SOLAR at The Bentway

An immersive spectacle of sunset, reimagined with robotics and 200 beams of light

Photo by Something Surprising, Courtesy of Videocittà.

SOLAR

October 16 – 19, 2025
The Bentway at Strachan Gate, Toronto
Pay-What-You-Choose $10/$15/$20 onsite at entry
or $25 Skip the Line tickets

As the sun sets on The Bentway’s Sun/Shade exhibition, The Bentway presents SOLAR, a new large-scale light installation by Italian artist Quayola and commissioned in partnership with Videocittà, Rome’s celebrated festival of video and digital culture.

SOLAR takes inspiration from the optical phenomena of twilight—including crepuscular rays and chromatic gradients—recreating the fleeting beauty of the moments when night and day converge. The work is guided by a robotic arm, sweeping slowly across the night sky, guiding hundreds of synchronized beams in a mesmerizing dance of light and shadow. Translating the sun’s daily path from rise to set into a series of artist-created algorithmic gestures and glowing orbits, the piece merges the sun’s cycles with digital choreography to support a new living atmosphere: immersive and ever-changing.

Photo by Something Surprising, Courtesy of Videocittà.

Presented as a simulated sunset unfolding in real time, SOLAR offers an alternate way of experiencing the city—slowed down, bathed in colour, and suspended between nature and technology. Presented beneath the Gardiner Expressway, where shade is constant, this radiant new work reminds us of the sun’s power, how light shapes our sense of time and place, and that every shadow has its source.

How to Attend:

Skip-the-Line Tickets are $25, letting you arrive anytime between 7:30pm–10:30pm. Regular admission is pay-what-you-choose onsite ($10, $15, $20), with full access to all seating. Shows run every 30 minutes from 7:30pm.

Audiences are invited to watch the experience from multiple vantage points within the site, and once you enter you are welcome to stay for as long as you like. Enjoy a drink at the bar as you experience multiple performances throughout the evening. A visit of up to 90 minutes is recommended to let the experience unfold.

Photo by Something Surprising, Courtesy of Videocittà.

What to Expect:

The experience lasts approximately 15 minutes in length, and features bright, moving lights, haze, and an immersive audio soundtrack.

Terrain is a mix of concrete, gravel, and grass, please dress comfortably. Food, drinks, and universal washrooms are available on site. All ages welcome; ID required for alcohol.

Photo by Something Surprising, Courtesy of Videocittà.

And Don’t Miss:

Howl’oween
Saturday, October 25, 12pm-4pm
The Bentway Skate Trail
Get tickets

It’s the ulti-mutt fall celebration: Howl’oween at The Bentway, presented with Ren’s Pets! Gather the family, two-legged and four, for our spook-tacular costume contest. Enjoy prizes, music, local vendors, and cozy fall treats on this festive afternoon full of laughter, wagging tails, and Halloween fun for pups and their people!

About The Bentway

The Bentway works to ignite the urban imagination, using the city as site, subject, and canvas.

Anchored under Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway and guiding its complex future, The Bentway is a growing public space, and much more. The Bentway is a new type of civic organization: a not-for-profit, powered by vital partnerships with the City of Toronto, residents, supporters, artists, city-builders, and dreamers. The Bentway is a catalyst rooted in experimentation, leading a creative movement to re-imagine the opportunities of urban spaces. ​

The Bentway
250 Fork York Blvd, Toronto
thebentway.ca
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Accessibility: The Bentway is fully accessible. For more information, visit here.