TOAF65 Celebrates 65 Years with Two Major Exhibitions Across Toronto

For 65 years, the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF) has helped shape Canada’s contemporary art landscape, supporting artists, fostering public engagement, and transforming Nathan Phillips Square into one of the country’s most vibrant cultural gathering spaces.

To mark its 65th anniversary, TOAF presents two signature exhibitions that extend beyond the traditional art fair experience and reflect on the evolving role of artists in public life. Together, Don’t Look Back and Art Nest: A Forwards Retreat celebrate the artists shaping Canadian culture today while exploring questions of legacy, experimentation, public space, and creative longevity.

Matthew Walton, Recharge, 2022, Acrylic, watercolour, pastel and pencil on paper. Image courtesy of the artist.

Don’t Look Back

Curated by David Liss
In partnership with Koffler Arts

June 25 – July 19, 2026
Media Preview: June 25, 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Opening Reception: June 25, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Koffler301, 180 Shaw Street, Toronto

Presented at Koffler301 and curated by David Liss, Don’t Look Back is a special off-site exhibition celebrating the 65th anniversary of Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.

Taking its title from the iconic 1967 Bob Dylan documentary, the exhibition reflects a simple but resonant idea: while the past shapes us, it is the present that defines what comes next. Rather than attempting to summarize six-and-a-half decades of TOAF in a single exhibition, Don’t Look Back focuses on the artists shaping the Fair today.

Featuring artists from recent editions of TOAF, the exhibition captures the breadth, energy, and evolution of contemporary Canadian art across disciplines, generations, and perspectives. Spanning visual art, performance, and interdisciplinary practices, Don’t Look Back highlights artists working at multiple stages of their careers while reflecting TOAF’s role as a vital platform for artistic discovery and development.

As a city-wide extension of the Fair, the exhibition invites audiences to experience TOAF beyond Nathan Phillips Square while celebrating the artists who continue to define its contemporary identity.

Micah Lexier, One Day, in production 3, Art Nest Project, 2026. Image courtesy of the artist.

Art Nest: A Forwards Retreat

Curated by Rui Pimenta

July 10 – 12, 2026
Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto

TOAF’s signature public art program returns for its 65th edition with A Forwards Retreat, a moving exhibition curated by Rui Pimenta, co-founder of Art Spin.

Originally created as a platform for early-career artists and curators working in public space, Art Nest takes a new direction this year, inviting celebrated Canadian artists to consider a central question: What does it mean to “retire” as an artist?

The exhibition brings together Peggy Baker, Max Dean, Naomi Dodds, Micah Lexier, and Ed Pien in a series of installations, performances, and participatory works that explore aging, time, and the longevity of creative practice.

Highlights include a new performance by acclaimed choreographer Peggy Baker created for renowned dancer Julia Sasso; Micah Lexier’s participatory project in which visitors receive one coin for every day the artist has lived; Max Dean’s invitation to become caretakers of works from Martha Fleury’s 50-year archive; Ed Pien’s mirrored installation transforming antique vanities into spaces of reflection; and Naomi Dodds’ sculptural works examining identity, aging, and transformation.

Presented within the Fair itself, Art Nest offers direct encounters with ambitious contemporary art outside traditional gallery settings, reinforcing TOAF’s long-standing commitment to accessible public art.

Marie Lambin-Gagnon, Les Montagnes, 2026. Performance still. Image courtesy of the artist.

Related Programming

Another highlight of TOAF65 is Les Montagnes, a new choreographic and visual work by Montréal-based choreographer and visual artist Marie Lambin-Gagnon.

Presented throughout the Fair at Nathan Phillips Square, the site-responsive work transforms the body into a shifting landscape inspired by Iceland’s glaciers and geological processes of accumulation, erosion, and renewal. Blending contemporary dance, sculptural movement, layered textiles, and electronic sound, Les Montagnes invites audiences into a sensory encounter with resilience, adaptation, and the natural world.

Visitors can also participate in free art talks, guided tours, family programming, and TOAF’s 65th Birthday Party, celebrating six-and-a-half decades of connecting artists and audiences in public space.

Celebrating 65 Years

To commemorate its anniversary, TOAF has launched $65 for 65 Years, an initiative that gives every participating artist a $65 gift card towards collecting artwork from another artist at the Fair. A birthday gift that circulates directly back into the creative community.

For those looking to begin their collecting journey, TOAF65 introduces a new program – The Collectors Collective – designed to make buying art more approachable than ever. From affordable original works to artist conversations and collecting advice, the Fair continues its long-standing mission of helping art lovers become art collectors.

This year-long program reflects TOAF’s long-standing belief that collecting art should feel joyful, accessible, and rooted in discovery.

For 65 years, TOAF has helped transform art lovers into art collectors while supporting generations of Canadian artists. These anniversary exhibitions celebrate that legacy while looking toward the future of contemporary art in Canada.

Accessibility

Koffler301 is accessible.

Nathan Phillips Square is an accessible public site. Toronto Outdoor Art Fair is committed to accessibility through barrier-free programming, accessible pathways, seating areas, and support services.

For more information, visit TOAF.ca.

With Thanks

Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF) is generously supported by the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, Bureau du Québec à Toronto, City of Toronto: Cultural Festivals Funding Program (CFFP), TD Ready Commitment, Koffler Foundation, Lindy Green Family Foundation, Clearview Foundation, Rogan Foundation, Rudolph P. Bratty Family Foundation, IG Wealth Management, individual donors, businesses, and programming partners.