DesignTO 2027 Call for Guest Designers

The DesignTO Festival brings people together to celebrate contemporary design across the city January 22 – 31, 2027.

Guest Designers agree to produce a creative project to be showcased during Festival Week. The duration and type of participation is entirely up to you. A package of available venues (with photos and descriptions) is available for your review and selection. It is asked that you identify your top 3 venue choices with your application. Host Venues commit to paying the Festival registration fee and provide the venue free of charge to the Guest Designer. As the artist/designer, you are responsible for all costs related to creating, producing and mounting your creative project, including signage. You are also responsible for collaborating and communicating with your host venue, which includes communicating the details of your project, including all logistics, with the owner/manager of the host venue, and coordinating the project’s successful execution.

Project Types

• A window installation runs the whole duration of the Festival, and is visible to the public 24 hours a day from the outside of the venue. Depending on the space, the installation may also be viewable from inside the venue during regular business/gallery hours.
• An event typically runs one day during the Festival, for a set period of time. For example: a talk, tour, product launch, webinar, film screening, party, or workshop.
• An exhibition runs more than one day during the Festival. It is open to the public during regular business/gallery hours, and may include a window component. It can start before the Festival, and end after the Festival. It may also include an opening or closing reception, artist/designer’s talk, or tour.

Timeline

• September 14 | Guest Designer Application Deadline
• July 27 – September 21 | Pairing Review Period
• October 9 | All Venue-Designers pairings will be confirmed by this date.
• October 23, 2026 | Event Listing Submission Deadline
• January 22 – 31 | 17th Annual DesignTO Festival

Click “Learn More” for complete application guidelines and FAQ.