This walking tour invites you to take a closer look at three temporary artworks in the Yonge + St. Clair neighbourhood that explore ideas of self-image and identity, perception and reflection, and absence and presence. With firsthand insight from the artists and designers behind the projects, delve deeper into the site-specific installations, their stories, and how they came to be.

The tour starts at ‘Narcissus Falls’ (with Audric Montuno) located at 2 St. Clair Avenue West, followed by ‘Bubble Quilt’ (with Studio Rat), and ‘Beyond the Body’ (with Pixel Heller), all within a short walking distance of each other.

Following the tour, participants are encouraged to visit the other artworks in the neighbourhood, including ‘Yes, And’ (30 St. Clair Avenue West), ‘Tangled Paths’ (40 St. Clair Avenue West), and ‘Homing (Pigeon Store)’ (95 St. Clair Avenue Wast).

Speakers

Pixel Heller is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based in Toronto. She delves into various mediums including painting, photography, performance, and textiles. Her creative journey is deeply influenced by her identity as a woman of Afro-Caribbean descent. Pixel explores themes of Black identity, carnival masquerade, cultural fluidity, and the preservation of cultures. She graduated from OCAD University in 2024 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cross-Disciplinary Studies with a specialization in Life Studies.

artsbypixel.com

Audric Montuno is Studio Director at Land Art Design Landscape Architects Inc., a boutique design studio based in Toronto and Niagara that aims to craft landscapes that inspire and delight, incorporating nature-rich elements even in the most unconventional places. Past exhibitions include installations at the Gladstone Grow-Op (2016) and at the Interior Design Show (2017). He is a visiting guest critic for the University of Guelph’s Bachelor of Landscape Architecture capstone course and a full member of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

ladesign.ca

Studio Rat is an emerging creative practice pursuing experimental installation art and design between the cities of Montréal and Toronto. Studio Rat was founded in 2018 as a site for investigations on plastics, inflatables, and community building between artists Dom Di Libero and Emily Allan. The duo creates inflatable dreamscapes from discarded materials that present a commentary on the irreversible binding of plastic in our environments and everyday experience. Play, softness, and sustainability inform Studio Rat’s approach to space-making and DIY fabrication methods, which they engage through a continuous cycle of rework and reuse.

studiorat.ca

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‘DesignTO Tours: Dualities’ is organized by DesignTO, and supported by the Yonge + St. Clair BIA, the Government of Ontario, and the City of Toronto.

DesignTO is a non-profit arts organization celebrating 15 years of designing a sustainable, just, and joyful future. From January 24-February 2, 2025, the DesignTO Festival features 100+ free events across Toronto, showcasing hundreds of artists and designers. Known as Canada’s largest annual design festival, DesignTO has welcomed over 1 million attendees, reached 2.6 billion people through media, supported 6,500+ creatives, and generated $120 million in tourism impact. “DesignTO isn’t just a festival; it’s an anti-loneliness machine,” co-founder Christina Zeidler remarked, underscoring the organization’s power to foster belonging and spark vital conversations about design’s role in shaping a better world.