For seven days in January, Toronto will host an array of events that exhibit the impressive breadth of the local design scene.
From January 21 to 27, 2013, the Toronto Design Offsite Festival (TO DO) brings together a staggering array of makers from a wide range of creative disciplines, uniting dozens of events under a single inclusive banner. Embracing ephemeral installations, practical design interventions, and covetable objects, the festival plays out in venues across the city, from storefronts to galleries to national institutions.
Confirmed participants for 2013 include the Brothers Dressler, Capacity, Come Up To My Room, Department of Unusual Certainties, Design Exchange, Design Walk-In, Do Design, Dublin Project at the Institute Without Boundaries, Fugitive Glue, imm Living, Leu Webb Projects, Manufacturers + Designers Connect, OCAD U Student Gallery, Ontario Crafts Council Gallery, PechaKucha Toronto, and Shiny Pretty Things. While many of these groups are returning for the second or third time, others are launching in 2013, a testament to the festival’s continued growth.
Since TO DO was founded less than three years ago, participation and attendance has grown exponentially, demonstrating the creativity and visibility of Toronto’s design community. More importantly, it speaks to the growing public awareness of design as crucial in everyday life, both at home and in business, as well as to lead positive change in the face of environmental challenges.
As awareness of design has grown worldwide, it has grown apace in Toronto. TO DO, a not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to promoting both local and emerging designers in Toronto – spreading awareness of the practice of design, and establishing an ongoing presence that draws on great thinkers, educators and practitioners to deliver programming that highlights the best of Canadian design.