2nd Toronto Biennial of Art 2022

March 26 – June 5, 2022

2nd Toronto Biennial of Art 2022
(Sept 25–Dec 5, 2021)

Originally scheduled for fall 2021, the Biennial will now take place March 26–June 5, 2022. The Biennial’s Board of Directors and Executive Director Patrizia Libralato, along with the Biennial team, decided to postpone the event for six months to help ensure the health and safety of participating artists, collaborators, partners, supporters, the public, and Biennial staff.

The artists invited to participate are developing projects that require many of them to travel to Toronto, undertake site visits months in advance, and manage on-site installations just prior to the opening of the event. These activities require their presence in the city. As travel and shipping continue to be disrupted by the pandemic, the ability of artists to realize their projects as conceived in a shortened time frame was at risk.

The Biennial was established as a celebration of the arts across the city of Toronto, engaging the public with free and accessible programming at a variety of venues and locations. By postponing the event, organizers will be better positioned to present a Biennial that truly reflects the vision and best efforts of all involved and to further build on the success of the 2019 edition. Timing for the third edition will shift to fall 2024, and continue thereafter every two years.

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Commissioned and invited participants contributing to exhibitions, programs, and residencies include Nadia Belerique, Judy Chicago, Sebastian De Line, Jorge González, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Brian Jungen, Waqas Khan, Vanessa Kwan, Ange Loft, Mata Aho Collective, Eric-Paul Riege, Camille Turner, and Syrus Marcus Ware. The curatorial team, Tairone Bastien, Clare Butcher, Candice Hopkins, Myung-Sun Kim, and Katie Lawson are coming together to work collectively across projects.

The Toronto Biennial of Art is an international contemporary visual arts event that is as culturally connected and diverse as Toronto itself. For 10 weeks every two years, the city is transformed by exhibitions, talks, and performances that reflect the local context while engaging with the world’s most pressing issues of our time. In an effort to make contemporary art available to everyone, the Biennial’s free, citywide programming aims to inspire people, bridge communities, and contribute to global conversations from a variety of perspectives.

One year ago today, we launched the inaugural Toronto Biennial of Art, and over the course of 72 days, TBA provided the public with 215 free programs, performances, and events, and free access to 29 commissions and over 100 artworks across 15 sites. And in doing so, we supported artists, participants, and performers from more than 70 places of origin, including 29 Canadian and international First Nations and Indigenous communities, with almost half the Biennial’s participants identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour.

In 2021 we will continue this important work with our second edition set to launch on September 25 and running until December 5, 2021. Mark your calendars!

We’ll be sharing exciting news throughout the coming months, so make sure you’re following us on Instagram and Facebook for announcements and information.