Impressions of the 2021 Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

On Sunday, September 26, 2021, I went into Toronto to see two outdoor art shows.

The first was the Yorkville Mural Festival, an annual event now in its third year, held in the fashionable shopping district between Yorkville and Bloor.

I previously introduced this neighbourhood in Roses of Toronto, 2021.

The 2021 mural festival ran for three days, from September 24 to 26, and was divided into four zones.

Zone 1 featured “Generally Speaking,” a public artwork by internationally renowned artist Nina Chanel Abney. Bold and colourful, the ground mural radiated joy and hope while expressing a desire to challenge the status quo and transform the Yorkville community. Passersby were asked to “pause” and consider how conscious reflection might begin a collective process of healing. It was difficult to photograph the enormous street mural in its entirety from ground level, so I had to borrow an aerial image from the organizers.

It may have been difficult to photograph, but you could always sit down at one of the many restaurants lining the street. What could be more enjoyable than lingering over good food and wine while watching people admire the artwork—and trample back and forth across it?

Zone 2 featured the first Romeo’s Gin Gallery, showcasing a collaboration among three artists on the brand’s signature bottles.

Inside the gallery, visitors could sip ready-to-drink cocktails while viewing work by nine different muralists.

There were also nearly twenty galleries of various sizes nearby. Once you had seen enough graffiti on the walls, you could step inside and explore paintings and installations in an array of styles.

Back on the street, the organizers had placed five movable display booths along the pedestrian walkway, each presenting a different muralist’s work and offering visitors a photo opportunity.

Over in the YVM courtyard, works by nine muralists were on display. Visitors could enjoy an attractive outdoor dining experience at the restaurant while taking in the murals. These were relatively permanent works and would remain after the festival ended.

A reflection in the glass brought several muralists’ works into a single view.

I was told that after nightfall, large-scale animated projections would also be shown on the building’s exterior walls.

Zone 3 was in the heart of Yorkville, where the mural festival had joined forces with the internationally renowned Other Art Fair to stage a pop-up art fair.

Featuring more than a dozen local artists, the fair focused exclusively on women and offered visitors an introduction to some of Canada’s finest emerging talent.

This mural employed techniques rooted in vintage etching and engraving, with particular attention to the sense of perspective created by variations in line weight. It portrayed hybrids of humans and animals, using Dada-style collage to conjure extraordinary, otherworldly creatures.

For all the effort these street events made to revive the local economy, tables and chairs shrouded in black covers—

along with storefronts still locked tight—could not conceal the difficult position of retail businesses during the pandemic.

Zone 4 was located on the roof of the Cumberland Parkade.

The entire rooftop was covered in brightly coloured designs.

They transformed the roof into a lively open-air venue. With part of the event sponsored by a brewery, there was food, drink, and music—a celebration of art, music, and good things to eat.

With its intense colours and profusion of patterns, the rooftop also became a place where stylish men and women came to take photos, check in on social media, relax, and meet friends.

From the rooftop, you could also look out across the surrounding business district.

And just like that, I had finished all four zones. The festival was smaller than I had imagined and took less time than expected. Even so, the community’s efforts to restore some vitality during the pandemic were plain to see. As it happened, a North Toronto outdoor art tour was taking place that same weekend, so I used the extra time to have a look.

The event, called the 2021 Fall Outdoor Art Tour, is held each spring and fall. This was its thirteenth edition, running for two days from September 25 to 26 and organized by the North Toronto Group of Artists.

The NTGA has more than fifty members living within an area of North Toronto bounded by Wilson Avenue to the north, Eglinton Avenue to the south, Avenue Road to the west, and Mount Pleasant Road to the east. This exhibition was dispersed among the members’ homes.

Although the locations looked rather scattered on the map, they were not difficult to find. Pink arrow signs stood at every intersection. Following them would lead you to a rainbow-coloured sign; when you saw one, you knew you had reached an artist’s home.

Some artists found inventive ways to make themselves even easier to spot. One had written “I’m part of the Art Tour” in coloured chalk along the walkway.

The works spanned a wide range of media, including watercolour, acrylic, oil, encaustic, photography, clay, and mixed media. Their styles ranged from realism to abstraction.

Most of the displays were set up in the artists’ driveways. This outdoor format was especially well suited to the pandemic, avoiding the concerns that came with enclosed spaces. With venue costs greatly reduced, more artists could participate, while visitors could buy work they liked at more affordable prices.

Those with enough space had even erected small tents over their driveways.

Household fences became gallery walls.

Backyards became exhibition spaces too.

The chance to see an artist’s carefully tended backyard was an unexpected pleasure no professional gallery could offer.

As I mentioned inVisiting Toronto’s The Artist Project, 2020, when I visit an exhibition, I like to photograph the artists and exchange a few words with them. With everyone masked during the pandemic, I skipped the portraits, but conversation was still possible.

I told one artist that I liked how she had painted the sky orange and yellow instead of using its natural colours. Her face immediately lit up. “Yes—that’s because I want it to express my emotions rather than simply reproduce reality. It’s called Expressionism.” I thought to myself that I did know a thing or two about that. But she carried on enthusiastically with a whole explanation of Expressionism: “You can look up Expressionism online to learn more.” Seeing how pleased she was, I said, “Thank you for teaching me another lesson.” “That’s exactly how it should be,” she replied.

It seems artists are eager for someone to talk to as well.

Because the exhibition sites were scattered throughout the neighbourhood, there was some distance between one stop and the next. Touring by bicycle was naturally the easiest, most leisurely, and quickest way to get around.

No bicycle—did that mean relying on your own two feet? No problem. There were streetscapes to enjoy all along the way. Artists dress their homes with just a little more flair. They simply look good.

Beyond the attractive streetscapes, even stopping to look at a felled tree stump—

or some discarded object—could turn out to be interesting.

After attending so many art events around Toronto over the years, one impression has stayed with me: how accessible and widely shared art is here. In contrast to China, where artworks are driven to astronomical prices and placed on pedestals, artists here have moved in the opposite direction. They are committed to bringing their work out of art’s hallowed halls and onto the streets, out of art schools and into neighbourhoods—where ordinary people can see it, touch it, afford it, and immerse themselves in it.

In an atmosphere like this, all we need to do is step outside and start walking, open our eyes and begin looking. Then every one of us becomes part of this wonderful journey through art.

Impressions of the 2021 Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

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