ArtworxTO: The Year of Public Art

In 2019, City Council approved Toronto's new 10-Year Public Art Strategy, which focuses on improving accessibility to public art across the City. As part of this strategy, Toronto declared 2021-2022 the Year of Public Art and launched ArtworxTO, a program celebrating the creative community behind our City's wide-ranging public art collection.

In the past, Toronto's public art installations have been almost exclusively tied to major development applications. As a result, a large portion of our collection has been centred in the downtown core, with few installations in the surrounding areas. A 2017 study conducted by the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) identified these areas as "public art deserts" and called for a strategy to broaden the geographic distribution of Toronto's collection.

To-date, ArtworxTO has supported over 1,500 local artists in the creation and installation of more than 350 new exhibitions, murals, and other productions. In September, the City launched an ArtworxTO website that includes an interactive map of all the public artwork across Toronto.

Thank you to the sponsors, donors, and media partners that have made these programs possible.