DesignTO Festival In Old Town Toronto

Love art and design? The DesignTO Festival takes place Jan. 23 – Feb. 1, 2026 across Toronto in various businesses and other venues. We’ve compiled a list of events and installations happening right here in Old Town Toronto.

An interactive Google Map is included below – just click on the numbered icons to learn more, or scroll down further.

Google Map

Click the numbered icons to learn more, or scroll down further.

1) Future Tree 2.0

Location: Novotel Toronto Centre, 45 The Esplanade
FREE: Jan. 23 – Feb. 1.

NOTE: While this installation has been cancelled due to weather impacting delivery, Novotel’s lobby is hosting art by artist Tom Sinclair. Learn more via https://www.instagram.com/tsinclair76

‘Future Tree’ is a speculative design installation that imagines a near future in which trees serve as living archives for vanishing ecosystems, designed by artist Vanessa Parada. Crafted entirely from reclaimed pallets and salvaged wood, the sculptural tree reflects principles of reuse, material responsibility, and environmental stewardship. Learn more on the dedicated DesignTO event page.

2) Wallflowers

Location: Hot House Restaurant, 35 Church St
FREE: Jan. 23 – Feb. 1. Visit DesignTO page for hours.
Reception: Jan. 24, 2pm – 4pm. RSVP.

‘Wallflowers’ uses emblematic imagery and humour to challenge the rigid constraints of gender norms. Each collage disrupts the traditional narrative that a woman’s role is limited to wife, mother, homemaker, or passive object of desire. Learn more on the dedicated DesignTO event page.

3) The Quiet Between: Gestures of Absence

Location: Engel & Völkers, 71 King St E
FREE: Jan. 23 – Feb. 1. (Window installation viewable 24/7)

‘The Quiet Between: Gestures of Absence’ presents a series of hand-blown glass vessels exploring softness, imbalance, and the quiet tension between stillness and motion. Each piece stands as a sculptural form, curved and leaning, shaped by gravity and intuition. The works of art pull meaning from the word lilt, which is the rise and fall of movement, of voice, of something alive in stillness. These vessels are not made for function, but for feeling. Learn more on the dedicated DesignTO event page.

4) The Sound Eater

Location: Toronto Sculpture Garden, 115 King St E
FREE: until Apr. 12, 2026. Open 7 days a week, 9am-9pm.

A sound-consuming serpent has ventured into the Toronto Sculpture Garden. Hungry, it ate various sounds from its surrounding. Its body now visibly holds sounds from a streetcar, the St. James Church bells, ringing chimes, and a bird as it digests its meal. The Sound Eater is data visualization of the Toronto Sculpture Garden’s soundscape…continue reading on the dedicated DesignTO event page.

5) Contemporary Textile Art x Contemporary Design

Location: Minimal Toronto, 260 Richmond St E, #100
FREE: Jan. 23 – Feb. 1. Visit DesignTO page for hours.
Reception: Jan. 27, 6:30pm – 9:30pm. Visit DesignTO page to RSVP.
Talk:  Jan. 29, 6:30pm – 8:30pm. Visit DesignTO page to RSVP.

NoBa – North Baltica Contemporary Art places the work of international contemporary textile & fibre artists into the newly opened Minimal Toronto showroom, where together life & style are harmonized through art & design. Learn more on the dedicated DesignTO event page.

6) Fleeting Botanicals: A Study in Time and Texture

Location: ESTHETEAK, 411 Richmond St E, #203
Workshops: Jan. 24 & 31, 11am-1pm.
$10 – Click For Tickets & More Info

An immersive event that explores one’s relationship with nature through the art of handmade postcards. Each postcard is created using preserved botanicals — leaves, petals, and natural pigments — collected and pressed with care.

Participants will write letters, reconnecting with the tactile beauty of slow creation and human connection. Learn more on the dedicated DesignTO event page.

7) Sawdust Furniture Collection and Offcuts Vase Collection

Location: Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove Showroom, 280 King St E, #101
FREE: Jan. 23 – Feb. 1. Visit DesignTO page for hours.
Reception: Jan. 29, 5pm – 7pm.

The Offcuts Vase is made by gluing scrap offcuts of maple, cherry, bass, birch, oak, ash and pine wood together, then carving the combined block on a lathe.

The ‘Sawdust Furniture Collection’ displays how solid wood and its waste product can be combined to complement the functionality and aesthetic of the material, while diminishing the waste output of furniture creation. Learn more on the dedicated DesignTO event page.

8) Renaissance

Location: Must Société (Formerly Home Société), 570 Adelaide St E
FREE: Jan. 23 – Feb. 1. Visit DesignTO page for hours.

‘Renaissance’ demonstrates how the traditional craft of stained glass can be reimagined in a contemporary style. Art windows don’t have to be limited to religious icons and traditional frilly flowers. Learn more on the dedicated DesignTO event page.

More

Want to discover more DesignTO installations, workshops and events happening Jan. 23 – Feb. 1? Be sure to check out the Full Festival Schedule.

About DesignTO

DesignTO is a charitable arts organization celebrating 16 years of designing a sustainable, just, and joyful future.

From January 23-February 1, 2026, the DesignTO Festival features 100+ free events and exhibitions across Toronto, showcasing hundreds of artists and designers.

As Canada’s largest annual design festival, DesignTO has welcomed over 1 million attendees, reached 2.6 billion people through media, supported 7,000+ artists and designers, and generated $159 million in tourism impact since 2011.

All installations are organized by DesignTO. Installations hosted at local businesses within Old Town Toronto are sponsored, in part, by Old Town Toronto Business Improvement Area.