A new cultural hub for
the city of Toronto

The Stakeholder Working Group sessions were completed on August 12, 2021.

Public shared vision for an inclusive and accessible St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts

TO Live and CreateTO launched a public consultation process for the reimagining of St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Called STLC NEXT, the project is a City of Toronto initiative to engage the community in a vision for the future of the 50-year-old performing arts centre. As our city emerges from the pandemic, a new vision for STLC can become a motivating force for the community and cultural sector by bringing to life an inclusive and accessible community hub.

Residents and stakeholders were asked to share their dreams for how STLC could be reimagined to provide an accessible, flexible civic hub that will serve traditionally under-represented voices, the cultural sector, the neighbourhood, and the broader civic community.

The consultation process included an extensive series of meetings and specific engagement sessions with local arts, community, and neighbourhood groups. The consultation was specifically designed to prioritize an equity lens to place-making, access to equity-seeking groups, and the use of state-of-the-art technology to support the next generation of creative talent in Toronto.

 

Letter from Councillor Wong-Tam

Public consultation on the redevelopment of St. Lawrence Centre of the Arts will enable us to re-imagine an important city-owned cultural asset. Improving accessibility and expanding flexible performance space will extend critical support to the public and performing arts companies. There’s an opportunity to rethink the entire public realm strategy and to connect the centre with the beautifully redesigned Berczy Park across the street. I look forward to hearing the public’s feedback on their transformational vision for STLC and the neighbourhood.

Kristyn Wong-Tam
Councillor, Ward 13, TO Live Board Member

Learn more

 

How to participate

The first major consultation was a survey to ask for feedback from the public and stakeholder groups on a range of relevant issues. A Stakeholder Working Group represented constituent concerns at workshops throughout the winter and spring of 2021. Notes from these meetings are posted on this site. Comments and concerns are still welcome through our feedback form.

Land acknowledgement

TO Live would like to acknowledge Tkaronto, which is a Mohawk word meaning “the place in the water where the trees are standing.” We live and work on the traditional territory of Haudenosaunee-speaking nations, including the Huron-Wendat, Seneca, and Mohawk. Haudenosaunee-speaking nations have been here since time immemorial, and were more recently joined by the Mississaugas of the Credit.

What this means is that by living and working here, we all have a responsibility to the environment and to each other, to treat each other and the environment with peace and respect. This means we have responsibilities to honour, renew, and consistently uphold the values and relationships outlined in the ancient agreements.

Today, Toronto is home to Indigenous peoples and settlers from around the world. Let us all come together in an atmosphere of respect and peace to do good work together with good minds. Let’s start building stronger and healthier relationships with each other and the spaces we inhabit in Tkaronto, Ontari:io, Kanata. Let’s hold our minds together in kindness.

Nia:wen. Thank you.

© Dawn Maracle

**Architectural design competition** City Council will be responding to the recommendations in the Staff Report from TO Live/Create TO at the Council meetings on May 11 and 12, 2022. We anticipate announcing an international architectural design competition for the reimagining of St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in July 2022. Stay tuned to this page for more details!
**Architectural design competition** City Council will be responding to the recommendations in the Staff Report from TO Live/Create TO at the Council meetings on May 11 and 12, 2022. We anticipate announcing an international architectural design competition for the reimagining of St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in July 2022. Stay tuned to this page for more details!
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