Qualified artists will be sought for prominent art park planned to beautify The Queensway.
Area artists will be sought for a proposed art park being planned to beautify The Queensway area.
A $750,000 work of art will grace a park between two condo towers at 1001, 1007, 1011 and 1037 The Queensway, near Islington Avenue at the northern portion of the Cineplex Theatre site.
A motion will be considered by the Etobicoke York Community Council on May 22 to approve the artwork for the park and the hiring of an artist to perform the work.
“The provision of public art in the public realm will further assist the creation of a sense of place and overall recognition of The Queensway,” according to City staff. “Public art can create identity and can help to celebrate the history and character of the area and its community.”
The art park will be located between a condo complex like above at The Queensway near Islington Avenue.
It said the new 1849 square metre public park is situated between the buildings and fronts onto The Queensway. The park will be located between two towers, about 20 storeys high, which will contain 545 residential units.
“The centrally located park is the public art site,” according to a report. “Public art was reviewed in accordance with the policies of the City of Toronto Official Plan.”
The motion states that $750,000 will be donated to the art work by the developers of the condo towers. The funds will be used for artist fees, consultations, installation and other costs.
“The public art is proposed to be a free-standing artwork that is in a highly visible location at the north-west entrance to the park,” according to City officials. “This location is accessible to all, either physically and/or visually, and intends to be a highly impactful feature of the overall development.”
Artist rendering of the park planned at The Queensway, near Islington Avenue.
The artists will represent a ‘broad representation from the art community, including those from the Indigenous, Black and equity-deserving groups or communities.’
It called for the selection process to be initiated through a national, open competition that will be widely advertised on multiple platforms, including artwork competition websites and social media.
The call will be distributed to agencies representing or having access to Indigenous artists, in support of the City’s Public Art Strategy.
Three art experts will select five qualified artists for the work and one will be chosen by a five-member jury panel.
Walkers taking a stroll through the planned park in this rendering.
In the jury is ward resident Matthew Varey, Artist and Creative Director of Visual Arts, Etobicoke School of the Arts.
Varey during his career as an artist, has exhibited around the world at Mati Gallery in Greece, Art Forum Berlin in Germany, Art Miami in the United States, and at Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in Italy.
The lucky artist will be selected later this year, with the park construction to begin in the Fall of 2025 and with the artwork to be installed by the summer of 2026.
For more information contact Andrea Mantin, Project Manager, Programs and Strategies, Urban Design, Tel. (416) 392-2281, andrea.mantin@toronto.ca