Flowers have long been quiet yet powerful storytellers, expressing love, remembrance, apology, and hope through colour, form, and season. Florescene fuses floral, symbolizing growth and organic life, with scene, representing a moment or lived experience. Together, the word evokes a living moment of becoming—where nature is constantly transforming and beauty exists within process.

For Artsideout 2026, Florescene invites student artists to engage with nature as both subject and collaborator, exploring natural forms as emotional and symbolic landscapes. Themes of growth, vulnerability, nostalgia, healing, time, and connection emerge through diverse practices. Within the UTSC community, Florescene reflects a shared ecosystem of creativity, collaboration, and continuous becoming.

About Special Projects:

Each year ARTSIDEOUT looks to commission 2-3 larger scale, stand-alone studio works which respond to that year's theme to act as high-impact anchors for the festival. Special projects are funded by ASO and artists will receive an honorarium for their work.

Proposals for Special Projects are assessed by the ARTSIDEOUT Artistic Team, who will make selections based on a number of factors, including the completeness, accuracy and clarity of the submission; artistic merit; relevance to the festival theme; feasibility of project and budget; and when the submission was received.

Artists who are selected must commit to providing regular updates on their progress to their Studio Curator, based on a mutually agreed-upon schedule, and to having the work completed a week before the festival.

ARTSIDEOUT may be able to provide support, equipment and studio space based on availability – please specify any needs you may have in the Additional Details section.