At an event at City Hall on April 25th, Toronto mayor John Tory unveiled a striking work of art: a brain-shaped sculpture customized by the unmistakable art of illustrator, artist and associate professor Gary Taxali. Taxali is one of 100 artists, designers, architects and celebrities who have been recruited to turn models of brains into unique works of art.
The Brain Project is juried by a team of curators who will choose the designs to be exhibited publicly this summer. The works will be installed at key outdoor spots in the city such as Nathan Phillips Square, MaRS Discovery District and OCAD University.
The public will have the opportunity to vote on the top five works, and at the end of the exhibition, the customized sculptures will be auctioned off with proceeds going to support care and research into Alzheimer’s and age-related dementia at Baycrest Health Sciences.
Confirmed participants include Harold Feist, Jill Greenberg, Robert Marchessault, Karim Rashid and Janna Watson, with more to be announced in the weeks to come. Matthew Bellamy of Muse, Kim Kardashian West and daughter North West are among the celebrities also taking part in the creative fundraising campaign.