Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 01/09/2025

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collection.2 oici A Am 4 IN E Y Connecting the public with public art is fundamental to amplifying the impact of Toronto's The actions in this section put a renewed focus on the public's experience of public art, exploring new methods of engaging residents and visitors through innovative digital tools, creative, community-focused educational programming, and active consultation. This enhanced emphasis on engagement and discovery will celebrate the art that exists across the city and increase the value and impact of the City's collection. Moreover, while equity and inclusion have long been held as core values for the City's public art programs,there is more work to be done to ensure that public art is inclusive of the diverse communities it is intended to serve. Many consultation participants were in agreement that there is a need for greater diversity among artists commissioned for public works in Toronto, including artists of different abilities, genders, ethnicities, ages and socio-economic back- grounds. Similarly, there were calls for the City to tackle barriers to entry into the field of public art for emerging artists and artists from equity-seeking communities.2 The Toronto Public Art Strategy affirms the City's ongoing commitment to ensuring that Toronto's public art programs champion equity and inclusion, among both artists and audiences. ACTIONS 2.1 Enable the public to discover and interact with public art through creative online resources Developing and maintaining a creative suite of online resources including searchable maps, image databases, mobile apps, and more will help to make the City's 1,000+ public art works more accessible to a wide audience of residents, tourists, and researchers. Currently, users can explore StART's extensive collection of street art and murals through an interactive online map, produced in partnership with Civic Hall Toronto, and launched in beta in 2018. The City is also upgrading its public art web page to include a refreshed, user-friendly map of all works commissioned through the Percent for Public Art Program, and the full inventory of the City's Public Art and Monuments Collection. Each of these resources can be updated and expanded as the collection grows, and as new technologies become available. 2 The City of Toronto defines equity-seeking groups as persons with disabilities;women;racialized group(s);lesbian,gay, bisexual,trans,queer,two-spirit communities(LGBTQ2S);undocumented workers;immigrants and refugees;persons with low income;and youth. Toronto Public Art Strategy 2020/2030 35