Walking:Holding: May 26
May 26, 2024
Walking:Holding is a unique, experiential performance that invites audience members (one at a time) on a guided walk through the neighbourhood, where they encounter and hold hands with a series of people along the way. Rosana Cade’s project embraces social connections between strangers, illuminating how identity, intimacy, hypervisibility, and vulnerability intersect in public space.
Walking:Holding: May 25
May 25, 2024
Walking:Holding is a unique, experiential performance that invites audience members (one at a time) on a guided walk through the neighbourhood, where they encounter and hold hands with a series of people along the way. Rosana Cade’s project embraces social connections between strangers, illuminating how identity, intimacy, hypervisibility, and vulnerability intersect in public space.
Softer City Curators’ Tour: May 25
Be the first to explore our Softer City outdoor exhibition by joining a curators’ tour on opening weekend. Learn about the inspiration behind the exhibition theme and come see how Softer City invites artists, architects, and designers to explore new approaches to social connection and soft encounters in our city.
Softer City Curators’ Tour: May 26
Be the first to explore our Softer City outdoor exhibition by joining a curators’ tour on opening weekend. Learn about the inspiration behind the exhibition theme and come see how Softer City invites artists, architects, and designers to explore new approaches to social connection and soft encounters in our city.
Walking:Holding
May 25, 2024 to May 26, 2024
Walking:Holding is a unique, experiential performance that invites audience members (one at a time) on a guided walk through the neighbourhood, where they encounter and hold hands with a series of people along the way. Rosana Cade’s project embraces social connections between strangers, illuminating how identity, intimacy, hypervisibility, and vulnerability intersect in public space.
Yoga with Adriene, presented by The Bentway
July 6, 2024. 10:00am (Timed Entry)
The Bentway welcomes wellness icon Adriene Mishler of Yoga with Adriene for her first-ever live event in Canada! The YouTube superstar has inspired millions of people around the world to practice yoga from the comfort of their homes. Now, join Adriene and thousands of Torontonians live on July 6 for this unforgettable communal outdoor yoga class (co-hosted with Fort York).
Softer City: Freestyle Socials
Join Athony Morgan and Aaron Fitzpatrick for their signature hilarious social game, Freestyle Socials. The game is simple! Through yes or no questions, share ideas and experiences about community and connection. There’s sure to be lots of laughter and you might even make a new friend!
Softer City Curators’ Tours
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Be the first to explore our Softer City outdoor exhibition by joining a curators’ tour on opening weekend. Learn about the inspiration behind the exhibition theme and come see how Softer City invites artists, architects, and designers to explore new approaches to social connection and soft encounters in our city.
Summer Opening Night Party (2024)
A fabulous party to kick-off summer in the city! Mix, mingle, and dance under the Gardiner as The Bentway’s new public art exhibition Softer City officially opened. The evening culminated with a massive collective performance led by local queer line dancing icons, SPURS.
Tracings
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How can we show care for our infrastructure and, by extension, for each other? Nico Williams applied “patches” (made with woven fabric and jingle cones) to the Gardiner’s concrete columns, incorporating traditional Indigenous regalia designs. These soft interventions add joy, beauty, and a caring touch to the Expressway.
Holding Space
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Nnenna Okore uses scaffolding, pipe, and Ankara – a versatile and iconic African fabric that embodies a deep sense of identity and community – to create a new space for human connection. Vibrant fabric hues weave around the Gardiner’s hard edges, softening the concrete infrastructure.
Soft Fits
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Few public spaces are designed with teenagers in mind. For Soft Fits, Brooklyn’s WIP Collaborative worked with local youth to create a playful lounge-scape under the trees at the edge of The Bentway Studio Terrace facing Canoe Landing Park.
Wind Ensemble
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Brightly coloured windsocks dance overhead while windchimes echo throughout, picking up the movement of the wind and the energy of the city. Toronto-based artist Heather Nicol invites you to add your voice to this chorus, to pause and connect to your surroundings and one another.
Perspective Alignment
On view now
Chloë Bass’ sculptural benches, formed from solid Ontario rock and engraved with poetic reflections, welcome visitors to sit alongside a friend (or stranger) and consider the difficult but necessary work of softening our perspectives towards one another through empathy and care.
Beading Workshop at The Bentway
June 22, 2024. Times: 12pm-2pm and 3pm-5pm
Join a community beading circle inspired by Nico Williams’s project Tracings, a series of large-scale Indigenous regalia designs installed under the Gardiner. Learn about basic beading techniques and the role that beading plays in healing practices in many communities.
sound field: nearshore
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Nearshore was a one hour long multi-channel spatialized sound installation created by Anne Bourne as a “soundfield” that accompanied a sculptural installation by Striped Canary.
The Gateway
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A colourful procession of woven arches stretch across The Bentway’s Skate Trail, bringing the northern lights into the city. Yi Zhou and Carlos Portillo’s installation The Gateway accentuates the monumental architecture of the Gardiner with vibrant hues of green, blue, violet, and magenta.
Northern Lights Astronomy
The Bentway’s winter installation, The Gateway, celebrates the brilliance of the northern lights, which are at their most vibrant in the depths of winter. Join astronomer Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton for an evening of learning and traditional oral storytelling rooted in her Innu culture.
From Steps to Stories Public Opening
Be the first to experience From Steps to Stories, a new high-tech exhibition presented with Autodesk Research. Join us on Friday, November 3 for a free reception as we launch this interactive showcase of cutting-edge space-sensing technology and consider its implications for understanding public space.
From Steps to Stories
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What can cutting-edge sensor technology teach us about the future of public space? This interactive data art installation invites visitors to explore the fascinating connections between human experience and computer vision under the Gardiner Expressway. Presented in collaboration with Autodesk Research, From Steps to Stories reveals how we can achieve a deeper understanding of how public spaces are experienced.
Howl’oween (2023)
We’re bringing back a Fall-favourite event, Howl’oween, presented by Ren’s Pets! Compete in a Costumed Pup Parade and Contest, celebrity judges, music, photo station, cozy drinks, and bark-tacular local vendors. Bring your best tricks and treats and prepare for a tail-riffic afternoon of Halloween family fun at The Bentway.