Summer 2024 | May 24 – October 6, 2024
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.
“The pandemic has magnified the pre-existing crisis of social isolation, and Toronto is one of the loneliest places in the country.” – 2023 Toronto Foundation Vital Signs Report
Modern cities are often thought of as hard, fast-paced, and alienating places. Not just because of the concrete and steel that built them, but with social isolation on the rise, cities are becoming increasingly hard places to live.
Public spaces have long modelled ways to soften our cities and make them more approachable, more inviting, and more conducive to forming social connections. Now more than ever, we need to draw learnings from our public spaces and discover new means of softening the barriers that separate us, prioritize community care, and provide the conditions for people to gather, meet, and grow.
How can we reimagine city-building based on new, softer strategies? How can public art and shared spaces contribute to the well-being of neighbourhoods?
The Bentway’s summer 2024 exhibition of free public art, Softer City, explored softness as a means of humanizing our cities, connecting communities, and creating space for collective repair. Bringing together artists, architects, and designers from Toronto, across Canada, and beyond, the exhibition proposed a series of soft encounters with our city, our infrastructure, and one another.
In February 2025, The Bentway, with partners Gehl and researchers from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, released a report centered around learnings from Softer City that reveals the essential role public spaces play in fostering mental health and social connections.
Full Program
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Perspective Alignment
On view nowChloë 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.
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Wind Ensemble
toBrightly 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.
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Holding Space
toNnenna 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.
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Tracings
toHow 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.
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We Are Here
toWe Are Here is a mural project by HeART Lab, with art by Amanda Lederle. In a time of increasing social isolation in Toronto, the viewer is invited to think about public space and the ways that it can help to support connections to other people.
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Walking:Holding
May 25, 2024 to May 26, 2024Walking: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.
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Softer City Curators’ Tours
toBe 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.
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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.
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Beading Workshop at The Bentway
June 22, 2024. Times: 12pm-2pm and 3pm-5pmJoin 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.
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Walking Holding: Portrait Series
toWhat happens when we open our hands to each other in public? Toronto photographer Kirk Lisaj captured portraits of the participant pairings in Walking:Holding, in moments of softness and vulnerability.
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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…
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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!
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Learn to Play Dominoes
Come play dominoes with us! Whether it’s your all-time favourite game or something you’re keen to try for the first time, all are welcome at this neighbourhood gathering. Join us under the Gardiner for some friendly game time ahead of our city-scale Dominoes run on September 22.
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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.
