Aug 8 | Sun Drawings: Collaborating with Nature
Open Call for Participation:
A Public Art Workshop with Patrick Cruz
Sunday, August 9, 2026
10 AM to 3 PM
Rouge Valley Trail and the Varley Art Gallery of Markham
Free | Registration required
About the Program
Join artist Patrick Cruz for a guided excursion along the Rouge Valley Trail, gathering botanicals and flora and creating sun drawings through the cyanotype process.
Submitted sun drawings will be digitally scanned and assembled by the artist into a collective wayfinding map that will inform the final design and composition for Stars Hollow, Patrick Cruz’s public art project for the Main Street Unionville Public Art Program. The completed artwork will take the form of a painted public art pathway along East Lane that connects Unionville’s commercial core with the Rouge Valley Trail system.
The project will continue through a future community painting workshop, where volunteers will help bring the final design to life. Participants who contribute their sun drawings will be credited as part of the completed project.
The workshop is free and open to all ages. Lunch and snacks will be provided. Children under 6 must be accompanied by an adult. The workshop will proceed rain or shine. Meeting location and additional information, including what to bring, will be provided upon registration.
To register, please contact Karen Law at KLaw@markham.ca.
About the Artist
Patrick Cruz studied at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in Diliman, Quezon City, before immigrating to Canada, where he completed his undergraduate degree at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. He received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Guelph in 2016. In 2021, he received the Thirteen Artists Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and in 2015, he won the RBC Canadian Painting Competition.
Cruz is a cross-appointed Assistant Professor in Arts, Culture and Media (Studio Art) at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. He is co-director of the Kamias Triennial with curator Karie Liao, co-curator of the Ben Flores Fan Club Collective with Christian Vistan, and a collaborator with Boring Earth alongside Laila Fox.
