Window Wonderland urban art walk back for third year in the Junction

The event features 20 windows and four wall murals, each with augmented-reality animation.

Window Wonderland mural in the front window of Shoxs Billiard Lounge — A Window Wonderland mural by Rachel Babineau and animator Sabin Timalsena at Shoxs Billiard Lounge. (Jae Yang)

All over the city of Toronto, it’s window shopping season. But if you’re in the Junction, it’s also window watching season.

That’s because Window Wonderland is back for a third year.

Started in winter 2020 by The Junction BIA, Window Wonderland is an immersive urban art walk that invites local businesses to hand their front windows over to local and international artists, ultimately turning them into interactive artistic displays.

And the project hasn’t gone unnoticed. According to Carol Jolly, Executive Director of The Junction BIA, it’s garnered every BIA industry award available. That includes the 2021 Ontario BIA Association’s Initiative Award, the 2022 International Downtown Association’s Award of Excellence, and the 2022 TABIA Events Award.

The 3rd Annual Window Wonderland features 20 windows as well as four permanent wall murals — two of them new this year. As in the past, each mural comes to life via augmented reality app Artivive.

“The Junction has long been considered a destination for visual and performing arts,” says Jolly. “However, with the introduction of augmented reality, the first of its kind for Toronto, we’ve created a new draw to the neighbourhood, thereby increasing foot traffic and positively impacting the local businesses on an economic level.”

Window Wonderland is on now until Jan. 1. We spoke to Jolly about the event as a whole and what’s new for 2022.

How did the Window Wonderland idea begin? What were your goals at the start?

Carol Jolly, Executive Director, The Junction BIA: Window Wonderland 2020 was born out of a need to combat the decreasing foot traffic and provide a safe space for residents and visitors to enjoy art while following social distancing protocols. Ultimately, we overcame a challenge with great success.

We are happy to offer patrons a comfortable, family-friendly outdoor public art experience that provides a new way for residents and visitors to get outdoors while following Ontario’s health and safety guidelines.

In addition, Window Wonderland is free and easily accessible to those who may face barriers to accessing traditional galleries and exhibitions.

A Window Wonderland mural by Avril Wu and animator Maria Than at Pinot’s Palette. (Jae Yang)

How long does the event take to put together? How many people get involved? Is it the same group year after year, or has the team evolved?

Since its inception, The Junction BIA team has primarily produced the exhibition. The core team remains consistent, but the artists may change each year.

Starting in January, we will begin sourcing our window partners and sponsors. We send the call for artists in May in collaboration with Artivive, the internationally renowned AR app developer that provides access to over 200,000 artists.

The team at Artivive helps us select 40 artists from the hundreds who will apply.

The last six months focus on facilitating meetings with window partners, muralists, and animators to create each installation while we build our PR strategy, marketing elements, and so on.

We’re into the third annual event, and there are some additions to the programming. What can visitors expect this year?

In addition to the 24 storefront windows and murals, ARTiculations Art Supply is hosting an indoor exhibit showcasing artwork by the 2022 muralists. Until Jan. 6, 2023, the public can purchase the muralists’ artwork, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going directly to the artist.

To further celebrate the event, The Junction BIA has engaged CORPUS, the award-winning dance company, to perform The Alpine Merry Sheep Choir every Saturday from Dec. 3 to Dec. 24, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Alpine Merry Sheep Choir is a family-friendly performance of funny, heart-warming sheep singing Christmas carols at multiple locations along Dundas St. W., bringing holiday cheer to our community.

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