Short Description
As the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair celebrates its 65th anniversary, Art Nest 2026 invites artists to reflect on the significance of reaching such a milestone—both for an organization and within the human life cycle. While the age of 65 is often associated with retirement, closure, or transition, it can equally represent renewal, clarity, and the freedom to create on one’s own terms.
The program seeks proposals for public artworks that explore the intersections of creativity and aging—examining evolving ideas of legacy, purpose, and intergenerational exchange, as well as the challenges of health, identity, and relevance. Artists are encouraged to consider the concept of “an artist’s retirement” and to question what it means to make a final artwork—or to never stop creating.
Through this open call, Art Nest 2026 welcomes artists from all disciplines and stages of practice who wish to engage these themes in bold, reflective, and site-responsive ways, reimagining ambition, permanence, and monumentality through the lens of later life.
Eligibility
The organizers seek proposals for public artworks that explore the intersections of creativity and aging. This call invites artists to examine shifting values of legacy, purpose, and intergenerational exchange, as well as the challenges of health, identity, and relevance. A central theme is the provocative possibility of imagining “an artist’s retirement.”
The open call poses key questions: What would it mean to make a final artwork, or to never stop making? How can public art reframe concepts of ambition, permanence, and monumentality through the lens of later life?
Submissions are welcomed from artists across all disciplines and at any stage of their practice, who are interested in engaging these themes through bold, thoughtful, and site-responsive approaches.
Submission Requirements
- Your name, address, telephone number and email contact
- Links to social media accounts if applicable
- A brief bio (150 words maximum) and CV (2 pages maximum)
- Statement describing the proposed work for exhibition, how it would be installed, how visitors might interact with it, and how the work will consider the impact of natural elements (ie. wind, rain, heat)
- 5 images or sketches/renderings of the work to be exhibited and 5 images of previous works that are either relevant to the proposed project or show your ability to deliver the proposed work.
- Jpg images can be no larger than 1024 x 768 pixels and 300 dpi
- Description of images (title, year, medium)
- Please compress your images into a zip file
- Shortlisted artists may be contacted for further details
- Proposals must account for visitor safety. All proposals are subject to approval by the City of Toronto.
How to Apply
Please submit all materials in a single PDF document to artnest@TOAF.ca. Include your full name and “Art Nest 2026” in the subject line.
Program Benefits & Awards
- Mentorship & Guidance: Work closely with accomplished and experienced curator, Rui Pimenta, who will support your artistic process and provide personalized mentorship throughout the project. 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 $2,000 to support material costs, allowing you to experiment and bring your ambitious concepts to life.
- TOAF has been celebrating art in public spaces and animating Toronto’s civic centre on a grand scale since 1961. The first iteration of Art Nest in 2022 was created in response to the City of Toronto’s ArtworxTO: Year of Public Art 2021-22 initiative. Championing career-launching platforms for the next generation of artists is central to TOAF’s programming values and key to the inspiration behind Art Nest.
Entry Fee
None
Location
Toronto, Canada
Timeline
- Application Deadline: 10 November 2025
Website Link: https://toaf.ca/
