Waterfront Toronto Launches Call to Artists

September 25, 2012, Toronto, ON—Waterfront Toronto has launched a Prequalification of Artists for three public art opportunities in the West Don Lands.

The Prequalification is the first step of the artwork selection process for three permanent pieces, each by a different artist or artist team. All three art sites are located within what will be a highly animated public realm along a new section of Front Street east of Cherry Street.  The three works of art will be completed by the summer of 2015.

One of the three art sites is located at the Bayview Avenue and Front Street intersection and will be a legacy for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. The new section of Front Street is the centre of the portion of the West Don Lands that is being developed as the Athletes’ Village for the Games. The 450 square metre area is suitable for a large-scale sculpture that will create a legacy for the Games and capture their catalyzing force in the revitalization of the West Don Lands.

The second site, the 85 square metre Children’s Art Zone located one block west of Bayview Avenue and Front Street, will contain artwork that attracts and engages with children, featuring less vertical work that invites playful interaction.

Front Street Landmark is the last of the three art sites. Its location in the western-most portion of Front Street, one block east of Cherry Street, will feature artwork that acts as a landmark or gateway for people travelling from the downtown core to what is anticipated to be an intensely animated stretch of Front Street East.

Waterfront Toronto is developing the three sites simultaneously to ensure a sense of cohesiveness in the art program and to help anchor and define the new West Don Lands community.

The West Don Lands community is one of the first waterfront neighbourhoods to integrate public art in its early planning phases. The art submissions for the newly developed part of Front Street are part of the West Don Lands Public Art Strategy which provides a framework for integrating public art that celebrates the industrial heritage of the West Don Lands site, as well as its sustainable, vibrant future.

Waterfront Toronto

The Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto created Waterfront Toronto to oversee and lead the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront. Public accessibility, design excellence, sustainable development, economic development and fiscal sustainability are the key drivers of waterfront revitalization.

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Media Contact

Hanna Rynkiewicz, Waterfront Toronto