Join the Fray: Finding Your Way Into Toronto's Art Scene
Barbara Gilbert and participants discuss grant-writing and other aspects of being a professional artist in Toronto. Photo by K. Kurunathan401 Richmond St. W., Suite 440 (CARFAC office)
$30 SAVAC members / $50 non-members
The Canadian art scene can appear complex and impenetrable, but there are in fact several points of entry for newcomer and emerging artists. Toronto artist, curator and educator Barbara Gilbert provides an introduction to the various systems in place, including commercial galleries, artist-run centres, the granting system and more. Learn how to access professional artists' resources, take advantage of what local organizations have to offer, and become more involved in Toronto's exciting art community.
- Introductions
- The Art C.V.
- Art e-lists and job boards
- Artist-Run Centres & Public Art Galleries
- Commercial art dealers
- The artist/dealer relationship - what to expect
- What dealers seek
- Rights / responsibilities of both dealer and artist
- Portfolio: putting your best foot forward
- Artist statements and grant proposals
- Business cards and websites
- Networking
- Studio space options
- Proceeding professionally
Barbara Gilbert, Secretariat Coordinator at the Ontario Association of Art Galleries, is a Toronto-based visual artist, art educator and art writer who exhibited her photographic work in Paris, Montreal, Australia, Dublin, Ottawa, Toronto, and Hamilton. Her photography was published in Carte Blanche (2006) and her writing in Mix Magazine (2007) and Gallery 44 (2007). Her work was included in two group exhibitions during Contact 2009 (Gallery 1313 and 918 Bathurst).
Gilbert obtained extensive arts administration experience in the Visual Arts Office of the Ontario Arts Council, and in the Education Department of the Art Gallery of Ontario where she began as an Education Officer but was soon promoted to Education Coordinator. More recently, Barbara was Board President of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography. She has freelanced as a photographer, translator, and cultural analyst, most notably reporting on the Ignite: Youth Forum and the Visual Arts Summit (both 2007). Gilbert teaches in Continuing Studies at the Ontario College of Art & Design.
