XOXO_Wind Rose Competition

A local arts & culture initiative of

WIND ROSE
DESIGN
COMPETITION

Celebrating the proposals from across the GTA!

Students and early-career professionals across the GTA proposed new temporary installations for the Downsview Wind Rose as part of the XOXO emerging designer competition.

Teams entered the competition from a wide range of ages and creative fields, including graphic, urban, and industrial design, architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, fine arts, and more.

The jury was impressed by the creativity, thoughtfulness, and passion shown by all teams who submitted to the competition. We are delighted to share and celebrate all the proposals here, along with the teams’ statements of design intent and some selected comments from the jury.

The Proposals

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Standing Ovation... 16 Influencers

Saint Patrick Secondary: Andrew Bael, Beatrice Diana, Adrian Fevlo, Logan George, Jessica Lu, Erin Manalo, Mari Mendoza, Jabez Penullar, Maryrose Sabio, Madeline Sevilla

The students agreed this competition would be the perfect opportunity to capture a familial connection with a grandparent by creating a digital portrait honouring their essence. Elders as “influencers” is the starting point of this exhibition. The modern notion of “influencer” is challenged by interpreting it through the lens of family history, culture and identity. Sixteen royal portraits will magnify the spirit, courage and kindness of each subject. The figures will be depicted wearing a magnificent assembly of artifacts fashioned into a crown of distinction that speaks to their legacy. Each students will answer the question “I know this because...”

JURY COMMENTS:
“Lovely work, and so interesting to reframe elders as influencers”

“I love this idea.”

WINNER: Wind Blessing in Red

Zishuo Li & Yifu Ding

Wind, a blessing of nature, is the elemental force that pollenizes and seeds; Red, a colour of fire, is the symbol of passion and love. Language, a system unique to humans, is the keystone for cultural development. This installation incorporates the three to bring visitors a multisensory experience. The bright red and vivid movements are perceptible from a distance downhill. Immersed in the sound of air brushing against fabric, visitors are invited to read wishes collected from the
community, written in everyone’s own languages. It’s a celebration of our multicultural community and a blessing to all beings around us.

JURY COMMENTS:
“Visually stunning!”

“It leaves a strong single visual impression”

“I love the community engagement component of this proposal. From afar, it will have a dramatic appeal.”

Woman Life Freedom زن زندگی آزادی

Shayan Mahoutforoush, Behrad Sajasi

The proposal intends to raise awareness of the human rights violence within Iran to reach a broader audience. The aim is to utilize the pavilion as a base for community gatherings that can work to construct a crusade against violence toward women. The artworks depict stories of lost innocent souls, made by an artist named Shadi that lives and works in Tehran. The movement in Iran is called "Women, life, freedom," which is becoming the biggest feminist movement of the century that has reemerged from the death of Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, killed by the Morality Police.

JURY COMMENTS:
“I think the idea is great and creates a space for dialogue on a current event topic.”

“This is an urgent message of this time and I love that this location can be used to further the message. It is focused to a specific political issue but the plight of equity for women is universal.”

Wellbeing for All Forever

Catherine Economopoulos

This proposal is a bold reimagining of the existing structures as they stand within a vibrant landscape. At its core, this project intends to restructure a solely visual installation into one that champions dynamic placemaking, playfulness, and social unity for residents and visitors alike. My vision for the Wind Rose installation involves interactive components meant to invite viewers of all ages towards the work to engage and connect with each other and community heritage, alternated with more traditional artistic and educational pieces to amplify and honour the stories of Downsview at large. Thus, the project highlights and reflects the importance of the slogan “wellbeing for all forever” – the wellbeing of the body, mind, and soul.

JURY COMMENTS:
“This is a compelling and inclusive way to engage stories of Downsview.”

“I really appreciate the interactivity and the considerations given to sustainability.”

Palimpsest

Edwin Agyei

When I think of North York, I think of layered stories, experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. These layers form community and these layers allow for rich tapestries to be created, where everyone is able to be apart of this ecosystem. This is the basis for my project making a space of delight and wonder to view the layers that form the communities of North York and Downsview Park. The installation has layers of fabric that depict different imagery on each layer, and it comes together to form compositions. These compositions are bright and vibrant, and the colours and images are sampled from the existing flora, fauna, insects, birds, plantings, people and ecology of Downsview park and of North York.

JURY COMMENTS:
“Ethereal and lovely.”

“The focus on North York as a community with so many layers that incorporate nature, flora and the people that represent the community. It’s very beautiful.”

Pain of the Abandoned Child

Troilland Ford Cuyos

The project tells the story of the Filipino immigrant in Canada and the pain a child experiences growing up in an incomplete family. Through colorful banners the installation caters itself to both children and children-at-heart, like a fiesta, the design celebrates the mound it stands upon. Although an unnatural landscape, it is essential in the placemaking of the surrounding neighborhood of Downsview. Similarly, it is unnatural to grow up without both parents however it is necessary to ensure their future. As such, the design both recognize the pains of the abandoned child and celebrates the bravery of the parents.

JURY COMMENTS:
“Great example of art as an entry point to meaningful storytelling.”

“While the story focuses on Filipino immigrants, the immigrant experience crosses communities. Downsview's history is considered and a topic that is not widely discussed is addressed.”

River & Nest

Joshua Kirles

The west and east flags represent Humber River and Don River, respectively. As local fauna, the hawk’s nest symbolizes Downsview honouring the land’s significance to Indigenous communities as a ridge connecting the rivers, whilst highlighting its advantageous location for aviation. As a hawk’s nest is made of local materials, this nest is made of hay—acknowledging the land’s farming legacy—and rusted aluminum which is vital in aircraft construction. As home to a hawk’s family, a nest portrays Downsview as a community; this component welcomes visitors and invites them to immerse themselves through a guided audio tour accessible through a QR code.

JURY COMMENTS:
“A thoughtful and considered exploration of our relationship to land.”

“Original and compelling concept.”

Woman, Life, Freedom

Maryam Zaraimajin, Shabnam Afrand, Suzanne Simoni

Iranians around the world have started a movement of bringing awareness to a government that is silencing women and minorities. Through dance, our project communicates the situation of a people with no voice.
Inspired by the scarves used in Kurdish dancing, our project unfurls the head coverings on the arches of Wind Rose. A performer will lead the community in a gesture of equality of gender, promoting unity as strangers hold hands to dance. Participants will write on a long cloth which will be wrapped around the installation like hands reaching around the Earth. Compulsory black scarves identified with the suppression of women in Iran will be cut to look like hair. This is breaking the rules, breaking down a wall.

JURY COMMENTS:
“It creates powerful images and the dance component is compelling.”

“This is a beautiful and important exhibition.”

Wishes Towards the Future

Pimravee Phoncharoen, Hark Chabby, Julia Dronsejko, Yunjung Park

Our installation is the visualization of wishes.
Derived from a historical tradition seen across many cultures as a significant community-building occasion, the fabric birds symbolize the manifestations of individual hope within the collective.
The 16 square arches function as the pillars of the community, and the birds recall the historical and ecological context of the area. As the wind activates the installation, the birds transform, their dynamic movement making the wishes come to life.
With this installation, we hope to inspire and engage with the community of Downsview, providing them a place to see their wishes take flight.

JURY COMMENTS:
“Amazing! Love the idea of the wind bringing the birds to life.”

“Simple in content and form, I feel this project could look exciting from afar and up close, addressing the complexities of a public artwork which will be mostly viewed at a distance.”

Pluralistic Ignorance Designs Negative Space

Saint Patrick Secondary: Jasmin Brown, Haven Navarretea, Beatrix Lozano, Russel Tabata, Ytzel Canales Vidal

Post-pandemic, people, especially youth, have been struggling to readjust to average day-to-day social scenarios, and have begun developing fear in situations where they may be judged or feel judged. Our goal is to create a mural where folks of all ages with similar social anxiety can feel understood and take time to reflect on their own thoughts. We will be creating these panels through a teenager’s lens. One side of our panels will have varying negative space subjects representing the feeling of disconnection, isola-tion, and emptiness. The surrounding area will showcase social scenarios. On the other side will be a representation of the thoughts of the subject through varying hierarchy, font, sizes, placements, and legibility.

JURY COMMENTS:
“A great way to explore this topic in a new way.”

“A beautiful and very thoughtful work.”

WindSocks – A Soundscape of Our Community

Samantha Unger

Standing atop Downsview Park’s highest mount, I was swept away by the sound of the wind through the wind rose. This installation becomes the largest windchime in Toronto. This chime will be constructed from unmatched socks collected from the community (a play on words of windsock while also a sustainable choice). The project embodies community arts through-and-through—made with the community’s unmatched socks, for the community to enjoy and experience, and by the community throughout the build. When donating socks, community members may write their family name on them. The installation brings stories together to create a shared song.

JURY COMMENTS:
“Playful, original, and unique — I loved it!”

“Absolutely love how playful this installation is and the engagement with the local community.”

Look, Listen, Speak

Tarek Mokhalalati, Sadi Wali

Our proposal transforms the windrose into an audiovisual experience that gives both the wind and visitors unique mediums to express themselves. By installing custom 3D wind whistles, the wind is given a one-of-a-kind voice that visitors can experience whilst surrounded by a colorful set of ribbons representing the 5 most prominent tree species found in Downsview Park. The visitors are greeted with a set of 16 wooden boards that they are welcome to paint, etch, graﬃti or draw on to express their experience of the windrose, just as wind will contribute to the boards by weathering them with the seasons.

JURY COMMENTS:
“A wonderful, multifaceted idea that has a clear sense of place and playful interactivity.”

“I like elements of this project and how it might live afterwards,”

Arcade Commons

Brendan Callan, Nathan Shakura

To represent Downsview’s upcoming transformation, we want to encourage community engagement by offering a space to imagine and experience a physical representation of Downsview’s development journey. We imagine an array of mesh panels installed between the existing posts, representing the development phase of the revitalization project. These panels will feature curved arches, leading to a new path forward as well as representing the curves found in the existing landscape of Downsview. Placed in a pattern that follows the airport runway, and supported by aircraft cable to reference the site’s current use, the arches invite visitors to the centre of the wind rose. At the centre of the wind rose a monumental mesh cylinder rises to symbolize support and cohesion and a central catalysed point of the completion of the development.

JURY COMMENTS:
“Visually striking!”

“I love the proposal’s focus on the future and the transformation of the park and how it encourages community engagement by offering space for reflection on the future.”

Wind-Rose-Competition_Landing,TakeOff-Drawing-Package_FionKongGeorgiaSaNatalieKo-1.jpg

WINNER: Landing, Take Off

Fion Kong, Georgia Sa, Natalie Ko

Landing, Take Off is a project that celebrates the industrial history and biodiversity of Downsview Park. The overall form was inspired by the flight of the Red Tailed Hawk as it adapts to the howling wind. Sixteen colorful panels stretch across and encircle the blue arches of the windrose, inviting park go-ers to climb up and take a closer look. The installation can be viewed in any order. Its openness and variation encourages exploration within.

JURY COMMENTS:
“A celebration of ingenuity and adaptation — well-researched, thoughtfully considered, and educational.”

“I really appreciate the connection to place and an installation you enjoy by looking up at the sky.”

Crystal Tree Pavilion

Ariana Sehra, Varleen Kaur Virdi, Vélarie Freire

Our concept is to create a pavilion that allows for a sense of unity and demonstrates the beauty of nature. This makes our pavilion stem from the idea of a tree which incorporates color and its interaction with space. While having our focus on our materiality, the colors reflected portray optimism. Also, the design considers the year around seasons and thus illustrates sustenance to life. While having the trunk of the tree open to the public, the unity created exemplifies the essence of its life as the public can gather and share their admiration for nature and growth.

JURY COMMENTS:
“Joyful.”

“This is a structure that reflects light and colour to represent unity. I especially love the idea of the tree.”

Flora and Fauna

Afifa Bari

Taking inspiration from the landscape present at Downsview and North York that usually grows in the warmer months, this work will be created using natural dyes to represent the wildlife, the flora and fauna present at the park. This work will be created using natural dyes and aims to portrays the loss of wildlife and in turn the affects of climate change as the color slowly fades away from the surface overtime. The work will be painted using natural dyes or paints using loose brushstrokes that roughly represent the natural elements present in the surrounding landscape. Research will be conducted through the Downsview Park education team to learn more about the flora and fauna that grow in the landscape in addition to online resources.

JURY COMMENTS:
“I like the close attention to the flora and fauna in the Park.”

“Thank you for acknowledging climate change in your proposal.”

WINNER: See You Around

Sherri Gallowitz

The elevated land now known as Downsview Park was a vantage point for Indigenous Peoples for over 11,000 years, with non-indigenous settlement dating to the 1700’s. Today, it is a beloved gathering-place for one of the most diverse communities on earth. See You Around celebrates a cross-section of community members who are the heart of Downsview Park. Sixteen photographs of individuals, friends and families form a circle of humanity (plus a few canine companions) that demonstrate the simple joy of being, in this moment, in this special place. Dedicated to inclusion and accessibility, the project’s goal is to build community.

JURY COMMENTS:
“Downsview Park's rich culture is celebrated in the installation, which places the community at the centre.”

“This is a playful exhibition that is beautifully connected to place. The thoughtfulness towards accessibility for those who cannot climb the mound is deeply appreciated.”

The three winning proposals will be installed, each for 10 weeks of public display, with the support of the XOXO Downsview installation team and funding from landowners Northcrest and Canada Lands. Be sure to follow us on social and subscribe to our newsletter to see how these proposals evolve and to learn when each will be launched.

The Jury

Following the guiding principles of the XOXO Workplan, a diverse panel of local and city-wide experts was formed to judge the proposals. They include:

David Anselmi, Senior Director of Real Estate at Canada Lands and a landscape architect who long served as the President of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects and the Chair of Toronto’s Public Art Commission;
Elham Fatapour, a visual artist and York University MFA whose practice includes explorations of our relationship with the land;
Patrizia Libralato, Founder of the Toronto Biennial of Art, born and raised in Downsview;
Mitchell Marcus, Executive Director of Site Activation and Programming at Northcrest Developments, previously the founder and CEO of The Musical Stage Company and Associate Producer for Luminato;
Tracey Prehay, a cultural producer, artist, and curator, who grew up in North York and worked locally with ArtworxTO for the year of public art;
Henrick Sales, North-York based public and performance artist who works with Ward Museum and focuses on immigrant experience and story-telling;
Michael Vickers, Senior Program Lead at Brampton Arts, and previous Co-Director of AKIN; and
Collin Zipp, multidisciplinary artist and Public Art Manager from STEPS Public Art.

Learn more about the developers: