What to know
- DesignTO Festival returns to Toronto starting Jan. 23 for 10 days, showcasing 130 design works by hundreds of artists across public and commercial spaces citywide.
- What began 16 years ago with about 20 installations has grown into a major cultural event focused on education, sustainability, justice and the everyday impact of design.
- Most exhibitions are free to attend, with some requiring RSVPs or tickets.
A celebration of design is being showcased in a big way this coming weekend in Toronto.
For 10 days, starting Jan. 23, people will be able to view the artwork of hundreds of artists at DesignTO Festival.
The event originally began 16 years ago at a much smaller scale, with only about 20 installations and under a different name.
Now, the festival is expected to display around 130 pieces of art in multiple public and commercial spaces, including Gallery1065 on Bloor Street, Toronto Metropolitan University, Studio Theatre on the Harbourfront and Aesop on Queen Street West.
Design can be seen in all aspects of life, which the exhibits aim to highlight. The exhibits are something DesignTO head of marketing Michael Madjus said is important as the concept is more common than people tend to think.
“I think that design is important because it’s everywhere,” Madjus told Now Toronto. “I think that people, regardless of whether they know it or not, are exposed to design and that is the furniture that they’re sitting on, the lighting that is illuminating their spaces.”
Madjus added that it opens people’s eyes to what design can be.
“It’s a standing of how we communicate as human beings, how we move through space, how we know technology and new ideas can create things like new materials,” he said.
According to the DesignTO website, over 200,000 people attended last year’s festival.
The art pieces displayed year-after-year tend to be made of different sustainable materials ranging from textiles, wood, metal, discarded glass and even one-time-use plastics.
“Our core values are about justice, sustainability and joy,” Madjus said. “By creating an environment that encompasses all those three it really does push what we’re trying to do with DesignTO as well as what design [itself] is trying to do as well.”
The DesignTO organization became a registered charity in recent years, allowing donations to help fund programming and fund a space for artists to platform their work.
“A lot of what we do is education, in terms of educating the public about what design is and so, by becoming a charity, it allows us to expand our mission to provide the public’s appreciation of design and create accessible programming design,” Madjus said.
He further said the funding supports the small team behind the festival as well.
“It allows us to continue doing the work that we’ve been doing.,” Madjus said. “Being with the festival, as long as I have, I have really seen a community build, which is really nice.”
Attendees are able to view most of the pieces of work free-of-charge, although some installations do require advanced RSVP or purchased tickets. Tickets can be purchased or reserved on the DesignTO website.
