A $25-million donation – the single largest arts-related gift ever received by Toronto – will be used to create a free, open air art trail in parks along the banks of the new mouth of the Don River in the city’s transformed Port Lands.

Gifted by the Pierre Lassonde Family Foundation, the donation will serve as a prominent and enduring legacy for ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art and includes $10 million to commission two landmark permanent art works, and up to $15 million to establish a new non-profit organization that will manage the art trail, with the intention of raising additional matching funds to sustain the organization over the long term.

The two permanent pieces – one by a leading Canadian artist and another by an international artist – will anchor the trail while a rotating cycle of contemporary installations from local, national, and international artists will also be featured.

A City staff report to Council at its July 19 and 20 meeting will seek authority to negotiate and enter into agreements to accept the public artwork donations in the coming months. If approved, the Pierre Lassonde Family Foundation will appoint an executive director for the new non-profit organization, to be called the Lassonde Art Trail, and launch an international competition to commission the two new signature art works, in partnership with the City and Waterfront Toronto.

“A new waterfront public art trail will not only attract residents and visitors to Toronto’s waterfront but provide an opportunity for people to experience art and much more for free,” said Mayor John Tory. “With the two new permanent art works as its centrepiece, the art trail, envisioned as part of the revitalization of the Port Lands, will serve as a free, accessible outdoor museum for visitors and residents alike – all of which play a big role in bringing art to public spaces in our city.”

A new Beach

Also in the Port Lands, a new beach and green is in pre-construction phase. The Leslie Slip Lookout Park will feature forested dunes on a .75-hectare former industrial site at the entrance of Tommy Thompson Park on the Martin Goodman Trail.

The park will feature events, concerts, and public artworks and offer views of the downtown Toronto skyline.