The Bentway’s summer 2025 programming is set to bring the heat with a free public art exhibition titled Sun/Shade, a never-before-seen sand dune performance, a mobile forest travelling the city, roller skate parties, and more.
The Bentway is pleased to announce its summer 2025 season of programming featuring a sensational dance performance, large-scales parties, recreation and community workshops, and free public art presented under the Gardiner Expressway, running from May 23 to October 5.
Sun/Shade will explore the city’s changing relationship with these natural features, deploying natural light and shadow as creative tools, revealing how new thinking about familiar resources can improve urban life. The Gardiner offers a unique and expansive canvas for the new art exhibition. Stretching over 6.5 km, the elevated highway’s canopy provides the city with its largest continuous shadow, making the area a natural haven for sun and shade seekers.
“As extreme urban heat events rise in Toronto and cities everywhere, it’s even more vital to create accessible spaces where communities can maximize access to shade and stay protected from harsh light,” says Ilana Altman, Co-Executive Director of The Bentway. “This season of programming explores how we must adapt to our changing climate and reshape our public spaces to balance the benefits of both sun and shade. Our creative collaborators are prompting us to recognize shade as an essential public resource and embrace sunlight as a creative collaborator.”
Join us for Opening Weekend
May 23 – 25
Sun/Shade Opening Night Party
When: Friday, May 23, 7-11pm
Where: The Bentway Skate Trail (250 Fort York Blvd)
Join The Bentway, Fashion Art Toronto, and Canada’s Drag Race’s Jada Shada Hudson for the Sunglasses at Night fashion show, celebrating the opening of Sun/Shade.
Moving Forest
By NL Architects
When: May 23 – July 20
Where: The Bentway Skate Trail (250 Fort York Blvd), YZD, Harbourfront Centre, and more
A flock of 50 trees in shopping carts travels through the city, stopping to create a refreshing shade canopy in usually-sunny spaces. Follow their eight-week journey, starting May 23.
Sun/Shade Curators Tour
When: Saturday May 24 & Sunday May 25, 2pm-3:30pm
Where: The Bentway Skate Trail (250 Fort York Blvd)
Be the first to explore our Sun/Shade outdoor art exhibition. Learn about the inspiration behind the season, the creation of each artwork, and how they fit together.
Casting a Net, Casting a Spell: Art Workshop
When: Saturday, May 24, 1-3pm
Where: The Bentway Skate Trail (250 Fort York Blvd)
Meet Mexico-City creative duo Celeste for an afternoon of outdoor, family-friendly art activities inspired by their Sun/Shade art installation.
Sun/Shade
Installations
(On View May 23 – October 5, 2025)
Casting a Net, Casting a Spell by Celeste (Mexico City, Mexico)
The Bentway (250 Fort York Blvd)
- Artist duo Celeste’s majestic, quilted canopy casts welcomed shade down to a seating area below, offering relief from the heat and a space for gathering. Like a suncatcher, Casting a Net, Casting a Spell embraces and harnesses the sun, weaving in archetypes that have surrounded the sun since ancient times.
Seeing Celsius by LeuWebb Projects (Toronto, Canada)
The Bentway (250 Fort York Blvd)
- What happens when one sees heat? By adding thermal-imaging technology to the familiar viewfinder found at scenic lookout points, LeuWebb enables the viewer to see the temperature differences across The Bentway space and the bodies that move through it. It’s a new perspective that will shift how to view urban spaces and the materials that shape them.
Declaration of the Understory by Tania Willard (Secwepemcúl’ecw; British Columbia) Co-comissioned with the Indigenous Curatorial Collective
The Bentway (250 Fort York Blvd) and Bentway Staging Ground (under the Gardiner at Dan Leckie Way)
- Secwépemc artist Tania Willard approaches the space below the highway as a tree canopy, reminiscent of the “understory” floor of southern Ontario forests, where pockets of shade and sunlight shape unique ecosystems below. In a stunning mixed-media Installation stretched across multiple Bentway sites, floral motifs, iridescence, and powerful slogans offer a mediation on the power of shade as a lifeforce.
la sombra que te cobija/the shadow that shelters you by Edra Soto (Chicago, USA)
The Bentway (250 Fort York Blvd)
- A geometric pavilion invites visitors to cross under the Gardiner, casting both a cooling effect and ornate shadow patterns. Edra Soto’s installation references the shade-making façades of working-class Puerto Rican bungalows to create an expansive, sun-filtering threshold, reflecting on the intersection of heat-responsive architecture, place-making, and cultural heritage.
Bathed in Strange Light by Natalie Hunter (Hamilton, Ontario)
The Bentway Studio (55 Fort York Blvd)
- Working in collaboration with the sun’s rhythms, Natalie Hunter’s photographs on the windows of The Bentway Studio (facing Canoe Landing Park) explore how ever-shifting sunlight shapes the experience of public spaces. As the sun moves throughout the day, translucent images cast down a colorful, slow-moving cinema.
Performances
Sand Flight by Ingri Fiksdal & Jonas Corell Petersen (Oslo, Norway)
June 12 – June 15
Tickets: $10-30
Witness the world premiere of Sand Flight, from internationally renowned choreographer Ingri Fiksdal and collaborator Jonas Corell Peterson. Eight dancers and a 50-person choir descend on a massive sand dune under the Gardiner Expressway for a powerful performance that speculates on climates-to-come, where shade-worshipping is the new normal. Presented in partnership with Toronto Dance Theatre.
Recreation & Social programs
Art Socials with Noble Space
Wednesday evenings, June 4 – August 27
The Bentway Studio (55 Fort York Blvd)
- The Bentway’s weekly Art Socials at The Bentway Studio are back by popular demand. Inspired by the interplay of sun and shade, come learn the basics of screen printing, watercolour painting, letterpress, and more craft media while connecting with neighbours and fellow community members. The best part, no experience is required.
Dino Runs
June 14, July 19, August 16, September 20
The Bentway Skate Trail (250 Fort York Blvd)
- This fun-filled morning starts with costumed Dino Specialists teaching participants about dinosaurs through song, dance, storytelling, and games. Then, the kids will set out as Dino Explorers on an exciting, non-competitive chase to recapture runaway dinosaurs. These fun and educational events sold out in 2025.
Roller Skate Parties with BEATS + SKATES and Melanin Skate Crew
June 27, July 25, August 29, September 26
The Bentway Skate Trail (250 Fort York Blvd)
- Let the good times roll with Bentway’s monthly Roller Skate Parties! From beginners to skater pros, all are invited to show off their superfly moves along the figure-eight trail. Every party will include local DJs, group skate demos and themed nights.
Roller Skate Lessons
June 13, June 20, July 4, July 11, July 18, August 1, August 8, August 15, August 22 Tickets $15; roller skate rentals extra
The Bentway Skate Trail (250 Fort York Blvd)
- Learn how to roller skate at the Bentway this summer. The venue is offering visitors weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Expert instructors will be on deck to help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate the figure-eight trail.
Roller Skating with SUSO Skate
June 11 to Sept 28, Wednesdays to Sundays
The Bentway Skate Trail (250 Fort York Blvd)
- SUSO Skate Co. is back this summer, making The Bentway Skate Trail the best place to rock and roll. Visitors can book skate rentals and time slots ahead of time on the SUSO website, then come down for good vibes and memorable moments.
Supporters and Partners
Sun-Safety Partner:
- David Cornfield Melanoma Fund
Seasonal Supporters:
- Balsam Foundation
- City of Toronto
- TD Bank Group
- and The Bentway’s growing family of friends and supporters
Project Partners:
- Indigenous Curatorial Collective / Collectif des commissaires autochtones
- YZD
- Toronto Dance Theatre
- Ontario Arts Council
- Government of Ontario
- Save Your Skin Foundation
- Office for Contemporary Art Norway
- Manulife
