Winter Stations winners unveiled for Toronto's beaches

Photo: Winter Stations

The winners have been chosen in the fourth annual Winter Stations, which transforms lifeguard stations along Toronto’s eastern beaches into temporary art installations.

The event is designed to encourage people to get outside, and anyone is invited to submit an idea to revamp the otherwise underused public space. The whimsical winter displays will enliven the shores from Feb. 19 - April 1. 

This year's exhibits include a huge pink 'Pussy Hut' — a bright-pink hat resting on a plywood structure, by Martin Miller and Mo Zheng of Ithaca, N.Y; a noise box that serves as a giant interactive instrument; a wind station in the shape of a nuclear cooling tower; and a maze of obstacles that requires group effort in order to solve. 

Seven winning designs were selected out of hundreds of submissions by the design jury of the Winter Stations competition. They include designs from international and local artists, designers, architects and landscape architects that all celebrate Toronto’s winter waterfront landscape and aim to draw people outside to interact with the cold, icy environment.

The theme for Winter Stations’ third year is RIOT, which required entries to tackle political discourse and divide, in particular "violent disturbance; uproar; outburst of uncontrolled feelings; a large or varied display."

The jury looked for installations that open up the waterfront landscape and reinvent the space for visitors. Artists and designers were also asked to consider how materials may be re-purposed or reused in future iterations. 

All seven installations will be built along Kew, Scarborough and Balmy Beaches in the heart of The Beaches community, broadly located south of Queen East, between Woodbine and Victoria Park Avenues. Installations will debut on Family Day, Feb. 19, and will stay open to the public until April 1.

Check out the rest of the Winter Stations winners here.