8 essential tips for getting the most out of Art Toronto

Friday through Monday, the best selections from 106 international galleries will be packed into the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, all for the latest edition of Art Toronto. Countless buyers and dealers and curators will be smashed in there, too. Because when it comes down to it, Art Toronto — like any art fair — is ultimately an art-world trade show. Unlike a day at the museum, everything here — or most of it, anyway — is for sale.

But to all the window shoppers out there, those of us who are broke or art-scene newbs — and those of us who will never in a million years collect paintings like they're Pogs — Art Toronto is for you, too.

Normally to see all this art, you would have to travel the world. And it's all here, for four days, in one place.- Susannah Rosenstock, director of Art Toronto

In fact, according to Art Toronto's director, Susannah Rosenstock, you're the majority.

Some 21,000 people turned up for last year's edition of the art fair, and as Rosenstock explains, most of those visitors were there purely for the sights. "They're simply art enthusiasts — people who want to look at art and see what's new, what's going on in Canada, what's going on in the international art scene."

If that sounds like you, but you've never made the trip, CBC Arts has rounded up some tips for a first-time visitor.

Charge your phone (so you give every last one of your Instagram followers FOMO) and lace up your comfiest pair of limited-edition sneakers. This is your eight step guide to doing Art Toronto.
 

Head straight to the solo booths

Once you're up the escalators — and you've grabbed a map from the info desk — get your butt to the "solo" section. It'll take some willpower. For example, we'd be tempted to follow our bellies to the multi-story pop-up bar with functional hammocks — but more on that later.

Starting with the solo booths is Rosenstock's tip, and we have to agree with her.

Once you're inside, you'll find distraction everywhere — even in a single booth, where gallerists are exhibiting a hodge podge of their artists. You'll want to ease yourself in to the experience, wading-pool style. That's why we recommend starting here: it'll give your day some focus, and as a bonus, this section features some of the most exciting work on display.

A dozen gallery booths are dedicated to single artists. Think of them as mini-exhibitions. Many involve new work, created especially for the fair.
 

Remember Saskatchewan's Zachari Logan from Exhibitionists? His lush new pastel drawing, "Eunuch Tapestry 5," covers the walls of Paul Petro Contemporary Art's booth. At the dc3 Art Project space, Ruth Cuthand has laid out an inviting, but powerfully unsettling, installation that directly addresses the lack of clean-drinking water in Indigenous communities.  

For the more curious, the solo booths can be a great opportunity to hear from the artists themselves. Says Rosenstock: "It's a good chance for people to meet those artists and ask about their work."

Join a tour

If you're still overwhelmed, seek professional help.

Honestly, just seek professional help no matter what.

Art Toronto is more than what meets the eye, and there are several free tours that you can join up with throughout the weekend.

Rosenstock's pick? The "Curator Series," and whether you're visiting on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, there's a new adventure starting at 3 p.m. each day. For 45 minutes, you'll get to follow an expert curator around the floor, getting a totally different perspective on the whole event.  
 

Sunday's offering — the CanCon-ishly titled "If I Had a Million Dollars" tour — sounds like a safe bet for all the wannabe Brad Pitts out there, the would-be ballers who dream of buying a Banksy and the French chateau to hang it in. Jeffrey Spalding, the senior curator at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, will guide you through "the most notable works" on offer.

Talk with strangers...especially if they work for a gallery

Gallery dealers are going to be trapped in a convention centre for four days straight, so they desperately need someone to talk to.

We kid — sort of.

"They're here to meet people, to talk to people, to introduce them to the artists," says Rosenstock of all the visiting dealers. And they're here to talk to everybody, not just the guy who collects for the AGO.

So if you're at all curious about art, this is one of the best possible ways to learn about it.

"People shouldn't be shy," says Rosenstock. "Often they are." If that sounds like you, she offers some basic questions that will help break the ice: "'What have you brought here? Can you tell me about this artist? What's their process? Where are they from?'"

"Whether you're looking to buy or not, they're happy to tell you about the work."

The one thing you shouldn't ask

That said, there is such a thing as a stupid question — but you can avoid embarrassment with this simple tip.

"I think there's one thing galleries don't want to hear at an art fair," says Rosenstock. "They don't want you to walk up to them and say, 'Are you the artist?'"

"99 times out of 100, they're not."
 

Take in a talk

Maybe you're the quiet type, more of a "good listener" than a bubbling conversationalist. Your Art Toronto ticket gets you a seat at as many public discussions as you'd like. There are 10 talks happening Friday through Sunday, Rosenstock notes — panels and keynotes and artist "salons."

"We have speakers who have travelled here form Mexico, from Buenos Aires — artists, curators. I think people can get a fuller picture of the fair by sitting in on one or two of the talks."

Make time for nap time

When the concrete floors of the convention centre inevitably murderize your feet, there are a few choice stops available. We predict Jon Rafman's installation "Pit Couch" will be one of them.

With a wink to his project's competitive subject matter, the Montreal artist's built a big, blue booth out of squishy school gym mats — so you can lean back while immersing yourself in his video tribute to New York's Chinatown Fair Arcade, "Codes of Honor."

Or maybe you'll be lucky enough to dibs a hammock.

Artist duo Stefan Benchoam and Christian Ochaita originally hung rainbow-hued hammocks in their hometown, Guatemala City — a whimsical answer to its lack of public space. Just for Art Toronto, they've created a veritable nap palace.
 

In the centre of the fair, you'll find a tower of scaffolding — bunk hammocks, if you will — and as if that's not dreamy enough, there's a bar in the centre. If you'd prefer to catch z's without company, however, you'll find a few more of their hammocks hidden around the floor.

Go around the world

Galleries from 14 different countries have made the trip to Art Toronto. "Normally to see all this art, you would have to travel the world," Rosenstock notes. "And it's all here, for four days, in one place."
 

Like last year, much of the international presence comes from Mexico and South America, thanks to a special exhibition called Focus: Latin America.

"There is so much emerging art coming out of Latin America and such a diversity of work, such exciting work — really incredible, really fresh and most of it isn't shown here," she says. "Your average fairgoer is never going to have seen this work before, and there's some really beautiful incredible work."

Exit through the book fair

On the main floor you'll find 1/edition — Toronto's first annual international art book fair. Technically, you don't need a ticket to Art Toronto to get into the event — a nice bit of intel, if you're lacking the time (or 20 bucks) to take in the art fair upstairs.

Free to the public, you'll find plenty of books and artist multiples for sale inside, but also plenty of programming too, including discussions and art.

Be sure to gawk at "We Buy White Albums," an installation by New York's Rutherford Chang. As the title should suggest, Chang buys the Beatles's White Album — in fact, he's collected more than 1,500 copies, and you can flip through the stacks to see how all the mysterious previous owners have personalized these well-loved LPs. 

Art Toronto. To Oct. 31 at Metro Toronto Convention Centre. www.arttoronto.ca