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BIA Grant Projects

This branch of ArtworxTO grants was open to Toronto's Business Improvement Areas (BIAs). BIAs work in partnership with the City to enhance and promote business areas as safe, vibrant places, unique destinations for tourists, and focal points for neighbourhood activity. The projects below have been developed by BIAs specifically for ArtworxTO.

Beach Village BIA

Image Credit: Winter Stations

Winter Stations

Beach Village BIA

Originally installed in the Distillery District, Beach Village BIA brought the sculptures to Queen Street East for the first time ever! Part of the annual Winter Stations competition, the winners were featured around the neighbourhood for the month of August in 2021.

Chinatown BIA

Image Credit: Chinatown BIA

Yue Moon

Chinatown BIA and PUFF Paddy

Celebrating the diverse culture of Toronto through a series of intergenerational and interdisciplinary art workshops that culminated in a co-created public art installation in spring 2021. Chinatown BIA worked with the lead Canadian-Chinese artist PUFF Paddy, in partnership with the STEPS Initiative and supported by Ontario Arts Council (OAC), to create opportunities for Torontonians to understand the diversity of Asian culture during the workshops and exhibitions.

Church Wellesley Village BIA

Image Credit: Church Wellesley Village BIA

The Church Street Hub

Church Wellesley Village BIA

Animating a transitional space with Indigenous art placed on a large storefront sign of a business that had to leave due to condo development. The proposed piece will be illuminated from behind and bring light, creativity, and colour to the street in the darker months. The project will be installed in September 2021 at the storefront of 560 Church Street (aka The Church Street Hub).

Duke Heights BIA

Image Credit: Duke Heights BIA

Discover DUKE

Duke Heights BIA

Through community engagement, “Discover DUKE” will promote a more welcoming, vibrant place around the construction sites in Duke Heights and will capture the best of our BIA. Our goal is to create a virtual photo gallery. Selected photography will be exhibited on hoarding walls surrounding the construction site at Keele and Finch.

Eglinton Way BIA

Image Credit: Eglinton Way BIA

Eglinton Art Walk

Eglinton Way BIA

The Eglinton Way BIA has an extraordinary, exciting vision for the next 5 years: To have 25 unique art sculptures/statues/paintings up and down our BIA to drive residents, customers, and art-enthusiasts and to our BIA, and create a truly unique destination in Toronto featuring art and shopping. These fixtures will be permanent additions to the street, so the art investment will be everlasting.

GreekTown on the Danforth BIA

Image Credit: Greektown on the Danforth BIA

Not All Shadows Are Dark

GreekTown on the Danforth BIA, East End Arts, and Monica Gutierrez

People walking on the Danforth during the darkest nights in Spring 2021 may have encountered Monica Gutierrez’s surprising and delightful light installation in a vacant storefront. Silhouettes that represent the vibrance of the Danforth strip were pulled from both the Toronto Archives and GreekTown BIA’s archives and their shadows were projected onto the windows transforming them with colourful shadows.

Kensington Market BIA

Image Credit: Kensington Market BIA

Bellevue Square Mosaic

Kensington Market BIA and Red Pepper Spectacle Arts

The historic Bellevue Square Park, in the heart of Kensington Market is a center of community gatherings. Kensington Market’s heritage, though a home for all people of all backgrounds, has yet to engage in a formal acknowledgment of Indigenous history and culture. The project is Indigenous- led, youth engaged and community involved.

Lakeshore Village BIA

Image Credit: Lakeshore Village BIA

Bringing the Lake to Lake Shore

Lakeshore Village BIA

Through a series of banners, the Lakeshore Village BIA celebrate the area and community, shining a spotlight on local talent while honouring the lake, the water, our environment and our shared sacred spaces. Banners are now up and will remain until November 15, 2021.

Little Portugal BIA

Image Credit: Little Portugal on Dundas BIA

Night Lights

Little Portugal on Dundas BIA

Night Lights is an interactive visual display which takes inspiration from the rose window at St. Helen’s church at Dundas and St. Clarens, a landmark in the neighbourhood. The project creates an event to draw people to the neighbourhood, to participate in an outdoor activity while being encouraged to walk from one end of the neighbourhood to the other to take in the sights.

Oakwood Village BIA

Image Credit: Oakwood Village BIA

Soulful Toronto

Oakwood Village BIA

A video installation and accompanying soundscape, comprised of sound and images submitted by Torontonians in combination with archival material, reflecting the places around the city where Torontonians find Soul. Soulful Toronto explores the relationship we have with our busy urban environment, and where Soulful moments can be found amidst the hustle. Activations beginning September 2021.

Ossington BIA

Image Credit: Ossington BIA

Good Fortunes

Ossington BIA and curator Darren Leu

A large-scale version of the classic fortune teller machine, remade for the current times to provide positive and mindful readings to those who dare to accept them. The light-hearted activation was available in summer 2021 and encouraged participants to find some inspiration from their community and asked them to explore what their version of "good fortune" actually is.

Riverside BIA

Image Credit: Jessica Lin

The Serenity Experience

Riverside BIA and artist Jessica Lin

Experience it here! The project brings Toronto-artist Jessica Lin's multi-sensory exhibit The Serenity Experience to Riverside neighbourhood and storefront windows along Queen Street East in Toronto's East End. Exploring the question of what triggers our brains to feel calmness and happiness, and how we can deliberately harness this to increase our sense of personal wellbeing. The first iteration was live from January to March 2021. The project will be back in a physical form with outdoor screenings on the first weekend of October 2021.

West Queen West BIA

Image Credit: Edward Gajdel

Resilience Lives in WQW

West Queen West BIA and Edward Gajdel

Through our partnership with a long time resident, photographer and film maker, Edward Gajdel and WQW artist and resident, Angela Milana acting as producer, we will seek out subjects that represent the incredible diversity and creative spirit that lives in WQW to produce a short documentary film on the power of resilience. Screenings coming spring 2022.

York Eglinton BIA

Image Credit: York Eglinton BIA

Concrete Jungle Mural

York Eglinton BIA

The Concrete Jungle Mural will be painted by well known Toronto-based artist Adrian Hayles at 1531 Eglinton Ave W. directly across from the Reggae Lane Mural Adrian painted in 2015.  The background will be a lively jungle that will have vines, roots and branches of the jungle's trees and plant life.  The entire mural will be painted in spray paint  on the existing aluminum sided wall adjacent to the Reggae Lane Mural.  The addition of the Concrete Jungle mural will turn the entire Green P parking lot into an immersive experience.