You won’t have to wait for summer to experience one of Toronto’s most striking waterfront attractions. A series of massive, eye-catching art installations is set to return to Woodbine Beach, transforming the shoreline into an open-air gallery in the heart of winter.
Winter Stations, the annual international design competition that has animated Toronto’s beaches since 2015, has announced the winning installations for its 2026 edition. Beginning next month, five large-scale public artworks will rise from the sand, inviting visitors to explore colourful, reflective, and thought-provoking designs set against Lake Ontario and the city skyline.
This year’s theme, Mirage, challenges viewers to question what is real and what is illusion in an era shaped by artificial intelligence and digital perception. The installations explore how public art can function as shared infrastructure—spaces that draw people together in the physical world rather than behind screens.
The selected works include Chimera, Embrace, Specularia, Crest, and Glaciate, created by an international mix of artists, architects, designers, and students, including teams from Toronto universities and abroad. Visitors can expect towering sculptural hands, driftwood formations that resemble a frozen ocean wave, mirrored structures that distort perspective, deceptive architectural forms, and ice-like lenses that play with light and space.
The installations will occupy the beach from February 16 through March 30, using the dormant winter lifeguard stations as visual anchors. Set against wind, snow, and the vastness of Lake Ontario, the works are designed to turn the cold season into a time of creative discovery rather than hibernation.
Each year, Winter Stations attracts thousands of visitors, offering a reason to explore Toronto’s eastern beaches when they are typically quiet. Artists and designers from around the world are invited to submit proposals at no cost, with final selections made by a blind jury of local art and design professionals. Typically, four to six projects are chosen for installation.
Organizers say this year’s exhibition aims to blur the boundary between illusion and architecture, turning the shoreline into a space where imagination reshapes reality. The goal is simple but powerful: to encourage people to step away from their devices, gather outdoors, and experience art together—even in the depths of winter.