The Varley Art Gallery and Markham Public Art receive 2025 Creative City Impact Award
We are delighted to share that Lost and Found, a public art project co-presented by the City of Markham’s Public Art Program and the Varley Art Gallery of Markham, received the Creative City Impact Award in Public Art: Sustainability, announced at the 2025 Annual Creative City Conference held in Kingston, Ontario, on October 7, 2025.
The Creative City Impact Awards recognize Canadian municipalities that demonstrate visionary leadership by supporting a distinctive program and process that led to a successful public art project or program.
The winning project, Lost and Found, was created by artists Holly Ward and Kevin Schmidt, curated by Public Art Curator Yan Wu, and co-presented by the City of Markham’s Public Art Program and the Varley Art Gallery of Markham. The award jury recognized its unique approach to temporary public art—focusing on everyday encounters rather than spectacle.
As part of the project, the Rouge Valley Trail was dotted with subtle and poetic interventions—musical carts, vibrant T-shirts, and everyday routines—developed collaboratively with over 30 local musicians and community groups over the summer and fall of 2023. These public activations culminated in an indoor exhibition and community performances at the Varley Art Gallery, which opened in January 2024, accompanied by a printed publication launched in April 2024 (available at the Varley).
The project offered residents a chance to engage directly with contemporary art practices—relational, process-based, and site-responsive—bridging professional art-making and community participation. Rather than extracting from the environment or the community, Lost and Found modeled sustainable and inclusive collaboration, advancing the discourse of contemporary art in public space while contributing to Markham’s growing art ecology. The jury commended Lost and Found as “an example of how we can celebrate everyday presence and civic participation over spectacle.”
To learn more about the Creative City Impact Award, visit www.creativecity.ca/programs/awards.
