The Bentway is a new public space and programming platform that is both “of the city” and “about the city”. Through the lens of arts, culture, and recreation we explore the changing landscape of Toronto and urbanism on a global scale.
Discover our shared experiences and explorations below!
program highlights
Sun/Shade
Launching on May 23
The Bentway’s Summer 2025 public art exhibition brings together artists, designers, and researchers to explore how new thinking about sun and shade can help cities adapt to rising temperatures and create more comfortable urban spaces.
Shade as an essential public resource.
Sunlight as a creative collaborator.
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Winter at The Bentway
A beloved annual tradition! Each year we’re pleased to welcome neighbours and fun-seekers for ice skating, the return of our signature Polar Bear Skate, free workshops, family programming, art, and more.
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Howl’oween (2024)
Each year for “spooky season”, Howl’oween returns with an adorable canine costume contest. All pup-kins and their families are invited to participate in a fun, dog-focused afternoon filled with creative costumes, fabulous pooch prizes, and pet-focused local vendors.
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Dominoes
In 2024, Dominoes brought together Torontonians in a joyful act of community-building, as 8,000 human-sized dominoes weave and fall along an epic 2.5km journey through downtown neighbourhoods.
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Softer City
In an increasingly hard city, how do we soften the barriers that separate us? The Bentway’s Summer 2024 public art exhibition proposed a series of soft encounters, where “softness” is embraced as a collective strategy for building a socially connected city.
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Bentway Staging Grounds
Bentway Staging Grounds is a site of active, environmental learning that continues The Bentway’s creative work along the Gardiner Expressway. Visitors are invited into a living laboratory for urban ecology, with experimental gardens that use rainwater run-off from the highway above to support the growth of flowering plant species.
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BEYOND CONCRETE
Beyond Concrete brought together artists, architects, botanists, and neighbours to explore the nature of the Gardiner Expressway. In Summer 2023, we re-discovered a uniquely urban ecosystem – where human-made infrastructure intertwines with resilient flora and fauna – at a summer of free artworks, events, and celebrations.
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Waterfront ReConnect
Waterfront ReConnect re-imagines the street-level experience of two under-Gardiner intersections through innovative approaches to lighting, color, and storytelling. The projects (located at York Street and Simcoe Street) showcase how the Expressway can better serve our city as a thriving civic asset – both above and below the deck.
recent publications
Rx for Social Connection
(with with Gehl and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health)
What role can public space design and programming play in fostering connection and combating loneliness? Centered around learnings from The Bentway’s 2024 Softer City season of art and events, this report reveals the essential role public spaces play in fostering mental health and social connections.
Public Art and Sustainability Initiative
(with Bespoke Collective)
Over the last several years The Bentway has been working to better understand our role as public space operators and arts practitioners working in the midst of a climate emergency. In order to address the specific environmental challenges in public areas and in the presentation of public art works, in 2024 The Bentway seeded the Public Art and Sustainability Initiative – a collaborative partnership between a national network of fellow public art curators, organizations and public space operators.
Dive Deeper into Beyond Concrete
(with Frontier)
The Bentway’s 2023 Beyond Concrete summer season explored the urban ecosystem beneath the Gardiner Expressway, where human-made infrastructure intertwines with flora and fauna. In this story series, we heard from experts around the world who engage with these themes in their daily work and have unique perspectives.