October 23-26, 2025
2024 Platform Talks
Onsite at the show, the Platform Stage hosts a range of thoughtful conversations featuring notable art experts from across Canada and abroad on topics ranging from curatorial affairs, to the state of the market and more. These talks are free with your admission to the fair.
The 2024 Platform Talks program asks how we can foster a resilient and more representative art world despite the challenges of the present moment. Directors Ebony L. Haynes, 52 Walker, and Bernard Doucet, Sobey Art Foundation, discuss new models of support in the art market and philanthropy. Major collector Dr Paul Marks, and curators Kitty Scott and Eva Respini will each reflect on their experiences of navigating the art world. The program brings together an array of practices, celebrating the career of acclaimed African-Canadian artist Jan Wade, the rise of talent from the Circumpolar region, and artists Rajni Perera and Jake Kimble consider how the art scene can be more caring. A light is also shined on current painting practices and artists weaving new histories in textiles.
Meet 2024 Platform Talks Curator, Emily Butler
Emily Butler is a freelance curator and writer based in Vancouver. She is a Curating PHD candidate at the University of Reading researching the topic of artists and curators as (mis)translators, as they work increasingly across borders, between languages, sign systems and cultures. Previously she was Curator, Conversations at Art Basel, 2021-2023 and Curator at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2010-2022 and held roles in the Visual Arts team at British Council, Antony Gormley Studio and the Centre Pompidou. She contributes to international publications and projects.
Platform Talk Video Archive
Watch recordings of Platform Talks from previous years below. 2023 speakers included Connie Butler, Larry Ossei Mensah, Jean-François Bélise, Meryl McMaster and other unique voices
Curators in Conversation
Friday, October 27, 2023
Platform Stage presented by Therme Art at Art Toronto 2023
Curators in Conversation offers audiences an insight into the processes of notable curators working today. In this talk, longtime colleagues and friends, Kitty Scott and Connie Butler discuss upcoming projects, including Butler’s move from her curatorial role at the Hammer Museum to NYC’s MoMA PS1 as director.
Indigenous Artists on the World Stage
Friday, October 27, 2023
Platform Stage presented by Therme Art at Art Toronto 2023
The global impact of Indigenous Art is certainly nothing new, yet works by First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists are being exhibited and sold internationally with increasing interest from collectors and institutions alike. Artists Meryl McMaster, Renee Condo and Caroline Monnet engage in discussion around how global recognition within the art community can serve or challenge Indigenous artists working today. Moderated by Rhéanne Chartrand.
Centering the Margins
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Platform Stage presented by Therme Art at Art Toronto 2023
We often think of the art world as being centered in major cities across the globe. But increasingly art institutions, exhibition spaces and creative organizations are taking root and thriving outside of city centers. This talk features a discussion with Larry Ossei-Mensah Co-Founder and Curator, ARTNOIR, Miguel A. Lopez, Co-Curator, Toronto Biennial (former co-director of TEOR/ética, Costa Rica), Michelle Jacques, Curator, Remai Modern and moderated by Sarah Milroy, Director and Chief Curator, McMichael, explores the idiosyncrasies, opportunities and challenges of cultural production in these unique environments.
Collecting the Art of Our Time
Presented by RBC
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Platform Stage presented by Therme Art at Art Toronto 2023
Corrie Jackson, Senior Art Curator, RBC, was joined by Jean-François Bélisle, Director of the National Gallery of Canada, Emelie Chhangur, Director and Curator of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, and Stephan Jost, Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario, for a discussion on the art market in Canada, the role of institutions and the importance of collecting the art of our time.