A new coastal public art trail is coming to Toronto thanks to a $ 25 million donation – the largest arts gift the city has ever received.
The Pierre Lasonde Family Foundation has offered to donate to the trail, which will be located in parks on Wheelers Island in the port of Toronto.
“This addition is something that will simply make a tremendous additional contribution to this accessibility, to the attractiveness of the coast, to the people who live, work and play here, and to the many people who just visit here,” Mayor John Torrey told a news conference in Sugar Beach on Tuesday morning.
Waterfront Toronto is building the parks where the public art trail will run as part of the port land flood protection project.
The Lasonde family’s donation includes $ 10 million to commission two remarkable works of art and up to $ 15 million to create a new nonprofit that will manage the art path.
“After living in Toronto for most of his life, my father wanted to bring something back to the city to complement the many exceptional arts organizations that are already here,” said Julie Lasonde, Pierre Lasonde’s daughter.
“As an avid traveler and visitor to many famous public art parks during these trips, the idea arose to create an open art trail that is free and accessible to the public.
The trail will be a free outdoor route and will include two permanent works – one by a leading Canadian artist and another by an international artist.
The trail will also feature a rotating cycle of contemporary installations by local, national and international artists.
“The thousands (people) who will be there will come around the corner and find some magic, magic that is public art. And to be able to sit in a beautiful outdoor setting with the birds, with the geese passing by, and to bring and drink from what I believe will be exceptional, exceptional permanent works of public art, ”said District Councilor Paula. Fletcher.
Torrey said the trail would not only improve the waterfront, but would also mean the city’s commitment to supporting local artists.
“This extraordinary $ 25 million donation to create this path of art will be something that will put us back on the map in terms of this commitment to creativity, to artists, to art and to the public sphere,” he said.
Today, we announced a generous $ 25 million donation from the Pierre Lasonde Family Foundation to our city’s waterfront to create a new public coastal art trail that serves as a free, accessible open-air museum for both visitors and residents. pic.twitter.com/j85uYW6x37
– John Tori (@TorontosMayor) June 28, 2022
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