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Activating public space in Toronto through Art and Design – 254 King St. Park

Posted April 9, 2024

Join us for an exciting collaboration between BAIDA, STEELCASE and the design team for a proposed park located at 254 King Street East! The new park will be 470 m2 (about the size of a tennis court) and will be located on the north side of King Street East, west of Ontario Street. This park is being built as part of a development agreement at 254-260 King St. East. JRS is the landscape architect for the project.

Wednesday, April 17, 2024, 5 – 8 PM EDT
BAIDA x STEELCASE x 254 King Street East | More Info & Registration

This in-person event will be hosted at the Steelcase WorkLife Center, where you can experience innovative designs and creative spaces. Participants include:

  • Oluseye Ogunlesi, Lead Artist
  • Odudu Umoessien, Lead Designer
  • Ogbe David Ogbe, Designer
  • Chukwuebuka Stephen Idafum, Designer
  • Folusho Afun-Ogidan, Designer
  • Abel Omeiza, Project Manager
  • Jessica Hutcheon, Principal, Landscape Architect, Janet Rosenberg & Studio
  • Chris Williams, Moderator
  • Camille Mitchell, Coordinator

The new park located at 254 King East has been carefully crafted with a community-driven vision aimed at honouring and celebrating the rich history, diversity, and promising future of Black communities within the Moss Park neighbourhood. Drawing inspiration from the impactful narratives of Black migration that have significantly shaped the fabric of Toronto, the park will showcase a compelling array of public art and design elements. These will include imposing cowrie shell sculptures, intricately braided pathways, a serene water feature, and inviting seating areas, each representing distinct regions from which Black Canadians have migrated, such as Africa, The Americas, and The Caribbean. Embracing the essence of these migration stories, the park’s design integrates four prominent symbols deeply meaningful to both Black and Indigenous communities in Canada: water, cowrie shells, cornrows, and Sankofa. Through the interplay of form and symbolism, the park performs as a Metaphorical Hub that commemorates the historical, contemporary and future Arrivals, Departures and Reunions of Toronto’s diverse Black population.

 

PROJECT CREDITS

Client: City of Toronto (Park Dedication by Fitzrovia)
Artists: Oluseye Ogunlesi & Designer, Odudu Umoessien
Design support Team: Ogbe David Ogbe, Chukwuebuka Stephen Idafum, Abel Omeiza, Folusho Afun-Ogidan
Landscape Architect: Janet Rosenberg & Studio
Renderings: Odudu Umoessien assisted by JRS