The Office of Social Innovation (OSI) invites Toronto-based Indigenous artists to submit proposals for a five-month, site-specific visual arts project hosted in Allan Gardens. Since the great melt of the last ice age more than 11,000 years ago, many diverse nations of First Peoples have lived in and cared for this neighbourhood. This project is intended to acknowledge, reflect, and respond to the continuous Indigenous presence in the area of Allan Gardens.

This residency is part of Imagine the Park, a year-long series of cultural events and activities in and around the Allan Gardens neighbourhood presented by OSI. Imagine the Park aims to foster a more welcoming, creative, well-resourced green space for the wider Allan Gardens community.

The successful artist or collective will receive a $20,000 honorarium over a five-month residency, taking place from May 15 to October 15, 2022. The expected time commitment is approximately 12 hours per week, with 4 hours or more per week working in-person at Allan Gardens. We feel it is important for the community to be aware of the artist(s) and their work and for the artist(s) to be familiar with the community of park users.