TO DO is Back and Transforming Toronto into a Hub for Creativity

The Toronto Design Offsite Festival (TO DO) is Canada’s largest cultural celebration of design with over 100 exhibitions and events forming Toronto’s design week, January 15-21, 2018.

Going into its 8th year, TO DO transforms Toronto into a hub for creativity, taking design and art out of the studio and into the urban sphere, bringing people together to celebrate contemporary culture. We provide opportunities for emerging talent, and engage the community with exceptional and accessible public programming. For more information, visit www.todesignoffsite.com.

See the full Festival Schedule here.

Festival Highlights:

TO DO Festival Party
Monday, January 15, 2018
7pm | $10 online at the door

Celebrate the start of Toronto design week at TO DO’s Festival Party! Join designers, architects, artists, craftspeople, and VIPs at a launch event that draws attendees from around the world.

Mix and mingle in the LightForm showroom and warehouse, while enjoying drinks, music, and a new installation created by Jordan Söderberg Mills. In the showroom, also experience Feelbot by Equal Parts Studio.

TO DO Talks Symposium: Designing the Future of Work
Saturday, January 20, 2018
2pm | $35 Register 

TO DO’s third annual symposium brings 12 multidisciplinary experts into one room to discuss the future of work. The four-hour event features keynote speaker Joost Schouten, two thematic sessions, and an opportunity for fulsome discussion among those in attendance. Topics range from organizational structures to ritual and empathy, architecture and responsive workplaces.

Outside The Box
January 13-28, 2018
Reception: Fri, January 19, 7-10pm 

This seventh edition of ‘Outside the Box’ features responses on the theme “matter.” This theme encompasses material transformation and change, and the essence of material. It looks at how materials are created, reused, or recycled. Correspondents are invited to explore “matter” in any way.

TO DO Talks: Aberrant Architecture
Friday, January 19, 2018
7:30pm | $15 Tickets 

In this talk, Aberrant founders David Chambers and Kevin Haley will discuss the ideas, experiences, and stories that reside outside the “final” work or architecture – the “outtakes” – with friend and past collaborator Beatrice Galilee, Daniel Brodsky Associate Curator of Architecture and Design at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Part of TO DO’s inaugural International Guest of Honour Program, this talk is generously supported by the Government of Ontario, the British Council, and Toronto Arts Council with funding from the City of Toronto, and co-presented with Harbourfront Centre.

Work/Life
January 15-21, 2018
Reception: Wed, January 17, 6-9pm | RSVP

‘Compact Living’ is a signature exhibition curated by the Toronto Design Offsite Festival in partnership with Umbra. Exploring  fresh, and original houseware prototypes for contemporary compact living, the exhibition showcases new work by 11 Canadian artists and designers.

Festival Features

Festival Features is a shortlist of 10 events, exhibitions, and/or window installations selected by a jury. The criteria for selection is entirely up to each juror, while considering the caliber of the work or event program, and appeal to a general public and specialist audience. This year’s jurors are anahita azrahimi (Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition), Nina Boccia (Design Exchange), and Brendan Cormier (Victoria & Albert Museum).