Open Call: Winter Stations 2026 Design Competition

Winter Stations is an international design competition held annually in Toronto, Canada. We're calling artists, designers, and architects from around the world to submit public art proposals for the 2026 exhibition 'Mirage', exploring the boundary of what is seen and what is real in the age of AI.

Winning proposals are built for a 6-week public art exhibition along Toronto's urban beaches, bringing creativity, community, and colour to Lake Ontario's shoreline in the coldest months of winter.

There is no fee to enter the competition. The winning artist/teams will be rewarded $2,000 (CAD). Winter Stations is a blind competition, meaning our jury will review proposals without knowing any identifying details about you, such as your name, country, or professional background.

Winter Stations is a launching pad for new ideas in public art. What matters most is the strength of your proposal: its design, creativity, and feasibility.

Exhibition Theme:

A mirage is a shimmer at the edge of reality, appearing real only to dissolve when approached. The present moment feels much the same, bent and distorted by the rise of digital silos and artificial intelligence, where the truth we seek is always shifting.

A promise and a trick, desire and deception, a mirage is a vision of what we long for most in a state of absence—water in a desert, fire in the cold. What longings define our time, and in what forms do they take?

For Winter Stations 2026, artists, designers, and architects are invited to tickle the boundary between what is seen and what is real. The Stations should transform the shoreline into a place where illusion becomes architecture, offering glimpses of uncanny possibilities. Participants might also consider what imaginative public infrastructures could prompt people to set aside their devices and gather in shared reality.

For more information on Evaluation Criteria, Design Factors, and Submission Guidelines and to submit your design, please visit winterstations.com

Competition Deadline: November 3rd, 2025, 11:59pm EST

Winners Announcement: Early January 2026

Exhibition Dates: February 16, 2026 - March 30, 2026 Source: https://winterstations.com/