Once a year in Toronto, it’s possible to visit a large number of galleries without traveling from the Distillery District to Queen Street West, then onto Yorkville and Morrow Ave, to hit the key art districts. Dealers from Toronto and beyond meet under one roof, tradeshow-style, featuring the best of the best-from emerging artists like Burlington’s Heather Horton, to household names like Picasso.
There’s no intimidation factor, which is a common complaint about commercial galleries-this week at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the crowds will be dense, and one-on-one interaction with a dealer is only likely if the visitor pursues it. The event is the Toronto International Art Fair (TIAF), and for a mere $12, students can see a vast amount of contemporary art-81 galleries’ worth, in fact, from a total of 13 countries. The TIAF promotes itself as being “big enough to be interesting, [and] small enough to be intimate and digestible.”
Although the focus of the fair is buying art, the commercial aspect doesn’t permeate the entire fair. This year, ten percent of the 100,000 square feet of show space is devoted to curated exhibits that explore diverse concepts in the arts. There will be a video lounge, an exhibit of contemporary Chinese art, and an exhibition of public interactive media art (that is, the art will not exist without the presence of visitors). There is also a Speakers Forum, with discussions about issues like collecting and the role of institutions in the community.
The organizers describe the fair, which is in its sixth year, as “the galvanizing vehicle for the Canadian visual arts industry.” It’s a place where people in disparate areas of the arts converge-TIAF attracts art enthusiasts, collectors, and arts professionals.
Bill Huffman, associate director of the Toronto Arts Council and a University of Toronto graduate, says, “I’m quite interested in the continued growth and refinement of the Toronto International Art Fair. It’s an important initiative that has the potential to make a unique impact on the local scene. I think its ultimate success will lie in a true embracing of the breadth and diversity that comprises our creative community.
“That’s what makes Toronto, as a whole, strong and special. Of course that’s an undertaking of some size-we’re a complicated, overworked, under-resourced, and sometimes admittedly ornery group. But having said that, we’re a gang badly in need of better tools that can build an art market, heighten awareness around the arts in Toronto and develop a forum for professional exchange… all of which the fair is well positioned to provide,” he explains.
While the majority of exhibits will be consistent throughout the fair, every day will be different because of The News at Five-in its third year, this rotating exhibition is curated by Richard Rhodes, editor of Canadian Art magazine. This year’s theme is “Here, not there” and will include four installation projects by Canadian contemporary artists.
Barbara Fischer, director of the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery at Hart House, encourages students to attend because “the Art Fair is an opportunity to see galleries and artists from beyond the Toronto region… This is one of the rare opportunities to see work from across the country. Equally exciting, however, is the Toronto Alternative Art Fair International.”
That event, which gained a great deal of attention when it launched last year, represents the not-for-profit arena of the art world. Events are held concurrently with the TIAF, but in the edgier surroundings of the Drake and Gladstone Hotels in the West Queen West art district. TAAFI will feature 25 exhibitors and 35 invitational artists, as well as artist talks, and will wrap up with a unique event featuring ex-pat electro-trash rapper Peaches in a rare hometown appearance Saturday night at the Drake.
A schedule of TIAF events (Nov. 3-7) and participating galleries is available online at tiafair.com. A four-day pass to the fair is $40, or $12/day for students. A full listing of TAAFI (which runs on the same days as TIAF) exhibitors and artists is available at taafi.org. Admission is $6 and includes a free catalogue.
