Image description: The poster for First Breath featuring an art installation with bright white-blue beams of light radiating upward from a circular source against a dark background. Bold pink, orange and grey geometric shapes frame the photo.
This year's festival explores night and day, firsts and lasts, the ordinary and extraordinary. Every day, new life enters the world. As darkness falls, First Breath sends powerful beams of light into the sky—a luminous tribute to the babies born in our city each day, connecting a hidden community of new parents experiencing one of life's most precious moments.
Created by internationally renowned UK artist Luke Jerram and inspired by the birth of his own daughter, this large-scale public artwork transforms the skyline into a breathtaking reminder of the new lives beginning around us. Designed with low-energy LED lights, First Breath pulses softly, echoing the rhythm of breath and revealing an invisible network of joy unfolding across the city.
Whether you're viewing it from across Toronto or standing beneath its glow, this installation invites you to pause, look up, and remember that even in our busiest moments, new stories are beginning. A North American premiere, this must-see installation is both simple and profound—an art piece that turns private joy into shared celebration, creating a moment of collective wonder in the heart of the city.