October 23-26, 2025
Platform Talk Video Archive
Watch recordings of Platform Talks from previous years below. The 2024 program, curated by Emily Butler, asks how we can foster a resilient and more representative art world despite the challenges of the present moment. The eight talks include in depth conversations on themes ranging from new models of support and philanthropy in the art market, to the rise of talent from the Circumpolar region and current painting practices and artists weaving new histories in textiles.
Notable 2024 speakers include Directors Ebony L. Haynes, Director, 52 Walker, and Bernard Doucet, Executive Director, The Beaverbrook Art Gallery; Major Collector Dr Paul Marks; Curators Kitty Scott and Eva Respini; Artists Jan Wade, Rajni Perera and Jake Kimble, and more.
Curators in Conversation
Friday, October 25, 2024
Platform Stage at Art Toronto 2024
Eva Respini, Deputy Director and Director of Curatorial Programs, Vancouver Art Gallery
Kitty Scott, Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts
Curators in Conversation offers audiences an insight into the processes of notable curators working today. In this talk Kitty Scott, Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts, and Eva Respini, Deputy Director and Director of Curatorial Programs, Vancouver Art Gallery, discuss upcoming projects, including Eva's role at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Collectors in Conversation
Friday, October 25, 2024
Platform Stage at Art Toronto 2024
Dr Paul Marks, Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto, and Medical Director, Head Orthopedic Surgeon, Toronto Raptors
Tash Perrin, Deputy Chairman, Christie’s
Distinguished collector, Dr Paul Marks and Tash Perrin, Christie’s Deputy Director, connect for a thought-provoking discussion on collecting contemporary art. Dr Marks, known for his collection of Canadian and international artists focused on conceptualism and societal themes, will share insights on his relationship to art and his collecting journey.
Supporting the Art Ecologies of Tomorrow
Friday, October 25, 2024
Bernard Doucet, Director, Sobey Art Foundation
Ebony L. Haynes, Senior Director / Curator, 52 Walker
Moderated by Hadani Ditmars, Correspondent, The Art Newspaper
How can organizations meaningfully support artists and communities? Ebony L. Haynes, Director, 52 Walker, and Bernard Doucet, Director, Sobey Art Foundation, discuss how institutions and prizes can foster artistic ecologies and creative economies. What have they learned from establishing new structures, and how can the art world become more representative, flexible, and resilient?
How Can the Art World Be More Caring?
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Rajni Perera, Artist (Patel Brown | Galerie Hugues Charbonneau)
Jake Kimble, Artist (United Contemporary) and Director, Ceremonial / Art
Moderated by Emily Butler, Platform Talks Curator and Writer
Care is a buzzword in today’s art world, but what does it mean to truly institute care? Artists Rajni Perera and Jake Kimble, along with curator Emily Butler, reflect on supporting artist-parents, those with access needs, and others facing structural inequalities. From fair artist fees to professional development, they explore what broader changes the art world must implement to ensure more caring practices.
Art of Our Time: New Artists at Art Toronto
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Presented by RBC
Gio Swaby (Claire Oliver Gallery)
Sophia Lapres (Towards)
Robin Crofut-Brittingham (Tian Contemporain)
Moderated by Adelina Vlas, Head of Curatorial Affairs at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery
Discover, presented by RBC, connects attendees with contemporary artists shaping the art of our time. In this conversation, meet creators exhibiting at Art Toronto for the first time. Panelists Gio Swaby (Claire Oliver Gallery), Sophia Lapres (Towards), and Robin Crofut-Brittingham (TIAN Contemporain) engage with painting but push its boundaries through new materials, sculptural effects, and curation. Moderated by Adelina Vlas, Head of Curatorial Affairs at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.
Artist Spotlight
Friday, October 25, 2024
Jan Wade, Artist (Mónica Reyes Gallery)
Moderated by Julie Crooks, Curator, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, Art Gallery of Ontario
This talk celebrates the acclaimed career of Jan Wade, known for her mixed-media paintings, textiles, and sculptures that reflect her lived experience as an African-Canadian artist. Wade's work weaves together personal and socio-political themes. Her solo exhibition Soul Power debuted at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2021 and will be shown at the Art Gallery of Hamilton in 2024. She is in conversation with Julie Crooks, head of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora at the AGO.
Weaving New Histories
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Michaëlle Sergile, Artist and Curator (Galerie Hugues Charbonneau)
Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Artist (Claire Oliver Gallery)
Moderated by Liz Ikiriko, Curator, Gallery TPW
This talk brings together two artists working in textiles, who borrow motifs from popular culture and revisit historical accounts of gender and race. Through their practices, Michaëlle Sergile and Simone Elizabeth Saunders produce powerful new iconographies. They are in discussion with curator Liz Iriko from pioneering artist-run center TPW.
The Rise of the Circumpolar Art Scene
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Martha Cerny, Director, Museum of Contemporary Circumpolar Art, Bern
Emily Laurent Henderson, Associate Curator: Indigenous Art and Culture, McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Jocelyn Piirainen, Artist and Associate Curator, Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Moderated by William Huffman, General Manager, West Baffin Cooperative
As artists like Shuvinai Ashoona and Inuuteq Storch gain recognition at global events, and the Sobey Art Award highlights the Circumpolar region, the breadth of creative practice from this area is coming to the forefront. Curator Emily Laurent Henderson, Collector Martha Cerny, and Curator William Huffman discuss the growing attention on this unique region and its artistic future.
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.