HOW TO BUILD AN ART COLLECTION AT TORONTO OUTDOOR ART FAIR

Nadine Alexeev, Mitosis, 2026. Oil on canvas. Photography courtesy of Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.

I remember the first piece we purchased at TOAF – a lovely little oil painting of a pink rose by Toronto-based artist Shevon Lewis. Since then, I’ve watched the Fair’s offerings continue to flourish like that flower, persisting through challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and forging new ways of fostering interaction between art enthusiasts and creatives from across the country with each passing year.

Now in its 65th incarnation, Toronto Outdoor Art Fair has taken on various forms since its beginning in 1961 as an event inspired by how impressed Murray and Marvelle Koffler, the founders of the Fair, were by the outdoor art fair scene in Washington Square Park in New York City. Not to mention the fact that at that time, artists weren’t able to do the same in Toronto.

“The premise for the Fair was that the artists have the right to sell their work in a public space without the need for a dealer or intermediary,” says TOAF’s executive and creative director, Anahita Azrahimi.

While this is a more common concept today, as artists can manage an autonomous digital presence with which to promote their works outside of a potentially intimidating gallery setting, for many decades TOAF has served an important purpose in dedicatedly comingling artists with their potential collectors. And this community-building has played a role in affording artists the ability to grow their practice and their profile.

Bree Rosberg, April 1962: Flounder, 2026. Inkjet on Premium Presentation Matte Photo Paper (1/25). Photography courtesy of Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.

“We often hear from long-time collectors they say that they bought their first artwork at TOAF,” Azrahimi adds. And there are plenty of incredible pieces that have come from the Fair’s decades-long presence, as exhibitors have counted Edward Burtynsky and Barbara Astman amongst its rosters.

Here, Azrahimi credits the relaxed and accessible atmosphere of the Fair, which will once again be hosted for free in Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square from Friday, July 10th to Sunday, July 12th.  “It’s a very inviting vibe,” she notes when speaking about why the vibe of TOAF lends so well to encouraging convivial collection-building. “There’s an ease of interaction, and people don’t have to worry about not knowing the art world lingo, or about a specific type of artistic discipline or style.”

Instead, the thrill of discovery is a key plot point while navigating TOAF, and the range of artists that show each year enhances this engaging energy with offerings from ceramics and jewellery to glassware, photography and design objects. Sections such as the Student Zone, which is one of my favourite areas of the Fair, also offer unique and diverse entry points into supporting local artists.

Of a similarly multifarious nature is TOAF’s attention to creating programming around collecting, like The Collectors Collective, which launched earlier this year; I will be giving a Collectors Collective tour at 4pm on Saturday, July 11th. The Fair has also made room for young collectors with its Budding Art Buyers booth, which allows the under-14 crowd to collect works costing between $5-20.

Eli Moser, Drain the Main Vain, 2026. Multimedia. Photography courtesy of Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.

This year, to empower as many visitors to TOAF as possible to purchase a piece of art, the Fair has launched My First Artwork – an expansion of The Collectors Collective programming’s intention of connecting and educating Toronto’s emerging cohort of collectors. This booth, presented and curated by the Art Dealers Association of Canada – which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year – sees a variety of works on offer to be purchased by interested visitors aged 20-35 for $500 and under. The opportunity also allows, as TOAF’s website says, for burgeoning collectors to have the chance to talk about building a collection with ADAC representatives and ask questions about the work as well as best buying practices.

“The Art Dealers Association of Canada had an interest in partnering with us because we have a common idea of how to grow and invest in the local collector base – for the dealers and galleries, and the ecosystem at large,” Azrahimi says. “We really want to create conversations between people who are interested, but they've never collected art before.”

This year, the Fair aims to additionally support participating artists in building their collections during their time at TOAF, with a donation drive currently on to gain enough funds to give a $65 gift card to each artist. There are also ample accolades to be awarded this year.

“We’re giving out about $67,000 in awards,” Azrahimi says, highlighting that there’s a poignant motif of giving that permeates TOAF’s upcoming programming. She points to some of the intriguing offerings within the Fair’s curated Art Nest exhibition such as Max Dean’s booth, where he will be showing and giving away works by his late wife, artist Martha Fleury’s oeuvre.

“It's about 1,000 pieces of artwork he's going to give away,” Azrahimi adds. “So, this year at the Fair, you can buy art and you can be gifted artwork.” Sounds like the perfect spirit in which to honour a celebration of this magnitude.

Toronto Outdoor Art Fair runs Friday, July 10th to Sunday, July 12th. My Collectors Collective Tour happens Saturday, July 11th at 4pm.

This post is sponsored by Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.