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Toronto Friends of Visual Arts

@tfva.ca

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TFVA is an independent nonprofit organization that is dedicated to educating members about visual arts and supporting visual arts in the GTA tfva.com

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🏆 Toronto Friends of The Visual Arts Announces Their Annual Awards 🏆

The Toronto Friends of The Visual Arts (TFVA) @tfva.ca announces their annual awards for 2026.

These include the Project Support Award, an award that provides support funding for visual arts activities within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton (GTHA) that demonstrates excellence, originality, creativity and artistic merit; the Artist Prize Award celebrates individuals who are early and emerging to mid career artists with exceptional vision, craft and artistic rigour, who enrich and advance the visual arts community across the GTHA. The Founders Achievement Award, acknowledges a person or group who, over time, has made an exceptional contribution to the visual arts community in the GTHA.

At a recent Tribute event, past winners, arts community members, and TFVA supporters gathered to celebrate the creativity and excellence of this year’s honourees.

🌟 Project Support Award Recipients for 2026:
The Bentway @thebentway
NAMARA Curatorial Research Residency @namara_projects
Isza Gallery @iszagallery
Magenta Foundation @magentafoundation
ArtHeart Community Art Centre @artheartto

🌟 Artist Prize Award Recipients for 2026:
Artist Prize Winner – Oluseye @olu.seye
Artist Prize Finalist – Claire Greenshaw @clairegreenshaw
Artist Prize Finalist – Christina Leslie @clesliephotography

🌟 Founders Achievement Award 2026 Recipient
Peggy Gale

Founded in 1998, The Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts (TFVA) is an independent, membership based, non-profit organization that promotes knowledge of the visual arts to its members through an extensive education program and provides support and recognition of artistic achievement to artists, arts professionals and arts organizations in Toronto and the GTA.

For more information, please visit the link in bio.

📸 Images: Caley Taylor Photography.

#TorontoArt #ArtAwards #ArtsCommunity #CanadianArtists #ContemporaryArt #VisualArtsToronto #TFVA A person wearing a pink jacket holds stapled sheets of paper. The top page reads "TFVA 2026 Tribute Honourees."

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Grateful to the Toronto Friends of Visual Arts @tfva.ca for coming by to visit UWAG @uwartgallery today to see current MFA Thesis exhibitions by Sandra Jabbour (pictured) @sandrajabbourstudio and Maddie Lychek @slut4mail. Big thanks to Sandra and Maddie for joining us to speak to the group. Both exhibitions close this weekend.

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🛰🚨 COMMUNITY CALL 🚨🛰

Pull up April 22 at Jane Finch Mall (@janefinchmall) for our Cosmic Crossroads Mural Town Hall

Happening from 5pm - 7pm on the mall's northside.
Featuring the lead artists: Jamera DaCosta (@justj.art), Komi Olaf (@komiolaf ), Pamella Chen (@pamellac.c )

✨ Come see the concepts
🗣️ Share your ideas
🎨 Help shape the final design

We’re cooking up something powerful—and the community is the main ingredient. 🛸🔥🌍

We’re not just painting—we’re building reflective timelines for the ends. 🌀🛸🌱🎨

This mural project is part of the StreetARToronto (@start_streetartoronto ) Signature Partnership Programs

Youth mentees roles are paid by the @uwgreaterto Jane Finch Community Action Grant and @ontrillium
🌱

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In the wake of Uncle @louismarch.to passing anniversary, I am reminded of his word & reminder that I am more than just an artist but rather a visual griot and he is the one to call me an interstellar tree - in his own words "a bridge between our roots and the ancestral stars" 🌌

I&i heart& minds reflect on back to the time I brokered one of the most unique artist empowering agreements with a corporation that I know of. For the multi-year TTC Black History month campaign partnership with @astrosankofa I knew going in that there were 3 non-negotiable people who we wanted to highlight while they could enjoy their flowers: Elder Irma James, Dr. Itah Sadu and Uncle Louis " King Tut" March.

I am grateful & heart-filled know that Uncle Louis was a part of the campaign from the start & that I got to show him a draft artwork of him that I was considering to be on the 2025 campaign. It meant the world to see his tears of appreciation that he would be honoured before the city. It is also not lost on me that he also asked me at the time - why didnt you do it?... At the time I didnt want to admit that I was worried that my work wasnt good enough. So I told him I wanted to give young artist a chance. But as if being able to see through me - he reminded me that my work is only as great as I allow it be, but most importantly I am suppose to lead by example & if I am not willing to stand confidently behind my craft then why should I ask other to do so for theirs.
So working in collaboration with another artist I created 2 sculptures for of him one as King Tut his moniker & as Mr.Mover-For-Zero-Gun-Violence to go along side Ugonna's epic heroic depiction.

With his bus gaining the majority of the 40 million+ impressions the campaign had - it was important that his legacy and recognition for his work didnt stop at BHM month and after the opening of the park i too realized that my work in honouring our elders, the trailblazer of our community & the deserving ancestors also can not jump off the freedom train ride at that point.

So I give thanks to a mentor, a friend and spiritual relative in all the ways he has inspired me to be the greater version of i&I. Selah🙏🏾🕊

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Tomorrow in Toronto.
This will get under your skin.

Abstracción Vivida 1
Too alive to explain.

You don’t choose this piece. It chooses you.

Intangible Experiences
An Abstract Art Exhibition in Honour of Gwen Tooth

Opening Reception March 28, 2-5 PM
Propeller Art Gallery
30 Abell Street, Toronto

#abstractartis #torontoart #galleryopening #fiberarts

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Congratulations, Claire Greenshaw and Christina Leslie! 🎉

Claire and Christina have been named 2026 Artist Prize Finalists by Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts (@TFVA.ca).

We’re excited to celebrate this alongside their work in our programming:
📸 Christina’s photographic work Pinhole 11 is currently on view on our South Façade Billboard, exploring memory, place, and intergenerational connection through her Jamaican heritage.
✏️ Claire will be featured in our upcoming group exhibition Colourful Parachutes, rethinking how contemporary art can be made, shared, and experienced in a hands-on gallery space.

Founded in 1998, Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts supports and celebrates artists shaping Toronto’s vibrant arts community. Claire and Christina’s recognition as 2026 Artist Prize Finalists is a notable testament to their vision and impact in contemporary art.

Images: 1. Christina Leslie, Pinhole 11, 2024. Courtesy the artist. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto, 2025. Photo: @LFDocumentation. / 2. Claire Greenshaw, The artist’s children erasing her drawing of the Lyell glacier, 2023. Photo courtesy the artist. / 3. Left: Portrait of Claire Greenshaw. Photo: Jonny Scott. Right: Portrait of Christina Leslie. Photo: Kwame Delfish.

#ThePowerPlantTO #ArtistPrize #TorontoArtists #ContemporaryArt #ArtInToront

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Congratulations to Oluseye, the recipient of the Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts 2026 Artist Prize!⁠
⁠
Photo by Josh Rille.⁠
⁠
Founded in 1998, the Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts is an independent, membership based, non-profit organization that promotes knowledge of the visual arts to its members through an extensive education program, and provides support and recognition for artistic achievement to artists and art organizations in the GTA and surrounding area. ⁠
⁠
#tfva #oluseye

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🎉 IT’S HERE!

After months of community surveys, workshops, and long production days, the Yellow Oasis mural led by artist Yasaman Mehrsa now rises over Hillcrest Village at 840 St. Clair West.

This striking new community landmark celebrates the neighbourhood’s cultural and environmental heritage and marks a major achievement for Toronto’s public art landscape.

🔗 Read the full announcement and RSVP for the Sept 11th public celebration through the link in our bio.

📸 @anushaysheikh, @samarikad

Yellow Oasis was produced by STEPS Public Art and was supported by the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto program. We would also like to acknowledge funding from Toronto-St. Paul’s City Councillor Josh Matlow, Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts, Eight Forty Condos, Bulmash-Siegel Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, the Government of Ontario, Canadian Heritage, and TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment.

We’re grateful for additional support from Hillcrest Village BIA, Goodbye Graffiti, and Dulux.

#STEPSPublicArt #STEPSImpact #PublicArt #StClairWest #TorontoMural #TorontoMuralists #TorontoArt #TorontoArtists #CultureTO #HillcrestVillageBIA #StreetARToronto #CityOfToronto #CommunityEngagement #CommunityMural

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✨️ Join us this Sunday, August 17, 2025 at 2 pm for Below Our Feet and Above Our Heads's Curator and Artist Panel.

Below Our Feet and Above Our Heads explores the merging of natural and artificial spheres through a variety of mediums, including printmaking, painting, installation, animation, and performance. This exhibition features artworks by nine impactful artists: Vismay Sanghavi, Judith Librach, Timo Cheah, Raven Myers, Andria Keen, Deepikah R Bhardwaj, Seamus McVey Neufeld, Sari Cheah, and Daren Souvannavong. In-gallery sound provided by Zubin Isaac.

✨️SPECIAL THANKS TO
• Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts for sponsoring this exhibition
• Selin Kahramanoğlu for providing mentorship to Curator’s Paige Bowen & Francis Pitsadiotis

❗️Exhibition Closing for in person viewing after this weekends panel.

Plan your visit now at https://propellerartgallery.com/exhibitions/below-our-feet-and-above-our-heads/

#propellergallery #queenwesttoronto
#queenwestart #artgallerytoronto #artTO #contemporaryart #torontoart #artcollector #interiordecortoronto #torontoartcollectors #torontoartists #canadianartist #WestQueenWest #artisttalks #curatortalks #arteventTO #artevent #experienceart #artisttalks #performance #experienceart #experienceToronto #emergingcurator @butterflypaige @francispitsadiotis @tfva.ca @selin_kah

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✨️ Join us for a gallery tour of our current exhibition, Below Our Feet and Above Our Heads. Curated by Paige Bowen & Francis Pitsadiotis.

🗓 Plan ahead for our next event Sunday, August 17 at 2 pm, and join us for this exhibition's Curator & Artist Panel.

Below Our Feet and Above Our Heads explores the merging of natural and artificial spheres through a variety of mediums, including printmaking, painting, installation, animation, and performance. This exhibition features artworks by nine impactful artists: Vismay Sanghavi, Judith Librach, Timo Cheah, Raven Myers, Andria Keen, Deepikah R Bhardwaj, Seamus McVey Neufeld, Sari Cheah, and Daren Souvannavong. In-gallery sound provided by Zubin Isaac.

🎶 Reel Soundtrack from Raven Myers – Healing Rituals: Rise to Sun’s Warmth (video projection 02:00)

✨️SPECIAL THANKS TO
• Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts for sponsoring this exhibition
• Selin Kahramanoğlu for providing mentorship to Curator’s Paige Bowen & Francis Pitsadiotis
• Abby Gowland for creating this video for us!

Plan your visit now at https://propellerartgallery.com/exhibitions/below-our-feet-and-above-our-heads/
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#propellergallery #queenwesttoronto
#queenwestart #artgallerytoronto #artTO #contemporaryart #torontoart #artcollector #interiordecortoronto #torontoartcollectors #torontoartists #canadianartist #WestQueenWest #arteventTO #artevent #experienceart #artisttalks #performance #experienceart #experienceToronto #emergingcurator @butterflypaige @francispitsadiotis @tfva.ca @selin_kah @ravayy @vismaysanghavi @jud1thl @timocheah @andriakeen @deepikah @seamusmcveyneufeld @zubinisaac @saricheah @abbygowland_art

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✨️ Join us for an unforgettable evening! THIS SATURDAY (August 9, 2025) from 6 – 8 pm, experience an immersive performance by Sari Cheah and an audio-visual performance by Zubin Isaac alongside other works, part of our current exhibition Below Our Feet and Above Our Heads.

💃 Sari Cheah: Vessel for Lovers |
Sari Cheah is an interdisciplinary artist based in Toronto. Exploring the earth-body relationship through movement and material, where the body is used as a medium for expression. Based on occult practices, dreams, and mythology, her work becomes a ritual of transformation. Engaging in themes of grief, decay and rebirth, suspension and attachment, her material and ephemeral outcomes take form in performance/bodily manipulation, visual poetry, media installation and sensorial artifact.

🎶 Zubin Isaac: Cache & Release – Machine Yearning | Zubin Isaac’s debut release is an audiovisual exploration of humanity through the eyes of a fictional technological entity. Consisting of glitchy, IDM-tinged musical content paired with visuals that lie in the uncanny valley. The work creates a hypnotic, surreal atmosphere designed to captivate human audiences and make them question their own individuality.

🗓️ Exhibition Dates: July 30 – August 17, 2025
🎟️ FREE Entry – Don’t Miss It!

Special thanks to Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts for sponsoring this exhibition, and Selin Kahramanoğlu for providing mentorship to our curators, Paige Bowen and Francis Pitsadiotis.

Plan your visit now at https://propellerartgallery.com/exhibitions/below-our-feet-and-above-our-heads/

#propellergallery #queenwesttoronto
#queenwestart #artgallerytoronto #artTO #contemporaryart #torontoart #artcollector #interiordecortoronto #torontoartcollectors #torontoartists #canadianartist #WestQueenWest #performance #performanceart #arteventTO #artevent #experienceart #experienceToronto
#ArtInToronto #emergingcurator @butterflypaige @francispitsadiotis @tfva.ca @selin_kah @saricheah @zubinisaac

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✨️ Join us tomorrow (Thursday, July 31, 2025) from 5 – 9 pm for the opening reception of Below Our Feet and Above Our Heads. Curated by Paige Bowen & Francis Pitsadiotis.

Below Our Feet and Above Our Heads explores the merging of natural and artificial spheres through a variety of mediums, including printmaking, painting, installation, animation, and performance. This exhibition features artworks by nine impactful artists: Vismay Sanghavi, Judith Librach, Timo Cheah, Raven Myers, Andria Keen, Deepikah R Bhardwaj, Seamus McVey Neufeld, Sari Cheah, and Daren Souvannavong. In-gallery sound provided by Zubin Isaac.

✨️SPECIAL THANKS TO
• Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts for sponsoring this exhibition
• Selin Kahramanoğlu for providing mentorship to Curator’s Paige Bowen & Francis Pitsadiotis

Plan your visit now at your visit now at https://propellerartgallery.com/exhibitions/at-our-feet-and-above-our-heads
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#propellergallery #queenwesttoronto
#queenwestart #artgallerytoronto #artTO #contemporaryart #torontoart #artcollector #interiordecortoronto #torontoartcollectors #torontoartists #canadianartist #WestQueenWest #openingreception #arteventTO #artevent #experienceart #artisttalks #performance #experienceart #experienceToronto #emergingcurator @butterflypaige @francispitsadiotis @tfva.ca @selin_kah

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