The biggest art fair of the year

Every October, the art world gathers at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for Canada’s leading international contemporary and modern art fair. Art Toronto, taking place from October 27–30, is a unique opportunity to meet artists, mingle with fellow art lovers and perhaps even discover an amazing work that you can’t live without. This year you can head to the west coast without leaving the city, as this year’s Art Toronto FOCUS project looks at the art scene in Los Angeles.   

The weekend kicks off with the highly anticipated Opening Night Preview, a not-to-be-missed party in support of the AGO. The official opening of Art Toronto is a unique and important benefit gala for the AGO and has raised $5 million dollars over the past 16 years. Funds raised at the event help support the AGO’s compelling exhibition and education programs, with a portion of the proceeds going to purchase works of art at the fair. Party guests are the first to find out (and check out) what the AGO has acquired, right in the moment, and they have the first opportunity to buy some amazing art themselves.

Alongside leading dealers and artists, guests will toast the opening of the fair with signature cocktails, gourmet hors d'oeuvres and an artist project uniquely created for the evening. Award-winning Toronto-based artist Diane Borsato will be producing a new work from the series A DANCER IS NOT A SCULPTURE BUT A SCULPTURE IS A DANCE, live on site. This video series features dancers responding to the form, space and context of modern public sculpture in Toronto – including Large Two Forms by Henry Moore (recently moved to Grange Park) and Untitled (Mountain) by Anish Kapoor.

Together with dancer Lukas Malkowski, deaf artist Ralista Rodriguez, choreographer Valerie Calam and cinematographer Jason Tan, Borsato will shoot a new work to produce both a conversational and choreographic response to Art Toronto, using America Sign Language (ASL) and improvised movement. The artist and crew will move throughout the installation to shoot short video segments – and work on developing the choreography live on site.

Videos from Borsato’s ongoing new series will also be projected on the Art Toronto stage throughout the duration of the fair, so if you can’t make the opening night party, you’ll still have a chance to check it out. Sounds cool, right?

If you don’t want to miss this special night of art and performance, make sure you are at the Preview! But don’t worry – we’ll be reporting on what the AGO adds to its Collection in real time via @AGOToronto on Twitter, so you can follow along from wherever you are. Stay tuned!

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