Structural Integrity: A Poetic Intervention

Artist Catherine Cachia installing a poem by Jess Yuan. Photo courtesy Steelcase Art Projects.

Structural Integrity: A Poetic Intervention

September 2025 – September 2026
Public Opening Reception: Saturday, September 27, 2025, 1 – 3pm
Industrial Arts, 200 Steelcase Road East, Markham (free onsite parking)

Steelcase Art Projects proudly presents Structural Integrity: A Poetic Intervention, a site-specific exhibition that examines the invisible systems shaping urban life. Curated by Yuluo Wei and Andrea Carson Barker with curatorial coordination by Farah Ghafoor, this unique project transforms Markham’s industrial landscape into a canvas for critical reflection.

The exhibition features six original poems, by Farah Ghafoor and renowned poets Jody Chan, Anna Lee-Popham, Karen Solie, Phoebe Wang, and Jess Yuan. These works will be installed across the exteriors of industrial buildings and grounds through a combination of painted text by Catherine Cachia and printed vinyl installations, inviting viewers to reconsider how urban spaces are built – and how we, as residents, shape them in return.

Interrogating Urban Foundations

How do the structures of society hold up to the test of time? Structural Integrity poses essential questions about the design of our urban environments and the cultural values they reflect. As we move toward an uncertain future, the exhibition challenges audiences to consider who and what these spaces prioritize.

The project explores how the structures of our individual lives are determined, and how we as residents, in turn, influence the places we live in. By placing poetry in industrial settings, Structural Integrity creates an unexpected dialogue between art, architecture, and community.

About the Poets

Farah Ghafoor is the author of Shadow Price (House of Anansi, 2025), winner of the E.J. Pratt Medal and Prize in Poetry.

Jody Chan is the author of sick (Black Lawrence Press), winner of the 2018 St. Lawrence Book Award and 2021 Trillium Award for Poetry.

Anna Lee-Popham is a Toronto poet whose work was first runner-up for PRISM international’s Pacific Poetry Prize and longlistee for the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize.

Karen Solie is a Guggenheim Fellow whose five poetry collections have won the Griffin Prize, Pat Lowther Award, and Trillium Poetry Prize.

Phoebe Wang is the author of Admission Requirements, shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award and Pat Lowther Memorial Award.

Jess Yuan is a poet and architect, author of Slow Render (2024), winner of the Airlie Prize.

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Industrial Arts
Markham, Ontario

Accessibility: The public art space is accessible.

Industrial Arts is a 5-acre property comprising three industrial buildings in Markham’s manufacturing core. A burgeoning creative hub, it is a place where business, art and community thrive.

Steelcase Art Projects is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to transform Industrial Arts into a site for artistic experimentation through collaborations, commissions and projects. Working with our tenants and with the surrounding community, we are connecting business to the arts through unconventional collaborations in the industrial realm.