theBUZZ Features
Art Toronto celebrates 25 years of spotlighting all things creative – October 24 to 27, 2024
Art Toronto will be held at the Metro Convention Centre from October 24 to 27, 2024, and features a collectors’ first-look preview and an opening night benefit event on Thursday, October 24 for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
To celebrate Art Toronto’s 25th anniversary Mia Nielsen, Director of Art Toronto, curated a special 4 part exhibition spread across the show floor. Titled Re: connecting, the exhibition reflects on a time approximately 25 years ago when the internet was in its infancy, before the rise of mass social media. Today we see quick visual consumptions on our screens where decades ago the world was in a sense more tactile. The exhibition explores how these platforms have both expanded and flattened our conversations around contemporary art, which is now often described as ultra-contemporary.
“Anniversaries invite reflection, an opportunity to reconsider how a relationship has grown and evolved from a moment in time,” says Nielsen. “As we bring visitors together for the 25th anniversary, I wanted to create a visual and tactile experience that demands the viewer to look closer and investigate. I invite you to explore the fair, give yourself to it, check it out from another angle, turn to a stranger and ask their thoughts. Experience it as if it were 2000, with all we’ve learned, seen and grown in 25 years.”
Participating Artists
Kelly Jazvac, Galerie Nicolas Robert
Eddy Firmin, Art Mûr
Kareem Anothny Ferrera, Towards Gallery
Alexa Hatanka, Patel Brown
Michaëlle Sergile, Galerie Hugues Chabonneau
Preston Pavlis, Bradley Ertaskiran
Kayza DeGraff-Ford, The Blue Building
Zoë Ann Cardinal Cire, two seven two
Gala Berger, two seven two
Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Claire Oliver Gallery
Rose Nestler, Pangée
Tyler Los-Jones, Norberg Hall
2024 FOCUS EXHIBITION CURATED BY RHÉANNE CHARTRAND
As curator of the Focus Exhibition, Chartrand will bring together artworks from participating Art Toronto galleries to create an exhibition from which works can be purchased by collectors. The exhibition, titled, the place to which we return, explores ideas and feelings of “home” expansively, and how it is intimately wrapped up in identity, history, politics, and geography.
“I’m excited to share newly created works by several participating artists that have not yet been on view in a major public art space,” says Rhéanne Chartrand. “I tried to curate an exhibition that struck a balance, of foregrounding joy and levity, but not at the expense of criticality and delving into complex, timely issues. It’s my hope that visitors to the place to which we return will leave reflecting more deeply on their relationship to ‘home’. It’s a word we use almost daily, but how often do we really get the chance to think about what it really means to us?”
Featured Artists
Anahita Norouzi, Galerie Nicolas Robert
Annie Taipana, Robert Kardosh Gallery
Audie Murray, Fazakas Gallery
Caroline Monnet, Blouin Division
Deanna Bowen, MKG127
Derya Akay, Unit 17
Emma Nishimura, United Contemporary
Gio Swaby, Claire Oliver Gallery
Jake Kimble, United Contemporary
Jan Wade, Monica Reyes Gallery
June Clark, Daniel Faria Gallery
Ken Lum, Royale Projects
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Macaulay + Co. Fine Art
Marigold Santos, Patel Brown
Meryl McMaster, Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain
Nico Williams, Blouin Division
Renée Condo, Blouin Division
Shaheer Zazai, Patel Brown
Shellie Zhang, Patel Brown
Stephanie Comaling, Daniel Faria Gallery
Yen-Chao Lin, TIAN Contemporain
2024 PLATFORM TALKS, CURATED BY EMILY BUTLER
Art Toronto’s public program for 2024 is curated by Emily Butler from Vancouver. Previously she was curator for the Conversations program at Art Basel, 2021-2023 and curator at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2010-2022. Placed on the Platform Stage, Platform Talks are thoughtful conversations featuring notable art experts from across Canada and abroad on topics ranging from curatorial affairs to the state of the market. These talks are free with admission to the fair.
Highlighted Programming
Curators in Conversation
Eva Respini, Deputy Director and Director of Curatorial Programs at the Vancouver Art Gallery
Kitty Scott, Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts
Curators in Conversation offers audiences an insight into the processes of notable curators working today. In this talk Kitty Scott, Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts, and Eva Respini, Deputy Director and Director of Curatorial Programs, Vancouver Art Gallery, discuss upcoming projects, including Eva’s role at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
PLATFORM, Friday, 25 October 2024 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Collectors in Conversation
Dr. Paul Marks, Art Collector and Head Orthopaedic Surgeon, Toronto Raptors
Tash Perrin, Deputy Chairman, Christie’s
Distinguished collector, Dr Paul Marks joins Tash Perrin, Christie’s Deputy Director, for a thought-provoking discussion on collecting contemporary art. Dr. Marks, known for his collection of Canadian and international artists focused on conceptualism and societal themes, will share insights on his relationship to art and his collecting journey.
PLATFORM: Friday, October 25, 2024 3:00pm-4:00pm
Supporting the Art Ecologies of Tomorrow
Speaker, Bernard Doucet, Director, Sobey Art Foundation
Speaker, Ebony L. Haynes, Director, 52 Walker / David Zwirner
Moderator, Hadani Ditmars, The Art Newspaper
How can organisations meaningfully support artists and communities? Ebony L. Haynes, Director, 52 Walker, and Bernard Doucet, Director, Sobey Art Foundation, discuss how institutions and prizes can foster artistic ecologies and creative economies. What have they learned from establishing new structures, and how can the art world become more representative, flexible, and resilient?
PLATFORM, Friday, 25 October 2024 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Art of Our Time: New Artists at Art Toronto
Presented by RBC
Speaker, Gio Swaby (Claire Oliver Gallery)
Speaker, Sophia Lapre (Towards)
Speaker, Robin Crofut-Brittingham (Tian Contemporain)
Moderator, Adelina Vlas, Head of Curatorial Affairs at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery
In this conversation, meet creators exhibiting at Art Toronto for the first time. Panelists engage with painting but push its boundaries through new materials, sculptural effects, and curation. Moderated by Adelina Vlas, Head of Curatorial Affairs at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.
PLATFORM, Saturday, 26 October 2024 2:30pm – 3:30pm
DISCOVER SECTION
Art Toronto is delighted to announce the 2024 galleries selected for Discover, presented by RBC. This program, co-created by Art Toronto and RBC, offers galleries exhibiting at the fair unparalleled opportunities to spotlight emerging artists, as well as artists who are reemerging, to new audiences. Eight galleries were selected by a committee made up of Stefan Hancherow, RBC Curator; Mia Nielsen, Director, Art Toronto and Rhéanne Chartrand, Art Toronto Focus Exhibition Curator and the Hatch Curator of Indigenous Art & Culture, ROM.
Afternoon Projects, Vancouver
april april, Pittsburgh
Claire Oliver Gallery, New York
Mónica Reyes Gallery, Vancouver
The New Other, Toronto
TIAN Contemporain, Montréal
Towards Gallery, Toronto
Trotter&Sholer, New York
OPENING NIGHT
Art Toronto kicks off with the Opening Night ticketed benefit for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. As the exclusive preview of the fair, guests will have the privilege of being among the first to view and purchase stunning artworks and engage with fellow art connoisseurs as well as savour delectable refreshments and light bites throughout the evening. All proceeds from the evening benefit the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, supporting its mission to preserve and promote the art of Canada. Tickets are $380 (+tax) for the Collectors First Look (4pm entry) and $290 (+tax) for 6pm entry.
About the Author
Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.