Family Programs
Bring the whole family to TOAF65 for hands-on art activities that inspire creativity and connection. Create fibre-based artworks with MOCA Toronto or discover the joy of collecting through the Budding Art Buyers Program with the Art Dealers Association of Canada—there’s something for artists and art lovers of all ages.
Threading Together
Presented by Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto
Date: July 11-12, 2026, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Location: Plaza, Centre of Zone A
String Friendship Bracelets
Learn how a simple thread can be tied and transformed into unique and colourful patterns. Responding to the fibre artworks in the current exhibition at MOCA, Dimensions of a Needle by contemporary artist Kimsooja, this activity considers how we carry, wear, and share art, emphasizing its ability to connect people across various identities and communities. When you gift a friendship bracelet to someone, consider the wish you have for your friend. People say that when the bracelet falls off, that wish will come true!
Colourful Columns
This activity is inspired by the architectural columns on each floor of MOCA, which frame our current exhibitions: Kimsooja: Dimensions of a Needle and Sara Cwynar: Baby Blue Benzo Beta, as well as our new audiovisual project by Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi: Suspension (2020).
First, you’ll learn to create your own pompom through a meditative technique of wrapping, cutting and transforming yarn into a bundle, evoking both Kimsooja’s bottaris and cheerleader poms, connecting to themes in MOCA’s current exhibitions this summer including slow making and the spectacle of sport. Participants choose their colours and transform their bundles into artworks using a plastic tapestry needle and stringing them together to create a column of handmade pom poms. Play with pattern, shape, repetition and create a hanging artwork. Lacing these together is a pre-sewing project, demonstrating the skills of threading a needle, sewing, tying off and confidently using a needle and thread.
Budding Art Buyers
Presented by the Art Dealers Association of Canada
Friday, July 10 & Saturday, July 11, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Sunday, July 12, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Zone A, Booth 17-18
The Budding Art Buyers Program has been a beloved part of TOAF since 2018, created to nurture the next generation of art lovers — kids 14 and under who are ready to experience the thrill of discovering and owning their very first piece of original art. Tucked into the fair is a special booth curated just for them, filled with artworks from participating TOAF artists, all priced with young collectors in mind.
For the third year running, the program is presented and curated by the Art Dealers Association of Canada. ADAC encourages these young buyers to follow their hearts and buy what they love, while also learning the basics of provenance and getting to know the story behind each artist and their work.
Every piece is $20 or under (cash only — and no adults allowed, this one’s just for the kids!), and comes complete with an official ADAC Provenance & Invoice, so even a first purchase feels like the real deal.
The ADAC strives to raise the profile of Canadian Visual Art and Artists, exploring and expanding markets for Canadian Art Dealers and their artists both in Canada and Internationally.
Check out this sneak peek of artworks for sale at the Budding Art Buyers booth!
