Posters, pavement markers and bike-share signs across Toronto now double as windows into the city’s neglected Black history. You Don’t Know Toronto, launched in July 2025 by the Museum of Toronto, turns everyday streets into an interactive storytelling trail. More than a dozen neighbourhoods host QR-coded signs; scan one and a mobile map opens, guiding you to stories of under-represented communities, institutions and daily lives that shaped the city.
Why the street exhibition matters
Instead of asking visitors to enter a gallery, the project puts the gallery on the pavement. Commuters and pedestrians can rediscover familiar streets while learning about areas transformed by gentrification and policy shifts, including Regent Park, Parkdale and Little Jamaica.
The Museum of Toronto says the campaign “centres stories that have long been under-represented or erased from public memory,” using QR codes on sidewalks, bus shelters and station walls to link visitors to images, biographies and archival records missing from many displays.
Curated with local artists, historians and community groups, the exhibition invites users to follow their curiosity through real world locations tied to the narratives.
Tech meets memory
Custom Google Maps overlays act as the digital backbone, while bright street signs pin each story to its location. The mobile experience brings archives to phone screens, making the material easier to reach, especially for younger audiences accustomed to navigating cities digitally.
As one of Canada’s first large scale public-memory projects using QR and geolocation, the campaign has already drawn interest from teachers and civic planners keen to rethink how history is shared.
You Don’t Know Toronto runs all summer, with new markers and stories added each week. Those unable to tour in person can explore a full digital version on the Museum of Toronto website. The initiative is more than a stroll through the past; it challenges the city to decide who is remembered, where and why.
