Application Deadline
Rolling deadline, with final applications due September 5, 2025 at 11:59pm ET

DesignTO Youth
‘Otherworld’

‘Otherworld’ is the seventh edition of DesignTO Youth, a program that provides youth (ages 18-29) with access to creative disciplines and professionals. Grounded in the understanding that humans are dynamic and ever-evolving, this year’s program invites participants to reflect on the power of worldbuilding as a device for conscious change.

Artists and designers serve as facilitators of the process of change by mirroring the present, providing shifts in perspective, and making space for new ways of thinking. Through these actions, we shape cultures, challenge norms, and provoke ourselves to envision lives that serve us and our communities better. With influence from James Baldwin’s “The Creative Process” essay and Lola Olufemi’s “Experiments in Imagining Otherwise,” this year’s youth program will centre imagination as the driving force behind radical transformation.

Through a series of artist talks, creative exercises, and collaborative discussions, participants will investigate the malleability of our worlds. Together, they will explore the role of art and design in the creation of alternative futures.

Program Breakdown

Module 1: The Art of Noticing – What do you notice? What sticks? Was it always this way? This session begins with us establishing observation as the bedrock of change, and a creative and political act. If imagination is defined by what we’ve seen and known, then examining the ways we observe — what we notice, ignore and even forget — can shed light on our understanding of our awareness.

Module 2: What We Carry: Memory and Myth – Next, we will think through the politics of memory and storytelling, specifically in the context of marginalized experiences. This session looks at how our personal and collective memory shapes our worldviews and the realities we buy into, further exploring the ways in which inherited narratives are reinforced or disrupted in our lives.

Module 3: Go Back and Get It/Take Only What You Need – The third module will ask us to consider worldbuilding as a fundamentally relational practice that should be grounded in respect and reciprocity vs. extractive or exploitative dynamics. Worldbuilding is not about inventing from nothing, but rather about listening, remembering, and honouring what has come before.

Module 4: The Politics of Possibility – If the current system is only one version of reality, what are others? Who decides what is “real”? This session will serve as a deep dive into the speculative, asking us to consider what becomes possible when we suspend belief.

Module 5: Pressure Points – For this week, our aim is to understand how our interpersonal frustrations are often linked to larger systemic problems, and to consider how an awareness of these infrastructures can inform our approaches to worldbuilding.

Module 6: Holding on to Hope – Creating new realities is a process that requires resilience, patience, and strong belief. It is very easy to lose sight of the dream when the paths ahead seem uncertain. Through an open discussion, the final module will explore how to stay committed to the process of worldbuilding. The conversation will touch on support strategies, accountability tools, and alternative ways to sustain momentum.

–

The program will culminate in a one-day in-person showcase during the 2026 DesignTO Festival. Working together, youth will deliver multidisciplinary presentations — including exhibitions, performances, soundscapes, and installations — in response to social issues that reflect their own concerns and perspectives.

DesignTO, in partnership with JAYU, invites you to apply for our FREE program.

Showcase Opportunity

Participants in the ‘Otherworld’ program are invited to apply to develop presentations individually or in groups in the program that culminates in a public one-day showcase featured as part of the 16th annual DesignTO Festival, January 23 – February 1, 2026. This showcase will be held in Toronto.

NOTE: Participation in the youth program does not guarantee your participation in the one-day showcase. Only a selection of showcase applicants will be successful. All youth in the program are invited and encouraged to apply.

Program Details

We invite applications from youth artists, designers, and creatives aged 18 to 29 working in all mediums and formats. No prior experience is necessary.

6 workshop sessions will take place on Wednesdays: October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and November 5, 2025 from 5:30-7:30pm. They are 2 hours each week. Online.

Participants selected for the final showcase will continue to attend additional meetings through November and December to further develop their presentations, and attend/present at the one-day event in January 2026.

Eligibility:

• No prior art or design experience is necessary.
• Must be between the ages of 18-29 at the time of application.
• Must be a resident of Ontario.
• Must self-identify as a member of an equity-seeking group.
• Must commit to attending each online session for the full 2 hours each week. There are 6 sessions total on Wednesdays from October 1 to November 5.

Benefits: 

• 6 online sessions with fantastic guest artists and designers.
• Meet new people in an accessible, inclusive online environment.
• Get access to apply for paid opportunities, including being hired with JAYU as a junior mentor for future iAM workshops and added to their artist roster upon completion of the program.
• Get access to an opportunity to apply to participate in a one-day showcase during the DesignTO Festival in January 2026.

All submissions should include the following:

• Your contact info (name, email, phone number, mailing address), and website URL (if available);
• Why you’re interested in participating in this residency program (required, max. 150 words); and
• Optional responses to these questions: What is a change you would like to see in the world today? What role do you see art and design playing in bringing it to life?

Deadlines

All submissions are due Friday, September 5, 2025 by 11:59pm ET.

NOTE: Your application does not confirm your spot in the program. Applicants will be admitted on a first-come-first-serve basis. There is a limited number of spots available so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. All successful applicants will receive an email confirmation accepting them into the program.