Partners in Art is proud to support ArtworxTO’s Legacy Artist in Residence (AiR) Program. The ArtworxTO Legacy Artist in Residence (AiR) Program supports the three pillars upon which both the 10-year Public Art Strategy and Year of Public Art are built: “Creativity + Community—Everywhere.”
The ArtworxTO Legacy Artist in Residence (AiR) Program gets to the heart of embedding creativity in Toronto as a core element in city building. To be piloted with Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021–2022, in its first year this program will embed a professional contemporary artist working within a City of Toronto department.
ArtworxTO invited Toronto-based professional artists to submit Expressions of Interest to participate in the inaugural ArtworxTO Legacy Artist in Residence (AiR) Program. The following three City departments have been shortlisted to host the inaugural Artist in Residence. One of the following departments will be selected to be the host, based on best match with artists’ expressions of interest.
The three shortlisted departments in the program’s first year are:
● Court Services
● Parks, Forestry and Recreation (Parks Development and Capital Projects)
● Parks, Forestry and Recreation (Urban Forestry)
Artists working alongside City staff will bring new ways of thinking about the work that is done within the City. In its pilot stage, this is an opportunity to be part of something new, and to set a precedent for how the City can work collaboratively with artists. This program has been developed with extensive research into similar programs in other municipalities.
The Artist in Residence term will range from 12 to 18 months, depending on the project timeline that works best for the artist and host department, working collaboratively. The term will include 60 hours (across the first 3-6 months) working alongside a department host in a period of embedded research. Following this, the artist will embark on development of a public-facing project, which may take any number of forms. The inaugural ArtworxTO Legacy Artist in Residence will be announced in February 2022.
