Dear Friend of TOAF,

I can’t tell you how proud and excited we are to share this with you.

This year, we’re unveiling a brand new National Spotlight: Atlantic Canada. We’re celebrating the region with a dedicated zone at TOAF64, centered around The Land and the Sea Bind Us, a poetic and powerful curated showcase by artist and curator Bushra Junaid.

Bushra has extended thoughtful invitations to six Atlantic Canada artists making their TOAF debut. Her selection is careful and full of heart. Combined with the broader group of artists joining us from the Atlantic region, this zone is not to be missed.

Some seeds take time to grow, then suddenly, they bloom. The story of our Travel Bursary Program is one of those.

Back in 2020, we had to shift online overnight. TOAF Online was born, and artists from across the country began joining us. Each year since, 60–70 artists have exhibited Exclusively Online.

In 2023, we launched the Travel Bursary Program to meet this demand and bring our national artists to Nathan Phillips Square. We dreamed of presenting the richness of Canada’s artistic landscape in one place in the heart of our city. That same year, we introduced the much-loved Unique Québec. Every year, we take that vision further. Last year, we introduced the Northwest Territoriesspotlight. And now: Atlantic Canada, with love.

These dreams don’t happen without deep trust and investment.
We are profoundly grateful to the Lindy Green Family Foundation, Lead Patron of our Art Encounters Access and Outreach Program; the Clearview Family Foundation; and the Koffler Family Foundation, Lead Patron of TOAF. Because of their visionary support, we’ve stayed true to our mission and dared to dream bigger.

This year is our most ambitious and richest to date: over 21 artists are receiving Travel Bursaries, and 70 are joining us from outside Ontario. TOAF64 will truly be a coast-to-coast-to-coast celebration.

Canada is present.

With joy,
anahita & TOAF Team

The Land and the Sea Bind Us

Curated by Bushra Junaid

The Land and the Sea Bind Us brings together artists from across Atlantic Canada whose diverse cultural backgrounds—including Inuit, Mi’kmaq, African Nova Scotian, Acadian, European, and West Asian—inform their creative practices. Working across media such as drawing, painting, photography, beadwork, basketry, textiles, and digital technology, these artists reflect on how the region’s distinct geographies, histories, and traditions shape their identity, memory, and belonging. Their work offers powerful perspectives on home, community, and the possible futures rooted in Atlantic place and culture.

Melcolm Beaulieu (they/them) (Wolastoqiyik/Mi’kmaq/New Brunswick) is a member of Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation based in Fredericton, NB. Their work combines traditional beadwork with virtual technology to explore themes of identity, gender, and cultural continuity. At The Collective, Melcolm mentors Indigenous artists, passing on intergenerational knowledge and fostering community through art.

Luanne Dominix (she/her) (Ktaqmkuk/Newfoundland) is a visual artist and educator from Bay Roberts, NL. Using watercolour, she reflects on rural Newfoundland life, focusing on the role of food, tools, and tradition in shaping identity. Her work examines the deep relationship between place, culture, and personal history.

Clara Clayton Gough (she/her) (Kjipuktuk/Nova Scotia) is a basket maker from East Preston, NS, originally from Cherry Brook. She learned her craft from her mother and grandmother and has developed a unique sculptural style. Her work continues a family tradition while expanding the artistic possibilities of basketry.

Katelyn Jacque (she/her) (Ktaqmkuk/Newfoundland) is an Inuit photographer from Labrador whose work celebrates her cultural roots and deep connection to the land and community. Through her lens, she captures the strength, beauty, and spirit of Inuit life and traditions.

Nasim Makaremi Nia (she/her) (Ktaqmkuk/Newfoundland) is an Iranian-born artist and physicist living in St. John’s, NL. She works across painting, drawing, printmaking, and textiles, often exploring gender and societal roles. Her practice blends scientific insight with expressive, feminist themes.

Mélanie Paulin (she/her) (Wolastoqiyik/Mi’kmaq/New Brunswick) is a Moncton-based Acadian artist whose work in textiles, printmaking, and installation focuses on care, feminism, and lived experience. Embracing imperfection and handmade processes, she highlights the creative labour and legacy of women’s art practices.

— Bushra Junaid, Atlantic Canada Curator