Art Tours  

Put the map away. Let’s walk with our senses wide open. Let’s cross Nathan Phillips Square, the vibrant heart of TOAF. Let’s get ourselves lost in the aisles, on purpose. Seek less. Welcome more. Let chance lead to meaningful conversations with artists.

With a set of simple instructions in hand, follow the thread: a few traces, a few detours, and above all, a listening ear for the francophone voices of the Fair.

Dyana Ouvrard is a curator and the Executive and Artistic Director of Le Labo, Toronto’s francophone media arts centre. Her curatorial practice is rooted in geography, interdisciplinary approaches, and a deep attentiveness to the dynamics of public space.

Join style-savvy design and craft connoisseur Odessa Paloma Parker for a treasure hunt through TOAF’s most design-forward works with heart. From sculptural vessels to expressive textiles and statement art jewelry, discover pieces that elevate the everyday.

Odessa Paloma Parker is an award-winning writer, editor, stylist, educator and brand strategist based in Toronto. She is the Contributing Art Editor at Style Advisor magazine and, in 2022, she founded Opaloma, an arts, culture and style platform featuring stories from Toronto and beyond. Odessa is a co-author of the first edition of Louis Vuitton’s City Guide Toronto, and her journalistic expertise has been acknowledged by a National Magazine Award nomination. Odessa is also an occasional DJ; her event clients include Chanel, Bata Shoe Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Art consultant Christelle Inacio makes collecting feel personal, spotlighting emerging and established artists whose work pulls you in and keeps you looking.

Christelle Inacio is an art consultant with almost two decades of international experience advising collectors and working with galleries. She has over 16 years of experience in the art industry, specializing in art advising, galleries, collections management, and fairs. She has worked in France, Spain, Chile, Mexico, and Canada, collaborating with renowned collectors and galleries. Notably, Christelle served as the gallery manager at Corkin Gallery in Toronto and as the associate director at EKHO gallery in Chile. She also initiated the first summit dedicated to the art market in Mexico in 2017.

An active member of the visual arts community, Christelle, until recently, sat on various boards such as Le Labo. She holds an MA in Art Management and an Honours a BA in Business Administration from Paris, France.

Join Art Nest curator Myta Sayo for a guided walk through this year’s ambitious, playful and thought-provoking public art installations, as she shares her vision and insights into each work and the artists behind them.

2025 Art Nest curator Myta Sayo guides you through this year’s selection of public art installations. Art Nest is TOAF’s annual public art incubator, providing access to artists at the early stage of taking their studio practice to public space.

Myta Sayo is an art dealer with extensive experience placing works with collectors across North America, Europe, and Asia. As studio manager at Kal Mansur Studio, she has overseen the production of large-scale works for global corporate and hospitality clients. She founded and ran reference: contemporary (2015-2021), an online gallery that exhibited at major New York and Miami fairs, and later operated Myta Sayo Gallery in Toronto’s Dundas West (2021-2024), showcasing mid-career and emerging artists. Her gallery continues to participate in Art Toronto and the Affordable Art Fair New York. Through her advisory, Myta Sayo Research Projects (MSRP), she bridges contemporary art with research-driven practice, collaborating with consultants, architects, and designers to place works, secure commissions, and curate exhibitions. Outside of her professional work, she is an amateur CNC machinist and a keen novice golfer.

Curator Emily Laurent Henderson thoughtfully highlights artists who use their work to tell powerful, personal stories — stories that invite us to listen more deeply and see the world through a different lens.

Currently based in Guelph, Ontario, Emily Laurent Henderson is a Kalaaleq (Greenlandic Inuk) and Settler curator and writer. A 2020 University of British Columbia graduate in Anthropology, Emily’s work and writing centres Inuit and Indigenous self-determination in the arts. Her writing has appeared in titles such as the Inuit Art Quarterly, Azure, Studio Magazine, and more. Her debut collection of poetry, “Hold Steady my Vision”, was published in 2024 by Publication Studio Guelph.

Growing up surrounded by the Inuit art world, Emily is the Associate Curator of Indigenous Art at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and was previously a member of the Indigenous and Canadian Curatorial team at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She is currently working closely with the 90,000 piece Kinngait Drawings Archive.

Join artists and cultural organizers from Tangled Art + Disability and the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf (CCSD) for a guided tour highlighting the work of Deaf and disabled artists at TOAF64. Explore selected works at the Tangled and CCSD booths and discover other exhibiting artists whose practices are shaped by Deaf and disability culture. Learn how these artists and organizations are reshaping the arts ecology through access, community, and cultural innovation.

The tour is led by Carlisle Robinson, Maryam Hafizirad, Adam Cohoon, Sean Lee, Heidi Persaud, and Nicole Crawford, and will be in both Spoken English and ASL. Visual description can be provided.

Join curator Josh Heuman for an insider’s look at TOAF64’s top award recipients. Meet this year’s stand-out artists, hear about their practice, and discover what set their work apart in the eyes of the judges.

Josh Heuman is currently Head of Artistic Engagement at Koffler Arts where he is focused on developing a wide array of public programs for audiences of all ages. He has held previous positions in education, exhibitions, and administration at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Salt Lake Art Center; Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University; and Joslyn Art Museum. Heuman has delivered guest lectures and participated in panel discussions at numerous galleries/museums and postsecondary institutions. He earned a BA in Visual Art and MA in Art History at York University.

Get an insider look at the artists making waves at TOAF64. Curator Trevor Twells spotlights breakout talents whose work pulses with fearless energy and fresh perspectives.

Trevor Twells is an experiential artist and design strategist. He’s also the founder of MakeRoom Inc., a curatorial agency that partners with institutions like Union Station, Sankofa Square, and The City of Toronto to create fresh, meaningful art experiences that platform both BIPOC and emerging artists.

An artist for over a decade, Trevor creates experiential works that invite audiences to intentionally engage with communal activities they often take for granted. His most recent work, Point of Reflection, premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2024.

MakeRoom’s curatorial mission is to create equitable, paid opportunities in the arts, free of gatekeeping and open to diverse voices shaping fresh, impactful experiences.