STEPS I HeART Mainstreet Public Art Challenge and Roncesvalles Village – Spring 2024

Roncesvalles Village BIA Planter Animations
Based on our application, the Roncesvalles Village BIA was selected to take part in STEPS Public Art’s ‘I HeART Main Street Program‘ to beautify its main street with vibrant and accessible art in Toronto’s west end. With garden beds, concrete planters, and outdoor benches frequently tagged with graffiti, this was a creative placemaking opportunity to animate public furniture with functional art that discourages vandalism and reflects the cultures and joys of Roncesvalles.

STEPS provides administrative and project management assistance (including equitable sourcing of artists, managing artist contracts, purchasing supplies etc.). They will also be providing signage for each art location and a small financial contribution. While the RVBIA supplies the locations (as well as the concept of the project(s)), direction on the art (themes, placement, colours) and the bulk of the cost of the project.

Before and after at 305 Roncesvalles Avenue

The Proposal:
Roncesvalles Village BIA manager Daniele Stoddard’s proposal included adding artwork to some of the concrete bases of the benches along Roncesvalles that flank our garden beds.  The goal of this proposal was three pronged. Adding additional art to the public realm was a natural step towards beautification our streetscape with art that reflects our community and history of Roncesvalles Village.  As we have multiple benches along the street where the community and visitors are invited to sit, the bases of some of the concrete benches that flank Roncesvalles Village BIA managed garden beds were selected for this project.
The second aspect was to support upcoming and marginalized artists, who were selected through the assistance of STEPs and two additional locations were sponsored by the Social Justice and Anti-racism committee as they will feature art by a local Indigenous artist.
Thirdly, as these locations are often, and unfortunately, marked with vandalism/tags, adding art to locations can often work to deter this type of graffiti.  And, since each location will be treated with anti-graffiti and UV protective coating, if it does occur it will be much easier to address via our service contract with Goodbye Graffiti.

Locations: The final locations for the murals were selected for multiple reasons, some of which have already been noted above, such as those spots prone to tagging.  Additional considerations were the gateway signage (Roncesvalles Village and Roncy) being placed at the northern and southern most points of Roncesvalles as well as in high visibility areas, as well as a focus on beautifying the stretch of Roncesvalles affected by the long awaited completion of the KQQR construction project.

Artists Allison Gorczyk, Andrea Rodriguez, Natalie Very B. and Nish were engaged through paid artist opportunities to paint 10 concrete planters and benches that stretch along the nearly 2 km main street. With the support of STEPS, this initiative transforms existing assets into community-building solutions and demonstrates the power of public art in making public spaces feel safe and welcoming.

Artist Profiles
Nish
Allison Gorczyk
Andrea Rodriguez
Natalie Very B.

What’s Next:

• Painting just wrapped at the end of July with UV and Anti-graffiti coating applied to each of the murals.
• STEPS will be adding signage in the coming weeks, where more information about the artists and their work can be found.

About I HeART Main Street
 I HeART Main Street (also known as Main Street Art Challenge) is a program by STEPS Public Art that supports Canadian Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) and local community groups in activating main streets through public art and creative placemaking. Since 2020, this program has offered pro-bono public art services, connections to multidisciplinary artists, artist fee subsidies, and marketing/promotional support to encourage economic development and bring public art ideas to life.

Since the program launch, I HeART Main Street has:

• Received 150+ BIA applications from across the country
• Supported 60+ BIAs in unique public art installations that engage the local community (e.g. murals, streetscape animations, digital projections, storefront activations, and more)
• Worked with 133+ artists across artistic mediums and career levels (including emerging and equity-deserving artists to increase artistic representation in public spaces)

I HeART Main Street 2024 is presented in partnership with STEPS and RBC, and generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Ontario.