Urban life has taken a major knock thanks to COVID-19. The city I live in — Toronto — is once again under a lockdown which means we must stay home, except for essential trips and emergencies. Cloistered away, our lives have become quite ordinary. Too ordinary.

I miss the discoveries and endless inspiration offered by walking in the city with its various avenues, parks, and buildings. Places to escape to and encounter the out-of-the-ordinary. Creations that challenge and prod one’s worldview, allowing ideas to percolate and conversations to unfold. Things of beauty that are considered adventurous, avant-garde, and even risqué.

This is the role of art.

Sadly, the pandemic has killed the arts sector, starved restaurants of business, and generally gutted urban life. Public events have been cancelled. Shows shut down. Museums closed. Other than what one can view on TV and streaming video services, the inspiration offered by art has been dramatically quashed.

If one ventures out, the city seems unreal. Un-alive. Ghost-like individuals, masked and anonymous, walk by, avoiding eye contact. The spectrum of humanity ordinarily found in the urban environment — from buskers to lineups outside theatres — no longer exists. It is as if we are living in T.S. Eliot’s Waste Land.

It begs the question: how can we resuscitate this urban wasteland?

Build it and they will come

The baseball movie Field of Dreams — starring Kevin Costner — is famous for the line “build it and they will come.” For decades, property developers have faithfully lived by this mantra. In city centres they have constructed high-rises to house residents, contain office workers, and entice shoppers. Labyrinths of concrete and steel connect these structures through subways and subterranean walkways.

But with COVID-19 everything has changed.

Condo prices have plummeted, public transport has been abandoned, and the perceived need for offices is in decline. While many elements of cities built by developers are being questioned, if we are to maintain the social fabric of urban life, there is one area where I hope developers — and others — continue to contribute: Public Art.

During 2021, the City of Toronto will celebrate the Year of Public Art. Having focused on Public Art since the middle of the 19th Century, the City now manages and maintains almost 300 pieces of outdoor art. Much of the funding for these highly accessible works comes from developers commissioning public art as part of a development approval, donating land and commissioned art to the city, or donating cash to the city for art that is commissioned on pubic lands. Whatever the mechanism, the result has been impressive with private developers having contributed some 300 projects in Toronto over the past 30 years.

The most recent addition to Toronto’s Public Art scene is DREAMING, a massive sculpture on the public plaza at the Richmond-Adelaide Centre, a $650 million revitalization project by Oxford Properties in Toronto’s Financial District. The three-storey tall art piece, created by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, is the portrait of a young girl in quiet contemplation, juxtaposed against the busyness of the adjacent streets.

More outlandish, please

The movie Field of Dreams was essentially about passion and doing something outlandish: building a baseball diamond in the middle of an Iowa corn field. An Old English word meaning ‘not native’ or ‘from a foreign country' outlandish describes things that appear out of place or out of the ordinary.

I say, bring on the outlandish!

On any given day, there are over 100 languages spoken in Toronto. The city is a cultural mishmash, a mixing pot of cuisines, entrepreneurial minds, and creative energies from around the world. DREAMING is the latest addition to an array of artworks scattered throughout the city created by Canadians of various backgrounds, as well as non-resident artists.

Some of my favourite public art in Toronto (shown to me by a Kiwi friend who used to be based in the city), are:

“Tembo, Mother of Elephants” by Derrick S. Hudson in Toronto Commerce Court

“Businessman” by McElcheran in Brookfield Place (181 Bay St.)

TD Gallery of Indigenous Art (79 Wellington St. W.) is a rotating exhibition space representing regions across Canada. Check out the self-guided tour. — TD Gallery of Indigenous Art (79 Wellington St. W.) is a rotating exhibition space representing regions across Canada. Check out the **self-guided tour**.

Two Circles by Canadian artist and curator Micah Lexier (333 Bay St.)

Viewed from afar, each circle appears as a perfect geometric shape on a smooth, white wall, but as one gets closer, the work reveals an intricate mosaic composed of 1.6 million handmade ceramic sticks.

Public art allows for the expression of various cultural voices, increases understanding of different peoples, helps our appreciation of history, and adds value to different parts of the city. By escaping our houses and taking the time to observe and appreciate such installations, we can each find inspiration, and if we’re lucky, maybe experience awe. At the least, public art is an effective means of cultural education, and if we pay attention, it can even connect us to others. As Seth Godin writes in his most recent book The Practice:

“Culture is a conspiracy. It’s the voluntary engagement of humans in search of connection and safety.”

Christmas in the City

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City is an iconic, smile-inducing sight and an example of public art that speaks to Godin’s description of culture. Once illuminated, the buzz of the city is enhanced, drawing thousands of locals and visitors to Midtown Manhattan. Describing itself as “…a gathering place and reflection of what is happening in the world” this centrepiece of the Season is an unforgettable experience, especially with the skating rink at the base of the tree. (Factoid: In 1966, Canada donated a tree from Ottawa to be a Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree when Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, co-founder of the UN, was in power.)

Struggling as we are through the pandemic, we all need more joy-inducing experiences. Places that excite us and connect us. Artistry that dazzles and brings smiles to faces — young and old — and that even challenge perspectives on the world. Such creations enhance our sense of community, enrich city life, and drive tourism (whenever that is going to come back).

Toronto’s Christmas tree — located on Nathan Phillips Square at City Hall — was lit up by Mayor John Tory a few days ago. Today, the Federal Government will mark the beginning of the Christmas Lights Across Canada on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. I will certainly be heading out with my family to admire the lights, but for those more inclined to at-home viewing, the Government of Canada launches its virtual show IllumiNATION on December 17 at 8 pm ET.

According to Prime Minister Trudeau:

“This beautiful display also reminds us that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that we will get through this global COVID-19 pandemic, and that we must continue to stand together. Our values of unity and of being there for one another, and our confidence in the future, will allow us to continue working to build an even better Canada.”

Addressing a mental health emergency

We are living through strange times where buildings sit empty and households self-isolate. Such isolation has created a mental health emergency. According to Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), because of COVID-19:

Nearly 1/2 of women (24.3 per cent) are experiencing moderate to severe anxiety, significantly higher than the 17.9 per cent found among men.
Parents with children under 18 years of age living at the home were more likely to report feeling depressed (29.1 per cent) than adults without children (18.9 per cent).

Apart from the disproportional impact of the pandemic on women and parents, the arts community has been devastated. Organizations like the Canada Council for the Arts are doing what they can to help artists, but more needs to be done. One piece of encouraging news from Ravi Jain, founding artistic director of Why Not Theatre, came recently when he spoke at The Walrus Talks at Home: Living Better online event this month. In his short talk, he touched on an innovative pilot project undertaken through cross-sector partnerships that offered artists empty spaces to enliven and use for artistic purposes. Some encouraging results came from the almost 2,500 hours of free space provided to more than 50 artists who participated in Project Space.

According to Jain:

”Artists are among the working poor in Toronto. Every year more and more artists are being driven out of the city by the rising cost of living. Yet their contribution to our city is vital. Artists reignite neighbourhoods, boost economic growth, and make Toronto a more communal and livable place.

COVID has increased the economic precariousness of most artists, but it can also cause us to rethink how artists might play a role in recovering from the pandemic. We must continue to invest in those who can ignite communities, activate spaces, and unlock the potential of cities and the people who live in them. There is an economic and mental health imperative to do so.

To maintain our collective sanity we all need more fresh air, sunlight and art. This winter, I encourage all Canadians — as distinct family ‘bubbles’, of course — to put on their masks, bundle up, and head out to soak in the sights (at a respectful distance from one another). It’s also a chance to get some Vitamin D, although I’m not sure how one does so at night when Christmas lights are at their best…