Public Sweat - Sauna Culture and Art Fusion at Harbourfront Center Toronto Ontario

Public Sweat is a fusion between sauna culture and art. Its goal is to create social connections by sharing this experience with friends, family, and strangers. It’s the latest project from Art Spin, which presents contemporary art in unexpected...
Public Sweat is a fusion between sauna culture and art. Its goal is to create social connections by sharing this experience with friends, family, and strangers. It’s the latest project from Art Spin, which presents contemporary art in unexpected spaces with unique public experiences.

I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did. It brought back memories of my childhood. I grew up on a small resort in Northern Ontario, and the sauna was one of our guest favourites. My Dad believed in the restorative value of saunas, and we were frequent users. By the end of our 2-hour session, I felt relaxed, restored and grateful for the happy childhood memory as my Dad has since passed.

The sessions are timed, and the number of people is limited. We had a two-hour window to explore the 5 different saunas which was more than enough time. Each sauna only has room for 6 to 10 people, but we never had to wait longer than a few minutes to try one. There were hammocks and seating areas to relax, cool off and socialize between sessions. There’s even a cold bucket rinse, if you are brave enough.

Until Apr 30, 2023 at Harbourfront Center, Toronto Ontario
More
20 April 2023 at   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
Panoramic view of the sauna village at Public Sweat Experience at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto Ontario.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
This barrel sauna is both a painting and a high-temp sauna. The colourful exterior has a picture of a volcano on one side and colourful dots on the other side.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
The smell of new wood was a pleasant element of this sauna at Public Sweat.
If you are finding it too hot, move to a lower seat as the hot air rises.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
We both did the cold bucket rinse. It lived up to its name and was a nice change after the intense heat of the saunas at Public Sweat.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
A Caress Before Dawn Exhibit by Rihab Essayh is an unheated cool-down resting space which looks like a garden shed draped in silk.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
We laid down to cool off between sauna sessions at Public Seweat. A kaleidoscope of colours radiated off the soft sheets in the sunlight. There was a recording of someone singing through the speakers in the background.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
Garmabeh is a red clay sauna that is a nod to the ancient Iranian bathhouses. It's an electric sauna stove with medium heat.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
The inside of the Garmabeh sauna was in my opinion, the prettiest of all the saunas at Public Sweat. Beautiful blue tiles for the seating and backsplash with a wooden interior that still smelled like fresh wood.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
Abandoned Splendour is heated by an electric stove at Public Sweat. Simone Jones created this sauna to represent industrial wood burners that were often found in sawmills on the West Coast of North America.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
It’s very dark when you first walk into this sauna at Public Sweat. Once your eyes adjust to the dark there is a video screen displaying a faded chandelier with a mournful background sound by artist Mitchell Akiyama.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
Geospheric Sweatbath by Christie Pearson has an electric-heated granite floor. The dome is wrapped in hand-stitched felted wool above a cedar base. You are invited to lie down and experience the warmth of its granite surface.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
The heated floor made laying on the granite quite pleasant at Public Sweat.
You could smell the cedar from the wood base of this structure. And, I couldn’t resist running my hand along the wool dome.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
After we checked in, we were given a quick tour by a Staff Member who turned out to be Chris Foster. He’s the Technical Director of Public Sweat and the artist who created the Mobile Sweat trailer. Look for it at festivals in Ontario this summer.


20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
Mobile Sweat is a 16-foot utility trailer transformed into a fully functioning wood-burning sauna by Chris Foster. The wooden interior has an embedded screen showing video works by various artists and a sound system. It was relaxing to watch the...
Mobile Sweat is a 16-foot utility trailer transformed into a fully functioning wood-burning sauna by Chris Foster. The wooden interior has an embedded screen showing video works by various artists and a sound system. It was relaxing to watch the videos while enjoying the heat of the sauna.
More
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
Action shot of co-creator, Layne Hinton chopping wood for the saunas at Public Sweat. The two wood-burning saunas need lots of fuel to keep them hot.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
The change rooms were gender neutral with multiple private stalls. There are lockers with free locks to secure your clothes and valuables.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
Lots of beautiful items made by local artists were available for sale.

Besides bringing a towel with you to Public Sweat, make sure to bring a face cloth to take with you into the saunas if you don’t like having sweat on your face. Or, you can...
Lots of beautiful items made by local artists were available for sale.

Besides bringing a towel with you to Public Sweat, make sure to bring a face cloth to take with you into the saunas if you don’t like having sweat on your face. Or, you can buy a sauna hat from the gift shop. Sauna hats made of wool felt actually help to keep your head cool.
More
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
Make sure to leave time to relax in The Lounge before and after your session. There is lots of room to sit and chill. They offer drinks and snacks for purchase, including a giant pickle to help replenish your salt levels post-sauna.
20 April 2023 ·   11 months ago taken in   235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada
No photos available
Drop a file here to upload.
Unable to load tooltip content.
CANADA Adventure Seeker

 

JOIN OUR ADVENTURE CLUB
 

Canadian Adventures

The Leaf at Assiniboine Park is Canada's...
Johnston Canyon One of Banff National Pa...