Art Toronto is back
Canada’s premier art fair returns October 29 with a hybrid presentation: in-person at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and online with a new digital platform.
Art Toronto 2019. Image courtesy of Art Toronto.
Art Toronto returns for its 22nd edition with a revitalized, hybrid approach hosted from familiar surroundings. Although the AGO’s yearly Art Toronto preview is on hold until 2022, this year marks both a return to pre-pandemic form and a continuation of last year’s in-person and virtual model. Doors will be open at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from October 29 to 31, welcoming audiences in person with an updated floorplan, enhanced with wider aisles and more open space to accommodate site-specific installations and programming.
From Canada and abroad, more than 80 leading galleries in total are on the docket, 60+ of which are participating on-site. What’s more, audiences can go online until November 7 to see the additional 21 exhibitors featured in a digital platform powered by Artland—an internationally recognized network building connections between galleries and art collectors. The on-site and online experiences are designed to complement each other, granting art lovers and collectors around the world wider access to viewing rooms and virtual reality exhibitions.
Art Toronto will also be giving space to a curated program of talks, centred on timely themes: how artists, curators and art professionals can imagine better futures for society, racial and social justice, Canada’s expanding role in the international art industry, and much more. Featured among them is a virtual discussion between Dr. Julie Crooks, AGO Curator, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, and Dr. Kenneth Montague, AGO Trustee, art collector and dentist, about the forthcoming title As We Rise: Contemporary Photography from the Black Atlantic. “As a dedicated member of the art community,” explained Mia Nielsen, Director of Art Toronto in a statement, “we promote cultural exchange and facilitate meaningful discovery. While we wish all our exhibitors could participate in the in-person fair, we are delighted that our new digital platform will provide all visitors with an opportunity to experience the fair regardless of location.”
Tickets are on sale now. For full details, including the list of on-site and online galleries and exhibitors, visit the Art Toronto website. Stay tuned in the coming weeks to find out about works acquired for the AGO Collection. Read about the 2020 acquisitions, including work by Jennifer Rose Sciarrino, Shuvinai Ashoona and Moridja Kitenge Banza, here.