Under the groundwork program, Mercer Union invites curator Kate Wong to develop SITE Toronto, an ongoing research and co-creation project focused on understanding how art institutions can more meaningfully respond to the social, economic, and political realities of our time.
Each session will begin with a talk followed by a participatory format inviting attendees to think, share, and build together. Drawing on case studies from inside and outside the arts sector—such as SESC Pompeia (São Paulo), RAW Material Company (Dakar), Park Fiction (Hamburg), and Shorefast (Fogo Island)—SITE Toronto learns from models rooted in people, place, and a commitment to social transformation. This inquiry is further informed by the work of visionary institution-builders including Koyo Kouoh, Hope Chigudu, and Emelie Chhangur.
In a moment of cultural crisis, SITE Toronto begins with a question and moves towards a blueprint. Together we will work to define an arts institution grounded in twenty-first century values of justice, equity, and sustainability—not as empty buzzwords, but as radical commitments to how we want to create and live with one another. Together we can reject legacy frameworks that no longer serve us and imagine, instead, institutions that reflect the city we live in, the struggles we share, and the futures we are fighting for.
This is a call to all those who want to shape that future—artists, cultural workers, musicians, community organizers, urban planners, architects, designers, educators, researchers, economists, social entrepreneurs, policymakers, funders—anyone invested in the civic and cultural life of Toronto. Whether you bring lived experience, resources, ideas, or simply the desire to build something better, this is an invitation to co-create the future of art and culture in the city we call home.
SITE Toronto is an ongoing project that positions art in service of people and place.
Public Programming
I. Why are Toronto’s Arts Institutions in Crisis?
Saturday, 9 August 2025, 2pm
This session opens with a conversation between Kate Wong and Mercer Union on how legacy models for arts institutions are misaligned with the needs of artists, communities, and publics in Toronto. Wong argues that institutional frameworks inherited from other times and places have become exclusionary, and that exclusion has material consequences. The talk will lead into a participatory forum where attendees are invited to share their experiences of arts institutions in Toronto—what’s working, what’s broken, and what’s missing—and discuss the value of art and culture within society more broadly. Participants are asked to prepare at least one response to the question: why are Toronto’s arts institutions in crisis?
All SITE Toronto events are free, with registration capped at 40 participants. Each builds on the last, so attendees are encouraged to take part in all three. This session runs for 2.5 hours and includes a 30-minute break to stretch and refuel. Refreshments will be provided.
This program will be followed by two subsequent events:
II. What Alternative Funding Models are Possible?
III. What Kind of Arts Institution Can Truly Serve Toronto in the 21st Century?
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