Call for Proposals: Art Nest 2025

Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

Safoura Zahedi Art Nest Installation, Journey Through Geometry, 2024. Photo by Shane Fester.

Call for Proposals: Art Nest—Public Art Opportunity for Emerging Artists at 2025 TOAF

July 2025, Nathan Phillips Square
Deadline for Submissions: February 28, 2025

Are you an artist ready to break into the realm of public art and showcase your work in a large-scale space? Art Nest invites you to bring your vision to life at Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF), Canada’s largest and longest-running outdoor art fair.

Learn more

TOAF is seeking exciting, innovative proposals for installation, sculpture, new media, and performance art pieces for the 2025 Fair. This is a unique opportunity for artists to create works that engage with the dynamic, open-air environment of Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto’s civic heart. As part of the Art Nest program, TOAF offers selected artists the resources, mentorship, and visibility needed to bring their concepts to life.

Why Apply?

• Mentorship & Guidance: Work closely with seasoned and emerging curators who will support your artistic journey and provide personalized mentorship throughout the process. Gain invaluable insights into conceptual development, installation logistics, and public engagement that will set you up with success and prepare you for future artistic endeavours.
• Exposure & Audience: Showcase your art to a diverse audience of 170,000 art lovers, collectors, and critics. Whether you’re looking to expand your network, build relationships with industry professionals, or simply share your vision with a broader public, TOAF offers an exceptional platform to showcase your practice.
• Funding & Recognition: Selected artists will receive a commission fee of $2,000, as well as an additional $2,500 to support material costs, allowing you to experiment and bring your ambitious concepts to life. With TOAF’s backing, you’ll launch your practice in the public art space, gaining credibility and support.

Proposals must account for visitor safety. All proposals are subject to approval by The City of Toronto.

Eligibility

Art Nest is open to emerging or established artists who want to take their studio practice to the next level by creating public art projects to be showcased at Nathan Phillips Square during the 64th edition of the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, July 2025.

Julia Campisi Art Nest Installation, Building futures & other things, 2022. Photo by Shane Fester.

Submission Guidelines

Submit by email to artnest@TOAF.ca with your full name and “Art Nest 2025,” in the subject line.

Submissions must include:

• Your name, address, telephone number and email contact
• Statement describing the proposed work for exhibition, how it would be installed and how visitors might interact with it (max. 300 words)
• 10 jpg images*/sketches/reference images of the work to be exhibited. Include examples of previous work, especially if it is relevant to the proposed project.
  ◦  Note: jpg images can be no larger than 1024 x 768 pixels & 300 dpi—Please compress your images into a .zip file
• Description of images (title, year, medium)
• A brief bio (150 words maximum) and CV (2 pages maximum)
• Links to social media accounts, if applicable

Selected artists will be notified (by email) by the end of March 2025.

What past participants had to say:

“Public art is difficult for emerging artists to engage with because it tends to be more expensive and rely on access to studios or equipment. It was a great opportunity to invest in a large-scale installation and I was able to see how viewers interacted with the work and engage with them myself.”
– Rana Nazzal Hamadeh, 2023 Artist

“Art Nest allowed me to take a risk and challenge myself in a direction that I am excited to continue pursuing. The audience that TOAF brings is invaluable.”
– Chris Harms, 2024 Art Nest Artist

Javid Jah Art Nest Installation, Talisman, 2024. Photo by Shane Fester.

About Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF) is Canada’s leading outdoor and online art fair. Established in 1961 to connect Canadian artists directly to the public, TOAF showcases 400+ emerging and established visual artists, including painters, photographers, sculptors and artists working in ceramics, textiles, jewellery and more. The event brings together 170,000 art lovers and enthusiasts who spend over 2 million dollars on art during the Fair. This free public event takes place every July – rain or shine – at Nathan Phillips Square in the heart of downtown Toronto. Since 2020, TOAF’s online Fair has become Canada’s fastest-growing e-commerce and discovery platform for artists across Canada. The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair is a registered charitable nonprofit organization.

416-408-2754 | info@TOAF.ca
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