Client: Multiple - Ontario Business Improvement Areas
Location: Multiple, ON, Canada
Completion date: 2022
Project Team
Project Manger /Advisor
STEPS Public Art
Project Partner
DUKE Heights BIA
Project Partner
Burlington BIA
Project Partner
Chinatown BIA
Project Partner
Cabbagetown BIA
Project Partner
Danforth Mosaic BIA
Project Partner
Downtown Yonge BIA
Project Partner
Fairbank Village BIA
Project Partner
Gerrard India Bazaar BIA
Project Partner
Leslieville BIA
Project Partner
Malton BIA
Project Partner
Port Credit BIA
Project Partner
Riverside BIA
Project Partner
Albion Islington Square
Project Partner
Albion Islington Square
Project Partner
Aldershot Village BIA
Project Partner
Belle River -On the Lake BIA
Project Partner
Downtown Brockville
Project Partner
Clarkson Village BIA
Project Partner
Downtown Tillsonburg BIA
Project Partner
Downtown Timmins
Project Partner
Downtown Whitby BIA
Project Partner
GreekTown on the Danforth BIA / East End Arts
Project Partner
Kensington Market BIA
Project Partner
Lakeshore Village BIA
Project Partner
MarkeTo District
Project Partner
Mimico-by-the-Lake
Project Partner
Mount Pleasant Village BIA
Project Partner
Oakwood Village BIA
Project Partner
Pape Village BIA
Project Partner
Port Credit BIA
Project Partner
Trinity Bellwoods on Dundas
Project Partner
Bloor Annex BIA
Project Partner
Bloor West Village BIA
Project Partner
Downtown Barrie
Project Partner
Eglinton Way BIA
Project Partner
Oakwood Village BIA
Project Partner
Rosedale BIA
Project Partner
Downtown Bench Beamsville
Project Partner
Downtown Milton BIA
Project Partner
Weston Village BIA
Project Partner
Willowdale BIA
Project Partner
Uptown Yonge BIA
Project Partner
Mimico Village BIA
Project Partner
Ottawa Street BIA
Project Partner
Downtown Stratford BIA
Project Partner
Cooksville BIA
Project Partner
Mount Pleasant BIA
Project Partner
Streetsville BIA
Project Partner
Bolton BIA
Lead Artist
Chris Perez
Lead Artist
Whyishnave Suthagar
Lead Artist
Duncan C McLean
Lead Artist
Fatspatrol
Lead Artist
Jieun June Kim
Lead Artist
Linh Thai
Lead Artist
Caitlin Taguibao
Lead Artist
Heidi Berton
Lead Artist
Jenn Kitagawa
Lead Artist
Vesna Asanovic
Lead Artist
Sue Todd
Lead Artist
Wandy Cheng
Lead Artist
Rosena Fung
Lead Artist
Roshni Wijayasinha
Lead Artist
Gosia Komorski
Lead Artist
Nick Sweetman
Lead Artist
Lindsay Hill
Lead Artist
Erin McCluskey
Lead Artist
Lauren Pirie
Lead Artist
Marco Bertuzzo
Lead Artist
Bareket Kezwer
Lead Artist
Yshmael Cabana
Lead Artist
Brianne Burnell
Lead Artist
Katherine Rae Diemert
Lead Artist
Farida Zaman
Lead Artist
Marcia Diaz Agudelo
Lead Artist
Laura Elliott
Lead Artist
Renata Janiszewka
Lead Artist
Julita Wolanska
Lead Artist
Kate Austin
Lead Artist
Hyedi Hashimoto
Lead Artist
Yasaman Mehrsa
Lead Artist
Asli Alin
Lead Artist
Danielle Hyde
Lead Artist
Romana Kassim
Lead Artist
Gabriella Lasporte
Lead Artist
Mel Hayes
Lead Artist
Kayla Buium
Lead Artist
Andre Kan
Lead Artist
Andre Castro
Lead Artist
Leone McComas
Lead Artist
Curtia Wright
Lead Artist
Tony Yaw
Lead Artist
Ogawa Suharu
Lead Artist
Jay Wall
Lead Artist
Steven Twigg
Lead Artist
Katrina Canedo
Lead Artist
Troy Pynn
Lead Artist
Yarra Eshet
Lead Artist
Marica Agudelo
Lead Artist
Joseph Sagaj
Lead Artist
Saroja Ponnambalam
Lead Artist
Jaque Lavell
Lead Artist
James Lai, Alexis Veneru
Hour Studio Space
Lead Artist
Justine Wong
Lead Artist
Mar Lewis
Lead Artist
Katie Green
Lead Artist
Sara Sarhangpour
Lead Artist
Monica Wickeler
Lead Artist
Melika Saeeda
Lead Artist
Ghazaleh Rastgar
Lead Artist
Vivian Rosas
Lead Artist
Ailsa Craigen
Lead Artist
Enna Kim
Lead Artist
Sue Todd
Lead Artist
Mo Thunder
Lead Artist
Shawna Howe
Lead Artist
Jen Kitagwa
Lead Artist
Moises Frank
Lead Artist
Kaya Joan
Lead Artist
Elise Conlin
Lead Artist
Adrian Farrow
Lead Artist
Omar Hopkins
Lead Artist
Kyle Jarencio
Lead Artist
Sharron Trottier
Lead Artist
Autumn Smith
Lead Artist
Katherine Theresa Montigny
Lead Artist
Anushay Sheikh
Lead Artist
Alanah Jewel
Lead Artist
Kellen Hatanaka
Lead Artist
Meghan Cheng
Lead Artist
Nyle Johnston
Lead Artist
Sima Nassem
Lead Artist
Alessandra Vai
Lead Artist
Gabrielle Franks
Overview
I HeART Main Street is a program that started at the height of the 2020 pandemic to provide Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) with the supports they need to activate main streets across Ontario through creative placemaking and public art. From hiring artists and building staff capacity, to showcasing local business stories and engaging communities through one-of-a-kind public artwork, this program provides paid opportunities to Canadian artists while fostering community through challenging times. you can find out more through https://stepspublicart.org/project/i-heart-main-street-program-2022/
Goals
I HeART Main Street (IHMS) responds to needs of Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), communities and artists, forging partnerships to create safe multidisciplinary community-engaged public artwork experiences along Ontario main streets. IHMS encourages people to re/discover the talent of Ontario, while simultaneously driving positive economic impact through innovative business-artist partnerships, generating job opportunities for Ontario artists, and increasing Ontario’s profile through online campaigns that instill interest within and outside the province. Goals included:
-Strengthening Ontario’s cultural tourism sector and relationships between cultural/local business sectors province-wide for longer term recovery and collaboration.
-Encouraging safe exploration and sense of belonging with Ontario communities
-Increasing access to public art; live arts and opportunities for communities to safely connect with each other and with Ontario artists
-Generating job opportunities for Ontario artists, prioritizing collaborations with Indigenous, LGBTQ+, Black, racialized and disabled artists
-Facilitating digital engagement and integrated technology that fosters appreciation for Ontario artists at home and across Canada
Process
IHMS increases access and public appreciation of local arts through: publicly accessible art installations; artist talks; live arts creation and opportunities for community to connect directly with artists, which can be experienced in-person or online -encourage learning and exploration among community members through facilitated walking/cycling tours and self-guided scavenger hunts using interactive mapping tools that incorporate digital storytelling, leaving a lasting cultural tourism legacy foster artist-business-community connections: coaching participants in generating public art ideas for their community while facilitating new partnerships between artists and community groups.
The process involved facilitating collaborations between BIAs and various artists based on needs/expertise as well as matching small businesses matched with specific activations. STEPS supported the production of various activations. Digital events included artist talks/live streams (artists profiled; behind the scenes/teaser content) focussed on profiling Ontario artists, cultural tourism and communities to audiences across the province and in other Canadian regions, to encourage future regional and domestic tourism as well as an appetite and appreciation for local public art.
Additional Information
Ontario has been hard-hit by COVID-19 public health outcomes and business closures required to keep our communities safe, causing local communities to seek alternative safe cultural experiences, and local businesses to develop ways to respond to their needs. The pandemic presented an opportunity to create innovative public art offerings that: encourage people to explore neighbouring Ontario communities, and create paid opportunities for Ontario artists, while creating lasting valuable artist-business relationships to support vibrant commercial main streets. This public art program supports long-term development and competitiveness of cultural tourism within Ontario communities, attracts regional visitors and increases business-artist partnerships for more vibrant Ontario communities, ultimately increasing appreciation among local business groups of public art’s power in fostering main street vibrancy and long-term regional cultural tourism. While traditional cultural venues have been shuttered throughout the pandemic, public art remained one of few safe cultural experiences for Ontarians. Public artworks contribute to organic creative placemaking that enhances the quality of life and public space - maintaining vibrancy and supporting resilience in the face of crises.