Each year, artists, designers and architects come together for the Winter Stations design competition to save the Beaches from the dreariness of Toronto’s coldest season. The challenge asks participants to transform vacant lifeguard stations at Woodbine and Kew Beaches into whimsical displays.

This year’s theme, Mirage, explores the nature of reality in the age of AI, considering how art can draw people’s attention away from their devices and back to a shared human experience.

“We’re all being inundated with more false images online than ever before,” said Katarina Prystay, one of the event organizers, in a statement. “Public art is an incredibly powerful and playful medium to make reflections, conversations and connections with others.”