And We Want You to Celebrate 15 Years with Us!
Did you know that in 2011, what is now the DesignTO Festival began as a handful of events held in tucked-away places? Come 2025, the DesignTO Festival will be 15 years old, and look at us now. DesignTO is a non-profit arts and culture organization with year-round programming and a 10-day-strong, city-wide festival attracting thousands from across Canada and even further afield. Older and wiser, DesignTO is still spearheaded by a small group of individuals aided by passionate volunteers and funded by dedicated sponsors and government bodies. To all our supporters, we send a huge thank you.
The DesignTO Festival happens from January 24 to February 2, 2025. Ahead of our big birthday bash, we want to invite all of you to participate in this milestone. To make the upcoming Festival and its 100-plus, cross-Toronto events extra special, we are taking great strides to occupy spectacular venues with even higher visibility to garner the city and its design community more awareness and attendance than ever before. For instance, in addition to activating prominent showrooms, galleries, and neighbourhood hotspots like cafes, salons, and shop windows across the city, DesignTO will curate an industrial design exhibition in the historic West Wing of Toronto’s Union Station, where designers will showcase innovative solutions to slowing down in the hustle and bustle of commuting. Additionally, look out for an installation on the unmissable screens at Yonge-Dundas Square (soon to be Sankofa Square) where Toronto-based Ghanaian-Nigerian photographer Delali Cofie will be showcasing images from his award-winning OCAD thesis project “At the conjuring of roots, I wished to meet Me.”
On top of these high-profile spaces, DesignTO will once again kick off the 10-day event with a takeover of Harbourfront Centre, where attendees can view the DesignTO curated group exhibition ‘REVIVE,’ mix and mingle with other design lovers, and dance the night away.
So, if you haven’t taken part in the past – or have and it’s been a while – now is the right time to (re)join us. Here are four key ways to get involved:
1. Participate in the Festival: The Festival attracts thousands of attendees eager to explore, be inspired, and learn. Presented in multiple neighbourhoods, the DesignTO Festival unites diverse communities with its engaging programming. We appreciate that design is a multidisciplinary form of creative thinking and making, and our exhibitors are encouraged to ideate and craft an equitable future where both people and the planet thrive. Learn more.
2. Become a DesignTO Member: Enjoy incredible benefits, including early event access, members-only events, and subscriptions to partnering organizations. Your membership fee helps us sustain our free public programming. Become a DesignTO Member.
3. Sponsor Us: DesignTO Festival’s 100-plus events are proudly supported by value-aligned government bodies and businesses, allowing visitors to experience design in all shapes and formats. In return, sponsors receive benefits, including prominent recognition and demonstration of leadership in design, sustainability, equity, innovation, and joy. Join us today.
4. Volunteer for the Festival: Bring your skill, time, and enthusiasm to the annual celebration of design. We are an inclusive organization and would be happy to hear from you. Learn more about volunteering.
There are several ways for you to share your work at the 2025 event:
- Independent Projects: Independently produced projects are integral to the Festival’s structure. We welcome all who want to present, discuss, demonstrate, or exhibit design in any field and/or related disciplines. Learn more.
- DesignTO Talks: Net Positive: Submit to speak at our signature talk series where designers and thinkers will explore design responses to the climate crisis from a perspective of abundance. Learn more.
- DesignTO Youth Program: Equity-deserving youth aged 18-29 can join the next cohort for artist talks, interactive discussions, and creative exercises and receive meaningful input on how to develop unique stories and turn personal experiences into compelling works of art and design. As of July 19, 2024, all spots have been filled.
- Group Exhibition ‘Hurry Up and Wait’: How can sustainable design evolve for our on-the-go routines or inspire us to slow down? Submit innovative solutions to be shown at Union Station. Learn more.
- Prototype Exhibition ‘Surface Impressions’: Experiment with a new recycled leather material in the latest edition of the annual prototype exhibition organized by DesignTO in partnership with Umbra. Learn more.
- Thematic Exhibition ‘REVIVE’: A call to action to preserve and celebrate sacred and vulnerable materials and creative practices at Harbourfront Centre’s Gallery 235. Learn more.
- Guest Designer Call: Designers that want to present an exhibition, event or window installation during the Festival, but don’t have a venue, submit to activate one of our many host venues. Learn more.
See DesignTO.org for all the details and hop to it as deadlines are coming up quickly.
We look forward to celebrating our 15th birthday with you January 24 to February 2, 2025 and we hope to inspire you to participate in this milestone year. Join us today and be sure to share these opportunities by passing this newsletter along.
Thank you,
DesignTO
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About DesignTO
DesignTO is a non-profit arts and culture organization that believes design can create a sustainable, just, and joyful world. DesignTO organizes the annual DesignTO Festival, celebrating its 15th birthday in January 2025. It is Canada’s largest celebration of design, forming Toronto’s design week.
For 10 days every January, Toronto buzzes with energy and innovation. The DesignTO Festival celebrates design as a multidisciplinary form of creative thinking and making. People from near and far come to explore, learn, and get inspired through architectural tours, craft and design exhibitions, window installations, thought-provoking talks, and other unique experiences. Last year, the Festival featured 500+ artists and designers, drew over 172,000 visitors, and generated $31.4 million for the local economy, highlighting its vital role in the community. Since 2011, we have welcomed over 1 million visitors, showcased the work of over 6,500 artists and designers, and reached over 2 billion people through print and digital media.
But it doesn’t stop there. DesignTO keeps its creativity flowing all year long. DesignTO Talks, DesignTO Tours, DesignTO Youth, and exclusive Members Events offer ongoing opportunities to engage with design. We’re committed to making design accessible to everyone, proudly reflecting Toronto’s diversity with 83% of our team and 62% of our visitors identifying as part of equity-deserving groups.
Innovation is in our DNA. We love taking creative risks and pushing boundaries. Through strategic partnerships and forward-thinking programs, we’re building a future where design enriches lives and neighbourhoods.
At DesignTO, everyone is welcome. Whether you’re a seasoned designer, a curious newcomer, a design lover, or a potential collaborator, we provide a platform to dive deep into design, engage with vibrant communities, and help reimagine tomorrow. Join us as we explore new areas, celebrate creativity, and redefine what design means for our city and beyond. Whether at the DesignTO Festival or through our year-round events, be part of a movement that celebrates the transformative power of design.
About Harbourfront Centre:
Where the city meets the lake and people connect with art and culture, Harbourfront Centre brings artists and communities together to surprise, provoke and entertain all our audiences.We are dedicated to nurturing every individual’s enjoyment and engagement with arts and culture.
For 50 years, Harbourfront Centre has championed the significance of Craft and Design as a creative discipline through its distinctive Artists-in-Residence program, exhibitions and events. This program is critical for emerging craft artists and the sustainability of contemporary craft and design practice in Canada.
Craft & Design at Harbourfront Centre has maintained an important relationship with DesignTO for many years; co-presenting exhibitions and programming, and sharing common visions and values. We are thrilled to partner with them again to celebrate their 15th anniversary in 2025.
About Union:
Union is committed to reflecting the diversity of Canadians in all our programs and operations. Our programming vision encourages and celebrates creativity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Our goal is to strengthen the connection between public art and civic engagement ultimately striving to create connectedness amongst our communities.
We support innovation and collaborate with artists and cultural organizations throughout the GTA and internationally. The projects we curate are uplifting, grand scale, impactful, accessible and above all foster meaningful thought and emotional dialogue about our experiences.