Hub EAST: Scarborough Town Centre (300 Borough Dr, Toronto). This multidisciplinary exhibition featuring spoken word, musical performances, photography, murals and more, connects and inspires, celebrating the contributions of Indigenous Peoples who call on settlers to reflect on their connection and responsibility to the land; particularly the land in so-called Scarborough’s Rouge Valley.

Learn more about Home on Native Land

A More Beautiful Journey Graphic Logo

A More Beautiful Journey XR Audio App Launches Sept 1 with Free Concerts
A More Beautiful Journey is transforming Toronto public transit. With work by over 30 Toronto-based musicians, ensembles, and sound artists, this custom augmented reality app offers TTC riders generative, site-specific soundtracks for their commutes.

Through their smartphones, users experience ambient songs, soundscapes, and scores for TTC buses and streetcars. Sounds evolve in response to the shifting environment.

In honour of the centennial anniversary of the Toronto Transit Commission and ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art, the app will be available for free to TTC riders as of September 1, 2022. To mark the launch, and as part of Intersection Festival, a number of the participating artists will be performing live on September 1st from 1-7pm at select TTC Street Car Loops.

Learn more about A More Beautiful Journey and the Sept 1 launch concert here

phullo, phallo, phirse
phullo, phallo, phirse is a storytelling project featuring four diasporic women sharing the ways in which they tend to their beloved rose bushes, and how roses tint their way of seeing the world. The project is presented with the South Asian Visual Arts Centre and engages with Waard Ward’s rose garden at East York Town Centre, to explore embodied and collective knowledge as well as the symbiotic relationships we have built with plants.

Until the end of August, follow them on Instagram (@savac_) to experience these stories, and use the hashtag #phullophallo to share your own encounter with a special rose or rose garden. This program complements Ward Waard Collective’s community rose garden that features in the I am land that speaks exhibition at ArtWorxTO Hub South: Union Station, curated by Maya Wilson-Sanchez as part of Toronto’s Year of Public Art.

Learn more about phullo, phallo, phirse here

Intangible Adorations Caravan – Sept 7 & 14
An immersive, travelling theatrical & film experience that fuses Carnival with science-fantasy biography, performance ritual, circus and disability culture is coming to to various locations in the East End of Toronto, September 7th and 14th.

A multi-sensory interactive experience with robust accessibility built into each performance.

Intangible Adorations Caravan East York
Stan Wadlow Park
September 7th at 7:30 PM

Intangible Adorations Brickworks
September 14th at 7:30 PM

Learn more about Intangible Adorations Caravan

The Fabric of Community by Paula Gomez (2022) on view at ArtworxTO Hub NORTH: Downsview (70 Canuck Ave, North York, ON).

Fabric of Community Now on View
The Fabric of Community by Paula Gomez (2022) is a textile-art-based community engagement project and public art installation that uses fibres and fabrics to share stories of journeys, arrivals, and legacy.

Commissioned by Downsivew XOXO, Fabric of Community is on view at ArtworxTO Hub NORTH: Downsview (70 Canuck Ave, North York, ON).

Learn more about Fabric of Community

Last Chance to View Project T-Dot at Nathan Phillips Square
Project T-Dot is a definitive visual story by artist and photographer Ajani Charles that sheds new light on the city’s hip-hop scene, presenting a Toronto subculture in a way that exemplifies the cultural richness of Toronto. Project T-Dot features large-scale prints on the main and second floor windows of the south west corner of Toronto City Hall (100 Queen St W).

The exhibit will be up until Monday, September 5th and depicts intimate images of Toronto’s most renowned hip-hop figures, as well as many who are lesser known, including members of the 2SLGBTQ+, Black, and Indigenous communities, women, youth from equity deserving neighbourhoods, recent immigrants, and other marginalized groups.

Learn more about Project T-Dot

Each week ArtworxTO offers several new programs, exhibits, performances, talks, workshops and more. Bookmark artworxTO.ca and check back often!

Social Handles:
Twitter: @Culture_TO
Facebook: @TOCulture
Instagram: @Culture_TO

Contact Information:
Sue Holland
sue.holland@artworxto.ca