The Bentway Conservancy is pleased to announce a Call for Expressions of Interest for the return of its Transform the Trail program, which seeks an artistic collaborator to respond to both the Bentway site and our relationships to the winter season.
This program supports a new, temporary commission that animates The Bentway’s iconic figure-eight ice-skating trail and its surrounding footprint beneath the Gardiner Expressway. The goals of the commission are to encourage artistic experimentation in the public realm, celebrate the unique creative potential of a Toronto winter, enhance the ice-skating experience at The Bentway, and foster meaningful connections during the coldest months of the year.
The Bentway invites artists, designers, and collectives to submit an expression of interest for a temporary public art project to be exhibited at the Bentway skate trail from December 2026 – February 2027.
key dates
Call for Expressions of Interest released: January 6, 2026
Public Information Session for Prospective Applicants: Thursday, January 15, 2026, 6pm EST
Register here! Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the information session in order to gain insight into the practical considerations of The Bentway site and this opportunity. We are happy to provide accommodations for this event. To request support, please email us at: [email protected]
Application deadline: February 6, 2026 at 11:59pm EST
Public presentation: mid-December, 2026 through February 2027
Beacons by Shellie Zhang. Photos by Jonathan Gazze and Samuel Engelking.
transform the trail
Throughout the year, The Bentway strives to support civic life and social connection in public space, and believes winter is a season to be embraced and not just endured. From December through February, the Bentway’s skate trail becomes a beloved cold-weather destination featuring a dynamic natural ice-skating rink that has quickly become one of the city’s most unique distinctive urban amenities.
Weaving through the Bentway’s iconic columns, the skate trail is known for outdoor recreation and innovation, inviting diverse audiences to meet under the Gardiner and experience a traditional Canadian winter pastime in a new light each year.
The Bentway’s Transform the Trail program is seeking an artistic collaborator to help foster new and positive relationships with both the Bentway site and Toronto’s winter season. Selected artists and designers must embrace and collaborate with winter conditions; to educate, innovate, and create meaningful invitations for public engagement during the coldest months of the year; to build with sustainability in mind; and to inspire Torontonians—regardless of the weather. This site-specific intervention will become a signature element of the Bentway’s 2026–2027 winter season, reinforcing the site as a place where art, recreation, and community meet.
