DesignTO Festival 2025 brings people together to celebrate contemporary design across Toronto. As Canada’s largest annual design festival celebrating design as a multidisciplinary form of thinking and making, the show hosts over 100 exhibitions and events forming Toronto’s design week each January. Since 2011, the DesignTO Festival has welcomed over 1 million visitors, showcased the work of over 6,500 artists and designers, and reached over 2 billion people through print and digital media.

Here are three ways you can participate in the Festival:

1. Independent Projects:

Independent Projects are exhibitions, events (e.g. tours, talks, workshops), and window installations that are wholly created and executed by an individual or organization during the DesignTO Festival at a venue of their choice (in-person or online).

2. Venue-Designer Matchmaking Program

This program pairs designers with a venue to host their project. Projects include exhibitions, events (e.g. tours, talks, workshops), and window installations that are wholly created and executed by an individual or organization during the DesignTO Festival at the host venue. Host venues provide their spaces free-of-charge and pay the registration fee.

3. DesignTO Projects

DesignTO Projects are exhibitions and events at the Festival curated and executed by DesignTO. Participation in these projects is through a combination of open calls for submission and by invitation.