The DesignThinkers 2024 conference in Toronto gathers creative professionals from around the world to explore and consider the role of design in shaping our world. Over two days, attendees engage in thoughtful presentations and discussions that encourage deep learning and meaningful connections with others in the creative industry.

Over 35 sessions are on this year’s schedule. Here are three you won’t want to miss.

What Goes Around Comes Around

Should the past inform our ideas in the present? Elizabeth Goodspeed, U.S. Editor-At-Large at It’s Nice That, says absolutely. Join Elizabeth as she discusses the limitations of contemporary mood boards, shows how designers (past and present) have referenced historic work—through direct homage, subtle parody and indirect influence—and shares insights into how she has personally used archival materials to inform her work.

Any creative will leave Elizabeth’s presentation with an understanding of how they can begin to explore and engage with the past themselves.

Creatives in Leadership

If you’re looking to step further into what it takes to be a leader in your workplace, this is the talk for you. Led by Robin McLoughlin, a seasoned and accomplished brand and creative strategist, this presentation will offer you an opportunity to reflect on what you need to do to take that professional next step. Join Robin as she delves into candid reflections and practical advice from seasoned leaders, offering you a road map to develop your leadership skills and advance your career.

No matter if you’re searching for inspiration or practical advice, Robin’s presentation will equip you to become the creative leader you aim to be.

Drawing the Lines: Exploring Identity through Art

Shantell Martin is a multi-hyphenate powerhouse. From fashion and celebrity collaborations to adjunct professor positions to choreographing a ballet at the Boston Ballet, Shantell’s line constantly evolves. Join Shantell as she delves into themes that include intersectionality, identity, play, creativity and intentionality.

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Whether your goal is to cultivate creativity within your organization, navigate the complexities of identity and diversity or unlock your own creative potential, Shantell will leave you inspired, energized and ready to chart your own path toward a more vibrant and connected future.

DesignThinkers 2024 runs this November 6–7 at Meridian Hall in Toronto.
In-person and streaming tickets are on sale now.

The post DesignThinkers Returns to Toronto This November appeared first on Designlines Magazine.

To figure out the work of 44-year-old Alex Da Corte, perhaps the best pop artist of his generation, you might start by looking at two archival photographs. The first, by Hans Hammerskiöld, captures the late Claes Oldenburg, a ’60s pop-art legend, walking the streets of London and straining under the weight of his own sculpture, a giant tube of toothpaste. The second, by Bill Pierce, depicts Caroll Spinney, the Sesame Street cast member, doing puppetry for Oscar the Grouch while dressed, from the knees down, as Big Bird, the other character he played on the show.

The images were taken before Da Corte’s time, but they capture the Da Corte vibe. They’re cartoonish, surreal and, above all else, devotional. Oldenburg must have loved that ungainly toothpaste tube with paternal fierceness—instead of entrusting it to the care of a gallery attendant, he carried it himself. Spinney was so committed to his alter egos—the overgrown avian and the trash-can dweller—that during busy days on set, he embodied them both at once.

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That devotional impulse is present in everything Da Corte does. He’s hardly the first artist to appropriate images from pop culture, but his way is different—more tender, less trollish. Consider his peers: Paul McCarthy, who depicted Snow White doing the kinds of things you’d normally see on the outer fringes of PornHub; Kaws, who transformed the characters in The Simpsons into zombies with X’ed out eyes; and the filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who reimagined Winnie-the-Pooh as a sledgehammer-wielding psycho. Nothing is sacred, these artists tell us.

Da Corte seems to believe that everything is. Or rather that, as the journalist John Jeremiah Sullivan wrote, that all people “partake of some holiness.” His first video, Carry That Weight (2003), depicts him struggling to walk down the street with a plush ketchup bottle as tall as he is—an obvious reference to both Oldenburg and the Stations of the Cross. His most famous work, As Long as the Sun Lasts, temporarily installed in 2021 on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was a 26-foot-tall imitation of a mobile by Alexander Calder, the mid-century American sculptor. The main character was Big Bird, who perched on one of Calder’s moons and looked out at the New York skyline like an angel at the Annunciation. Da Corte grew up Catholic, in a Venezuelan American family. He’s also gay and loves costumes and camp. All of these facts seem relevant to his work.

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His latest exhibition, Ear Worm, at MOCA Toronto, features a reinstalled version of Rubber Pencil Devil (2018), originally commissioned by the Carnegie Museum of Art, in Pittsburgh. The video is divided into 57 parts, each chapter focuses on a figure from pop culture played by Da Corte. We see Caroll Spinney, in his Big Bird legs, sharing a drink with Oscar. We see Ebenezer Scrooge heading up to bed, except the stairwell is a Stairmaster and he’s doomed, like Sisyphus, to climb forever. We see the Statue of Liberty collapsing under her own weight.

Da Corte chose these characters because they’re ubiquitous. “They are familiar to the point of banality,” he told me. “I find myself wondering, What was the allure from the beginning? Why have they stood the test of time?” All of them, notably, are doing things they haven’t done before. “For me,” Da Corte adds, “the biggest question is, Can these characters change? Can we afford new lives to the things of the past?”

In this respect, he seems locked in a dialogue with his fellow Pennsylvanian Andy Warhol, the man who introduced the world to ironic appropriation. Where Warhol runs cold—his images emit icy glamour—Da Corte runs hot. The MOCA installation is spread over four screens, each bombarding you with music and DayGlo colours. (I interviewed Da Corte in the middle of this scene, an experience every bit as bewildering as you’d expect it to be.) Warhol, ultimately, was interested in sameness. His silkscreens of Marilyn Monroe resemble nothing so much as his other silkscreens of, say, Grace Kelly, Mick Jagger, Wayne Gretzky or Chairman Mao.

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He was telling us that pop culture flattens people. To which Alex Da Corte responds: Yes, but then we flesh them out again. And he’s right. We watch prequels and write fan fiction. We hire charismatic hotties, like Colin Farrell, to humanize ugly villains, like Gotham’s Penguin. We speculate that Taylor Swift, a paragon of red state femininity, might secretly be queer, and we reimagine Donald Trump, a man with the attention span of a housefly, as an investigative mastermind routing out a vast global conspiracy. Sometimes, I see my daughter gently chastise her stuffed elephant and for an instant, a figure made of cloth and cotton becomes a living entity.

Like my daughter, Da Corte understands that a being needn’t have flesh and blood in order to live. “I’ve often learned things from the characters I’ve emulated,” he told me. “I’ve discovered that walking in their shoes is different than I thought it would be.” As he spoke, the Wicked Witch of the West sang Blue, by LeAnn Rimes: “So lonesome for you. Why can’t you be lonesome over me?” Oscar the Grouch bopped contentedly behind her.

The post Alex Da Corte Sees What Andy Warhol Missed appeared first on Designlines Magazine.

When the Gardiner Museum’s executive director and CEO Gabrielle Peacock wanted to decorate her new office, she selected a piece by local artist and illustrator Alanna Cavanagh entitled Big Artifacts, artfully depicting various clay urns. Peacock’s daily joy in seeing that piece motivated her to invite Cavanagh to collaborate with the ceramics museum to mark its 40^th anniversary with an exclusive design. Cavanagh, whose illustrations have graced countless magazine and newspaper articles, books, billboards, custom wallcoverings and more, was thrilled.

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She visited the museum several times sketching clay pots and urns from around the globe. “They gave me passes to run around the collection, so I sketched and sketched. They have an incredible archive. Every single vessel is photographed, and its provenance recorded in such detail,” she says. Her final design of six vessels adorns the stylish Gardiner Museum tote. Its sketches encapsulate the artist’s signature loose and playful line drawings. “I prefer a minimal line style, 2D, I don’t like 3D as much,” says Cavanagh. Her whimsical works capture everyday life, objects and people with ease.

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The Gardiner Museum is a gem in the city with a collection of thousands of clay and ceramic objects from the Ancient Americas, Europe, Japan and China as well as contemporary works with a focus on Canadian artists. The museum will be reopening its doors in October 2024 after a shutdown for renovations to its main level to integrate a new maker space, community learning facility and Indigenous gallery. Here, collaborations give access to known artists at a fraction of the cost.

Where to find

Gardiner Museum Shop

• Decor + Accessories

Available on the museum’s extensive online gift shop, the Gardiner Museum tote makes a great everyday addition to your kit or a lovely gift. Silkscreen prints from Cavanagh’s fine art series are also available on the museum’s shop site and on the artist’s website.

The post Illustrator Alanna Cavanagh Teams up With the Gardiner Museum appeared first on Designlines Magazine.

Film lovers and design enthusiasts, rejoice! The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is not just a celebration of cinematic brilliance but also a treasure trove for those with a keen eye for architecture and design. From sleek modernist masterpieces to historic landmarks, these films capture the beauty of built environments, production design and the art of crafting space. To celebrate the festival opening, we’ve curated five must-see films screening at TIFF 2024 that offer a feast for the eyes, spotlighting inspiring structures and innovative design narratives. Don’t miss these gems on the big screen!

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The Brutalist

The title says it all. This American epic stars Adrien Brody as a Jewish architect who flees Europe at the end of the Second World War to rebuild his life in an unfamiliar land. Settling in Philadelphia, he has a not-so-gracious run-in with Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), a wealthy businessman, after he becomes an unwitting client for a home renovation scheme. Marking its North American premiere at TIFF 2024, The Brutalist promises a compelling exploration of Brutalist architecture, using the aesthetic and philosophy of this movement as a central narrative device.

Get Tickets.

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Pedro Páramo

Pedro Páramo, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Rodrigo Prieto, brings Juan Rulfo’s legendary Mexican novel to life with striking visual storytelling. The film follows a young man’s journey to find his estranged father, set against the haunting, dreamlike landscape of rural Mexico. For lovers of architecture and design, Prieto’s masterful use of light, shadow and cinematic space creates a deeply atmospheric portrayal of the town of Comala, where the boundaries between the living and the dead blur.

Get Tickets.

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Bonjour Tristesse

Set against a backdrop of sun-soaked villas and chic coastal glamour, this TIFF 2024 film follows a young woman’s summer of love, jealousy, and heartbreak. From the sleek mid-century interiors to the effortlessly fashionable wardrobe of its characters, every frame exudes sophistication. For design lovers, Bonjour Tristesse is a visual feast, capturing the essence of post-war French elegance with vibrant color palettes, bold patterns and timeless style.

Get Tickets.

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Megalopolis

Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is a grand exploration of utopian architecture and urban design on an epic scale. Set in a futuristic version of New York City, the film delves into the ambitious quest to rebuild the metropolis as a visionary city of the future. For architecture enthusiasts, Megalopolis offers a deep dive into the intersection of design, politics, and human ambition, with its towering structures and innovative urban planning serving as a central character. The film’s stunning visual effects and architectural concepts push the boundaries of imagination, making it a must-see for those passionate about the future of cities.

Get Tickets.

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Queer

Set in 1950s Mexico City, Queer masterfully uses both urban and rural landscapes to tell a story of longing and displacement. Director Luca Guadagnino’s meticulous eye for design showcases the rich textures of Mexican architecture, from intimate, shadowy interiors to sprawling, sun-drenched plazas. An Industry Selection for TIFF 2024, the film uses landscape as a storytelling device, capturing the essence of Mexican design, where history, culture and emotion are reflected in every frame, making it a visual feast for design lovers.

Get Tickets.

The post TIFF 2024: 5 Must-See Films for Design Lovers appeared first on Designlines Magazine.

For students heading back to school, there often isn’t enough time to collect everything on your to-do lists. From class textbooks to updated ID cards, finding the perfect notebook or agenda often falls by the wayside. But a fresh set of pens or a tasteful notepad can elevate your return to the academic lifestyle and prepare you for the year ahead—even if you don’t feel it. Here, we’ve rounded up three local Toronto shops with a lofty selection of stationery, notebooks, and other must-haves to get a jump start on your studies.

Take Note, 2993 Dundas Street West

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When modern pen and stationery shop Take Note’s owner Jolanta immigrated from her home in Poland to lay down new roots in Canada, all she brought with her was her family, $200 and one beloved Montblanc pen. Her passion for pen and ink continues today. With a premium array of writing instruments, the shop dedicates itself to quality design. Located in the heart of The Junction, Take Note is the perfect option for those who value the art of writing.

With a variety of international brands, including Rhodia from France, Germany’s Leuchtturm1917 and the Italian Fabriano, Take Note is prepared for all your stationery needs. From Japan, try the range of Hobonichi notebooks, pictured here with white, mango or navy-coloured covers, which feature thin, Tomoe River paper which resists bleeding making it perfect for planners.

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Kid Icarus, 205 Augusta Avenue

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Smack dab in the middle of Kensington Market, screen printing studio and retail store Kid Icarus commits to contemporary craft. With a variety of services, from custom screen-printing workshops and rubber stamp-making to wedding design, this is a one-stop shop for locally made items, including Kid Icarus’ own line of greeting cards and gifts and other Canadian-made goods.

When looking for quality stationery sets, the store’s personal line boasts a variety of excellent, locally made options. Designed and hand-printed in their studio, the Kid Icarus Stationery Set ‘Fish of Ontario’ includes a stack of 10 writing sheets and 5 envelopes all bearing the illustrations of brown trout, yellow perch, and other local aquatic life. ‘The Regional Assembly Stationery Set’ on the other hand features a simpler design, with 12 outdoor-themed sheets and 6 clover green envelopes, for the more minimalist stationery enthusiast.  

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Paper Plus Cloth, 1340 Queen Street West

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Next stop for back to school shopping, Parkdale. Specializing in Japanese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, and Korean stationery supplies, Paper Plus Cloth defines itself as “a creative supply company providing products and workshops to feed your creative soul.” While the store’s tagline may be bold, Paper Plus Cloth delivers, offering a wide selection of excellent paper and pen options and community-oriented creative workshops.

When searching for the perfect notebook, deciding between lined, dotted, gridded, or blank can be a tough decision. Luckily, Japanese brand Midori features all these options. With a thread-stitched construction that allows for the notebook to lie flat while writing, Midori notebooks enhance the writing experience with elegance and functionality.

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The post Head Back To School in Style with 3 Local Stationery Stores appeared first on Designlines Magazine.

Growing up in Nova Scotia, Shayla Bond honed her artistry and sewing skills under the guidance of her creative craftswoman mother. A decade after earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion and Textiles from NSCAD University, she launched ESBE Studio—keen to draw on her experiences in fashion and marketing. Today, Bond brings to life a modern take on the classic heirloom quilt as she explores her calling to work with textiles.

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“I envision ESBE as a brand that positions quilts next to those in the home design space,” she shares. Currently working with a range of interior designers, Bond is already seeing a shift in quilt’s identity: “Designers often tell me that it doesn’t feel like they’re commissioning just a quilt, but rather an art piece.”

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Now based in Toronto, where a quilt-art scene is quickly emerging—Bond divides her time between ESBE and creating fibre-based fine art, as she envisions how quilts can move from surface to surface. Finding true fulfillment in her craft, she shares that she remains faithful to methods like sketching on graph paper, fabric piecing, top-quilting, and working with batting. Crafting exclusively with linen, her process reflects a strong commitment to sustainability, from choosing cotton threads over polyester to sourcing organic materials whenever possible.

In her latest works, you’ll find geometric shapes and colours come together in perfect harmony. “I love repeat, colour, space, and precision, which works well with quilting,” she explains, “balancing the familiar with the unknown is what I aim for, and invoking that emotional response.”

For her framed fine art, Bond uses numeric input to create pixelated compositions. From there, she carefully selects colours to match the target aesthetic.

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Throughout her journey as an artist, Bond bridges the gap between her craft and her art. From traditional methods used for ESBE to a digital approach in her fine art, her work emanates the deep sense of nostalgia that she feels.

The post Shayla Bond Merges Heirloom Craftsmanship With Modern Design appeared first on Designlines Magazine.

For the first 16 years of my life, the bat cave at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)—a reconstruction of an actual cave in Jamaica—was among my favourite places in the city. The cave was decorated with cast stalactites and wax bat models, which hung from the ceiling and threw jagged shadows on the walls. A few other features imbued it with spooky verisimilitude: the drip-drip-drip sound effects, the mirrors arranged to create the illusion of infinite depth, the strobe lights strategically placed to make the shadows flutter. When I visited as a five-year-old, the bat cave scared me. When I visited as a stoned fifteen-year-old, it scared me even more. Then came the renovation.

Today, the bat cave is clean and evenly lit. Instead of the soundtrack and the creepy atmospherics, one hears a recording of a speleologist delivering bat facts, which seem pitched to a grade-five intellect. The project cost $2.75 million, all to transform a cool thing into a boring thing.

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But the bat cave retrofit is hardly the worst design “upgrade” the ROM has seen. That, rather, would be the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, an addition, completed in 2007, by Polish–American starchitect Daniel Libeskind. You might say that Libeskind transformed the museum into a conceptual bat cave: dark, cramped, foreboding—things a public institution should never be.

Libeskind’s idea was to create a sculptural amethyst, an assemblage of diagonal spikes abutting the northwest corner of the original ROM. His symbolism was potent. You could read his metaphor geologically (a new mineral formation on an old rock) or architecturally: Edwardian fustiness colliding with brash postmodernism. He has never wanted for bold ideas.

But in architecture, bold ideas are, on their own, overrated. I could come up with 200 of them by noon tomorrow. I’d have no clue how to turn them into viable buildings, though. Libeskind, it seems, has a similar problem.

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The city has never warmed to the crystal. Its defenders—a small, outspoken cohort—attribute our distain to conservatism. In 2017, the architecture citric Christopher Hume told Azure that, “It takes Torontonians years, if not decades, to get over their shock, to learn to accept something, and finally to love it.” In the same article, Alexander Josephson, co-founder of the firm Partisans, strikes a similar note: “Beauty emerges when design misbehaves.”

As comments on aesthetics in general, these takes are spot on—forms that repel you at first can seduce you over time, enriching the way you conceptualize beauty. As comments on Libeskind’s crystal, they miss the point. You can say anything you want about the elusive nature of beauty, but there’s still a meaningful distinction between buildings that work and buildings that don’t.

The crystal may look neat from the outside, but the interior galleries are terrible. The pokey, angular rooms compete for the viewer’s attention with whatever else is on display. Libeskind promised to build a “luminous beacon,” but the crystal wasn’t clad in glass, as that phrase implies, but mostly aluminum panels, with just enough glazing to let in a minimum of natural light. Visitors enter the crystal through a kind of side door, more befitting a passport office than a world-class museum. As for the original ROM entrance—a vaulted lobby with marble stairways and mosaic ceilings? That was closed off. Toronto’s grandest antechamber became its grandest storage locker.

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Far from a revitalization, Libeskind’s addition was a cautionary tale—a demonstration of how badly things can go when hubris outruns sensitivity. But in 2016, the museum made a small, refreshingly practical move: it commissioned local firm Hariri Pontarini Architects to retrofit—and then re-open—the original pre-Libeskind entrance. HPA co-founder Siamak Hariri outfitted the exterior space with lights and ramps. The ROM renovation also had the marble stairways refurbished, and the glass mosaic tiles reappointed. “I told the museum leadership,” Hariri says, “that if they’d written me a blank cheque, I could not have created a lobby as excellent as the one they already had.”

The ROM has now rewarded his firm with a more ambitious commission: a renovation to Libeskind’s, um, renovation. The plans, released earlier this year, are backed by $50 million from the Hennick Family Foundation. Hariri refuses to call it a repair job, though. “The point is not that we’re fixing the building,” he says. “It’s that we’re finishing the building.”

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You can view this statement as sophistry: the delicate art—parodied by Aristophanes, perfected by Bill Clinton—of talking around the truth. But I see it as diplomacy. Clearly, Hariri understands that you won’t get far in his business if you trash talk your clients.

And his design speaks for itself. There will be a brass awning demarcating the crystal-side entrance of the ROM, a reminder that civic buildings should never seem like they’re hiding from the public. There will be wooden slats atop the soffits of Libeskind’s low-hanging foyer, which will give way to a soaring glass canopy, a reminder of the elemental necessity of natural light. Inside this sunlit atrium, and against the brick wall of the original ROM, there will be a sculptural stairway (and rampway) connecting to the various floors and half floors of the old museum. The latest ROM renovation will see a staircase with brass railings and rounded landings resembling lily pads, a reminder that, in architecture, lyricism can coexist with rationality. The new crystal entranceway will be freely open to the public—a collective living room.

All architecture is propositional. To make a building is also to make a statement about the kind of buildings you’d like to see in the world. Hariri isn’t running his mouth about Libeskind. But without words, he’s telling us about the design our city needs—and the design it can do without.

The post The New ROM Renovation Is Not a Repair Job appeared first on Designlines Magazine.

With hundreds of pieces found throughout the city, it’s fair to say that Toronto has a rather robust public art scene. More than simply bringing beauty to the urban landscape, the colourful murals, monuments and sculptures help foster a strong sense of placemaking while also softening and humanizing our built environment. Soon, one more treasure will be added to the city’s public art portfolio. Situated at Exhibition Place’s Centennial Park, the new feature wall Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life, 2024, is designed by father-son duo August Swinson and Luke Swinson, Indigenous artists and members of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, and celebrates “the cultural and historical significance of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation as Treaty Holders.” 

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Established artists in their own right—August works in various styles, mixing hand-drawn and digitally generated illustrations; Luke is a visual artist and illustrator—the two have an effortless collaborative approach having worked together on several projects in the past. “Even though our styles are quite different, we understand and complement each other very well,” says Luke. But Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life was perhaps a little different as it utilizes a material neither had worked with before – sheet metal. “This is the first time either of us has worked on something metal, as well as something that is made into a 3D structure at a large scale,” says Luke. “It was challenging to design with this in mind, but we felt that we had a lot of freedom during the process.” 

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Inspiration for the piece was manifold: As the feature wall would be situated in a park within the city, the two wanted to “reflect the natural world around Toronto and the greater area, but also to portray how the land had been long before the city was built. A tribute to the history of the land and the current beauty of it.” The multi-layer piece will also tell a story depicted through seven dodems that each represent one of the original Anishinaabe clans – Crane, Loon, Bear, Fish, Marten, Deer and Bird – and the four sacred medicines – tobacco, sage, cedar and sweetgrass. “Many other clans were formed from these [dodems] and there are many stories and meanings behind each one that will differ between communities,” the artists explain. “These sacred medicines are used often by Anishinaabe people with great care and for many purposes, [like] gift offerings, purification, healing and many different types of ceremonies.” When it came to the colour palette, the two again looked to the natural environment, selecting greens and blues to reflect the plants and water in and around Toronto and the weathered brown-orange of untreated Corten steel to complement the overall theme.

Starting with pencil sketches that were converted into digital images through the Procreate app, the Swinsons worked with local landscape architecture and urban design firm Studio tla (who has been working with the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place on a master plan revitalization of Centennial Park since 2021) to take their design from concept to realization. As the primary consultant, Studio tla helped guide the process through eight iterations, transforming the artists’ original work into technical drawings, a 1:1 scale 3D model, rendered images and finally construction drawings. The studio also used virtual reality technology to create an “immersive 3D experience that helped refine the design [and] validated the transformation of the artwork into a built form that aligns with the artists’ design intent and original vision.”

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When complete, the feature wall will be composed of three main layers at a scale appropriate to its context and purpose. The tallest, made from perforated Corten steel, will stand some 6 metres in height and hold the primary artwork – the seven depicted dodems will traverse across the entire 50-metre length; the cut-outs will allow the artwork to be visible from both sides in a mirrored expression. In the middle, a six-metre-tall teal blue—powder-coated and punctured steel screen with an undulating profile will spread out horizontally from a towering tree whose roots will flourish along the entire length with other representations of the sacred medicinal vegetation. The foremost layer, powder-coated a lovely sky blue, will be laser-cut with the name of the piece situated in the centre and the narrative expressions that the artists want to convey expanding outwards from it.

Ontario-based steel fabrication workshop Cobalt Fabrication, a long-time collaborator of Studio tla’s, was tasked with bringing the piece to life, while Moses Structural Engineers provided the structural framing and foundations. Custom lighting by Moon-Matz Electrical Engineers ensures the feature wall is accentuated in a way that further cements its beacon status in the public realm. “Serving as an iconic symbol as people drive along the Gardiner Expressway and as a landmark feature within Centennial Park and the Exhibition Place grounds, the feature wall stands proud within the park, giving prominence to the themes and notions it expresses,” says Studio tla.

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“Mino Bimaadiziwin – or Good Life – means something different to so many people and we want everyone to see this and reflect on what that means to them,” say the Swinsons. They continue, “While we want this piece to be enjoyed by everyone, it is very important to us that Indigenous people who see it feel represented and proud. That they will see themselves, their families, values and traditions in this piece and be inspired. The Anishinaabe Language being visually represented is so important to our communities and we want to help make this more of a common sight.”

Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life by August Swinson and Luke Swinson was commissioned by the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place under the direction of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

The post A Tribute to Indigenous Heritage in Centennial Park appeared first on Designlines Magazine.

When Jyhling Lee of Figureground Studio was young, the corner of Queen Street between Spadina and Yonge was the heart of the city. “It was always a place to see and be seen,” she recalls. So, when she learned that the neighbourhood BIA was revitalizing that very streetscape with PMA Architects, she eagerly got involved. Unveiled on June 21st during a summer solstice celebration, her Queen West sculpture, Reflector, began living up to its name. With performances by Indigenous mother-daughter duo Nichole Leveck and Indiana Cada, drummer Elijah Stevens, and installations by local artist Scott Eunson and Wyandot Elder Catherine Tammaro among others, Lee’s sculpture reflects both the silhouettes and the spirit of the community.

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Located at the northwest corner of Queen and Soho Streets, the 3.2-metre-high mirrored sculpture is made entirely of mirror polish stainless steel scales. Although Lee is no stranger to the material, this was her first time working with mirrored scale to such an immersive degree. With a dazzling kaleidoscopic effect—which oscillates equally under a blue sky, in the rain, or at night—Reflector features a structure of complex geometries. Based on origami forms Lee has played with all her life, the Queen West sculpture was imagined as a bowl, creating both a symbolic and a physical space for reflection.

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With two iterations and a two-year design process, Reflector was originally created back in 2019. By the time the project made it to the fabrication phase, COVID-19 had hit. The team ran into other challenges, like an unmarked gas line and safety concerns about sight-lines which led the smooth base being opened up into pointed ‘feet’. “That was part of the safety and design process aspect in evolving the sculptural form,” she says, “I think it actually enhanced the sculpture—these kind of pointy little feet.”

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And now we wait. How will the public react? It seems as though this Queen West sculpture has been embraced already. Even with the regular cleanings organized by the BIA to keep the steel surface shining, the mirrored exterior bears the marks of little hands and curious fingerprints. At the unveiling ceremony, Torontonians lined up—in typical Canadian fashion—eagerly awaiting their chance to experience Reflector. A wandering police officer was even spotted picking food from his teeth in the reflection. For now, Reflector seems to have captured its community.

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“People would just line up and take turns. It’s a space where people wanted to respect each other’s time within it. Everyone didn’t crowd in at the same time. It was like, all right, you have your moment to enjoy it, take your photograph, and then come out, and then the next group would go in.”

The post Queen West Sculpture Fosters Physical and Symbolic Reflection appeared first on Designlines Magazine.

As the Aga Khan Museum celebrates its 10th anniversary, a new exhibition exploring the complex impact of light has been unveiled. Light: Visionary Perspective features works by Canadian and international artists and explores how light has shaped history and continues to influence our perceptions of the world around us. 

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The installations featured in Light: Visionary Perspective speak to and showcase many interpretations of the effects of light, both literally and symbolically. Through the use of auditory and visual stimulation, visitors of the exhibit will find themselves transported through the artists’ works as they experience the storytelling of light through different mediums. 

Co-curated by the Museum’s associate curator Bita Pourvash and special projects curator Marianne Fenton, the installations and works featured in Light: Visionary Perspective take audiences through all realms of light – past, present and future – “to explore our shared humanity.” 

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Exploring the origins of humanity is mazinibii’igan / a creation, by artist Tannis Nielsen. The immersive looped video installation dives into the origin of light with narration by Elder Marie Gaudet (Turtle Clan Anishinaabe from Wikwemikong). 

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Korean artist Kimsooja uses To Breathe, a site-specific immersive installation, to harness natural elements of the building’s architecture to play with light using the windows surrounding the Museum’s courtyard. 

Beyond the galleries, Light: Visionary Perspective, looks at how light interacts with the Museum’s architecture and design. During its design process, His Highness the Aga Khan highlighted the “ephemeral yet essential qualities of light,” setting the tone for the building’s design inspiration. The building’s architect, Fumihiko Maki, utilized materials and methods to translate this inspiration into reality and allow the building to play with light no matter the time of year or weather. 

The exhibit is on now until March 17, 2025.

The post Aga Khan Museum’s 10th Anniversary Marked With the Exploration of Light appeared first on Designlines Magazine.