Culture in Toronto - Art and Exhibits

Art and Exhibits

Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum ("the ROM") is world-renowned, as well as the Art Gallery of Ontario (the "AGO") which is one of North America's largest.

Toronto holds many other major museums and galleries, such as the Gardiner Museum, Bata Shoe Museum, Design Exchange, Museum of Inuit Art, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Fort York, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Canadian Air and Space Museum, CBC Museum, Hockey Hall of Fame, John Street Roundhouse, Institute for Contemporary Culture, TD Gallery of Inuit Art, Textile Museum of Canada, Harbourfront Centre, Allen Lambert Galleria, Ontario Science Centre and the future Aga Khan Museum. There are also museums, such as the Parliament Interpretive Centre, operated by Ontario Heritage Trust, purposed for education about the War of 1812 and the history and anthropology of the province and city.

Prominent art scenes and collections are also found in the city's major institutions, like the Ontario College of Art and Design University, the University of Toronto Art Centre, Ryerson Image Centre, and the Art Gallery of York University. The city also runs its own historic museums which include Casa Loma and Spadina House. Lastly, there is also a place called Graffiti Alley, a network of alleyways around Queen St and Spadina Ave that featres kilometres of graffiti art.

The governments of Toronto and Ontario also each have collections of important archives, historic artifacts and documents, as well as artworks of significance. The City of Toronto Archives and Archives of Ontario house these in separate buildings, but may be available for public viewing. The Toronto Reference Library also holds historic documents from the world and hosts exhibitions. Toronto also has the largest public library system in the world.

Some prominent artists who have called Toronto home are Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven members, Douglas Coupland, Shary Boyle, General Idea's members, and Frank Gehry.

Gallery devotees to contemporary art include the Power Plant, Design Exchange, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, First Canadian Place gallery and many private galleries in Yorkville, the Distillery District, Queen Street West, The Junction, and elsewhere. Nuit Blanche Toronto is a free celebration of contemporary art which features public art commissions, all-night exhibitions, live performances and programs throughout the city. Luminato is a comparable annual event that runs for ten days at the beginning of June.

During Doors Open Toronto, which takes place annually in May, over 140 buildings of architectural, historic or cultural significance are open to the public for a city-wide celebration. The annual Toronto International Art Fair showcases modern, multi-disciplined art with a focus on the latest international developments. The Queen West Art Crawl is an annual weekend-long festival celebrating the arts on Queen Street West. The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is another annual weekend event at Nathan Phillips Square, gathering more than 500 visual artists and craftspeople mainly from Ontario and Quebec. Works including Native art, contemporary sculpture, and architectural models can be seen within the rotunda of Toronto's City Hall. Art is also showcased within the Toronto subway system, most notably on the Sheppard line and stations north of Bloor St, as well as Pearson Airport, featuring international and Canadian art.

Public art and sculpture in the city are abundant, and have representations of many artists like Henry Moore, Richard Serra, Sol LeWitt, Menashe Kadishman, Douglas Coupland, Bernard Schottlander, Jaume Plensa, Rowan Gillespie, William McElcheran, Joe Fafard, and traditional Inuit art, among others. Public art also finds a home at the Toronto Sculpture Garden, with its temporary outdoor exhibitions. The Princess of Wales Theatre also has the largest work of American painter Frank Stella, with 10 000 sq. ft of his works found inside the structure, as well as a large mural at the sides of it.

Exhibition Place is the home of both the Canadian National Exhibition, a large annual outdoor fair, and the Canadian International Air Show. Nearby Ontario Place is a popular amusement park on the waterfront.

A vibrant visual arts scene includes several artist-run cooperatives regularly presenting contemporary art exhibitions.

ArtsScene, a group hosted by Business for the Arts, an alliance of banks and insurance companies, aims to encourage more young business professionals to engage with the arts. ArtsScene holds monthly events at different arts organizations, organizes events to arrange volunteer board and committee memberships in Canadian arts and heritage organizations, and maintains a website to connect potential volunteers on-line with arts organizations.

Toronto's fashion scene is primarily focused in Queen West, King West, and Yorkville. The city has LG Fashion Week, and also recently has had "Rogue Fashion Week" for designers who choose not to show with the official festival. There is also a Fashion Film Festival.

Toronto has one of the highest count of film festivals in the world, most famously the Toronto International Film Festival, which opened a new headquarters in 2010 called the TIFF Bell Lightbox, which houses film screenings (mostly Canadian, art-house, international, etc. films), restaurants, and exhibition and gallery spaces. The city also has Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival, ReelHeART International Film Festival, Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, and WILDsound Film Festival. Toronto also has the National Film Board of Canada.