Canada’s largest design festival marks 15 years in Toronto with biggest event yet

The time has come again for Canada’s largest design festival to take over venues across Toronto, inviting you to change the way you see your city.

Back for its 15th year, DesignTO 2025 is here to create a platform for emerging and established designers and artists alike through a nine day-long festival that transforms spaces all across the city.

Fifteen years ago, DesignTO began as a bold idea with just a handful projects and now the Festival “features over 100 free events and exhibitions across Toronto,” says DesignTO Executive Director Jeremy Vandermeij.

Indeed, where the first DesignTO festival, held in 2011, emerged as a small, experimental event showcasing a selection of works, it’s since blossomed into the premier design event of the year, drawing nearly 200,000 visitors in in 2024.

This year, marking a milestone 15th anniversary, could quite possibly promise to be the biggest yet. More than merely a festival designed to appeal to asthetes across the city, the annual event was designed on the premise of exploring ways to create a “sustainable, just, and joyful future,” that starts with innovation.

“DesignTO isn’t just a festival; it’s an anti-loneliness machine,” says co-founder Christina Zeidler.

Comprised of, Vandermeij mentions, over 100 free events and exhibitions, the festival spreads itself across the entire city, filling spaces from windows to galleries with innovative examples of design, paired with gallery tours, workshops and artist talks.

The making of “Bubble Quilt” by Studio Rat.

Among the dozens of works you’ll be able to check out during DesignTO 2025, a number of highlights stand out, like Studio Rat’s “Bubble Quilt;” a playful inflatable installation made from reclaimed materials, which you can see at 55 St. Clair West.

Another particularly intriguing installation you could see this year is “Dwell,” which will set up shop in Union Station, offering busy commuters an opportunity to slow down with a selection of works incorporating furniture, florals, rugs and animation.

Delali Cofie, “Untitled Green Wall,” included in REVIVE.

“REVIVE,” a group exhibition that can be found at the Harbourfront Centre’s Gallery 235, seeks to breathe new life into dying creative processes through mediums like sculpture, installation, photography, functional objects, and textiles.

It all kicks off with an epic launch party on opening night, running from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Harbourfront Centre, which is set to feature a dazzling one-night-only installation by Toronto-based artist Asli Alin, a live DJ set by DJ Fly Lady Di and a selection of group- and individual exhibitions to explore.

While DesignTO’s larger programming is free and open to the public, tickets, which are priced at $30 before tax and fees, are required for the launch party, and can be purchased online.

If you can’t make it to the launch party, not to fear; the festival runs from Jan. 24 to Feb. 2, with a packed schedule of installations, exhibitions and events taking place all across the city that you can check out.