Playing in Public

Colour photo of a block of buildings. The most prominent building has a large colourful mural painted on the front facade with a red and white awning over the door. There are multi story buildings in the background with construction cranes. — Playing In Public “Dream Street”, a project nominated for the 2022 Heritage Toronto Awards. Photo by Jack Landau, Courtesy of The Bentway.

Playing In Public “Dream Street”, a project nominated for the 2022 Heritage Toronto Awards. Photo by Jack Landau, Courtesy of The Bentway.

Colour photo of children playing outside among different shaped art structures with photographs displayed on them. — Playing In Public, a project nominated for the 2022 Heritage Toronto Awards, Toronto, circa 2021. Courtesy of the Bentway.

Playing In Public, a project nominated for the 2022 Heritage Toronto Awards, Toronto, circa 2021. Courtesy of the Bentway.

Playing In Public, a project nominated for the 2022 Heritage Toronto Awards, Toronto, circa 2021. Image by Toni Hafkenscheid, courtesy of Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.

Creator: The Bentway

Project Website: https://play.thebentway.ca

Date of Release: July 7, 2021

The Playing In Public project, held July 2021, involved the exhibition of 16 interactive, playable artist projects – including installations, roaming performances, and pop-experiences – in unconventional spaces like under elevated highways, trails, condo courtyards, and sidewalks. Charting a route between these pieces was a connective “play path”, injecting micro-moments of historical references, reflections, and play into daily strolls around the block. The project sought to celebrate the past, present, and future of play in Toronto, and highlight role play has had in shaping the city. The exhibit also explored how play will continue to change in the post-COVID city, and how it will impact the Toronto’s urban recovery.

Playing in Public put a new spin on history and heritage, using creativity, interactivity, and playfulness, creating new entry points for audiences of all ages, education levels, and abilities. The 16 participating artist groups in Playing in Public hailed from a range of backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, and home-cities, drawing from a range of identities and experiences into their practices.

Additional Contributors:

Artists, Play Public: Erik Kessels and Thomas Mailaender

Artist-in-residence: Bekah Brown

Artists, Dream Street: Street Society

Producers, the Bentway: Stephanie Dudek and Pavneet Pal Singh

Programming support, The Bentway: Sarah Munro and Vicki Clough

Co-Executive Director of co-presenting organization: David Carey

Co-Executive Director of The Bentway: Ilana Altman

Co-producing Partner: Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival

Artist, Double Dribble: Esmaa Mohamoud