Here's why there are light-up red hearts all around Toronto

If you’ve noticed light-up red hearts popping up all across Toronto, then you’ve gotten a first glimpse at a large-scale, city-wide art project rolling out this week.

The City’s ShowLoveTO campaign relaunched on Tuesday, placing light up red hearts with #ShowLoveTO on them all around Toronto. And along with the relaunch came news of a new ShowLoveTO project called BigArtTO that’s bringing art projections to each of the city’s 25 wards.

Toronto’s #ShowLoveTO campaign is relaunching today. As we continue to welcome back the arts, culture, dining, & other experiences that make our city so great, the @CityofToronto is offering a range of exciting programs including DineTOgether, StrollTO, and BigArtTO. pic.twitter.com/Iin2eHFGZc

— Jaye Robinson (@JayeRobinson) September 14, 2021

A total of 29 sites across the city will display neighbourhood-specific artwork created by Toronto artists and projected onto local buildings and landmarks. Two to three of the 29 locations will be active at any one time, with locations changing every week for 11 weeks.

The first week, kicking off on Wednesday, September 15, has three installations:

Inside Out, Rexdale by Yasin Osman and Jamal Burger at Greenholme Junior Middle School, 10 Jamestown Cresent, Etobicoke North
Red Crowned Crane by Enna Kim at Parkdale Library, 1303 Queen Street West, Parkdale-High Park
Dreamscapes by Courtney Dookwah at Lawrence Heights Community Centre, 5 Replin Road, Eglinton-Lawrence

All of the BigArtTO projections will be outdoors to allow for physical distancing, and each projection will be played on a loop for three hours from 7:45 pm to 10:45 pm.

ShowLoveTO is also encouraging Torontonians to show their city some love by shopping and dining locally. They are also providing a number of free walks, both guided and self-guided, to help people explore Toronto’s neighbourhoods.

A full list of all of ShowLoveTO’s events can be found here.