A massive 65-year-old art fair will bring hundreds of artists to Nathan Phillips Square this summer, Canada Reviews

One of Toronto’s biggest summer art tradition is set to return this summer to celebrate 65 years by honouring and celebrating artists.

The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF) is Canada’s largest and longest-running juried contemporary outdoor art fair. It is returning to Nathan Phillips Square July 10–12 with what organizers are calling its most ambitious edition yet. This year’s epic event is set to feature more than 400 artists from across the country, expanded accessibility initiatives, national showcases and a new artist-support campaign.

“Toronto Outdoor Art Fair has always been about creating meaningful connections between artists and the public,” says anahita azrahimi, executive and creative director of TOAF. “As we celebrate 65 years, we’re not only reflecting on our legacy, we’re investing in the future of Canadian artists through expanded access, national representation, and new ways for audiences to discover and collect art.”

For three days, the square in front of City Hall will once again transform into an open-air gallery expected to attract roughly 170,000 visitors. The free public event will feature painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, jewellery, textiles, digital media and mixed-media works from artists ranging from emerging creators to established names.

This year’s edition includes more than 350 artists exhibiting in person and another 65 participating online through TOAF.ca, and organizers say that 122 artists are participating in the fair for the first time.

The fair is working towards doing something more to help local artists who are having to navigate rising costs and an increasingly competitive world. TOAF is introducing a new campaign called “$65 for 65 Years,” designed to circulate support directly within the artist community.

How it works is that every participating TOAF65 artist will receive a $65 gift card to purchase artwork from another artist at the fair. Visitors will also be invited to contribute through $65 donations to help fund additional artist gift cards.

Among the new additions is a Spotlight on Emily Carr University of Art + Design, showcasing emerging artists from the Vancouver-based institution’s undergraduate and graduate fine arts programs.

There is also an Atlantic Canada showcase, The Land and the Sea Bind Us, curated by Bushra Junaid. And, Unique Québec — presented in partnership with the Bureau du Québec à Toronto — will feature 29 Québec-based artists across online and in-person presentations.

The fair’s 65th anniversary programming also extends beyond visual art.

A free public birthday party is scheduled for Saturday evening at Nathan Phillips Square, complete with live entertainment and celebrations marking the fair’s six-and-a-half decades in the city.

TOAF65 will also debut Les Montagnes, a new contemporary dance commission by Montréal-based choreographer and visual artist Marie Lambin-Gagnon. 

At Nathan Phillips Square, the latest edition of Art Nest — titled A FORWARD RETREAT — will bring together established Canadian artists including Peggy Baker, Max Dean, Naomi Dodds, Micah Lexier and Ed Pien in a project examining artistic longevity and reinvention.

Over 65 years, the fair has become one of the country’s most visible launchpads for emerging Canadian artists — a place where careers begin, audiences grow and conversations around contemporary art become accessible to the public outside traditional gallery walls.

This summer’s anniversary edition appears determined to preserve that spirit while expanding who gets to participate — both as artists and as collectors.