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TORONTO’S VISUAL ARTS SCENE

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TORONTO ISN'T KNOWN FOR ITS ART. HERE'S WHY.

AN ARTIST EXPLAINS HER WORK AT THE LAUNCH EVENT FOR ‘THE BITTEN PEACH: ASIAN QUEER SPACES’ ON AUG. 3, 2023 IN THE URBANSPACE GALLERY AT 401 RICHMOND ST. W.📸 KEVIN NIU.
Amit Nehru

Over half of artists in Toronto make an annual income of less than $30,000, according to a member survey conducted in 2018 by local arts organization Akin Collective.

“The time that an artist needs in order to be an artist is just not there if you’re spending 40 hours a week to pay rent.”

ANSON NG, TORONTO-BASED ARTIST

Five years later, many artists here are still struggling to make ends meet. 

One of the most significant issues that Toronto-based artists face is the lack of paid opportunities, according to Emily Gong, director of Asian Arts and Culture Trust (AACT), a nonprofit organization that provides public programming to increase empathy, appreciation and representation of Asian heritage, arts and culture in Canada. 

“Many of these artists are expected to work for free or accept lower rates [than CARFAC standard] in exchange for exposure, making it challenging for them to sustain a full-time art practice,” she explains. “This is especially difficult for those who have just graduated from art school and are already burdened with student debt.”

Gong adds that lack of fair compensation is an even bigger problem among younger artists who are typically less established than their older counterparts. Oftentimes, she says, these younger artists are unable to continue their practice because of financial precarity.

PROMOTIONAL IMAGE FOR 'THE BITTEN PEACH: ASIAN QUEER SPACES,' AN ART EXHIBIT IN THE URBANSPACE GALLERY AT 401 RICHMOND ST. W.
📸: ASIAN ARTS AND CULTURE TRUST.

There are more than 40 art galleries in Toronto today. A decade ago, there were over 100 galleries, according to Joan Spence, founder and director of Spence Gallery, which exhibits contemporary artwork focused on Caribbean, Latin and African cultures by a diverse roster of early- to mid-career artists. Spence attributes this decline to the disappearance of affordable space in Toronto.

“Space is expensive, and space has gotten much more expensive in Toronto than in the past,” she explains. “People always say you should own the space, because that’s the only way you can really make it. Otherwise…you’re paying $10,000 a month in rent. That means you can’t make it — you can never make any money.”

“The time that an artist needs in order to be an artist is just not there if you’re spending 40 hours a week to pay rent.”

ANSON NG, TORONTO-BASED ARTIST

Higher rent costs have also made it harder for artists to just be artists. Both Spence and Gong say many local artists only work on their art part-time. To pay rent, they often have to take on other jobs in hospitality or healthcare, for example. Younger artists disproportionately find themselves in these scenarios because their client base is less established, so they’re less likely to be able to sustain themselves with their art only, according to Spence.

Although experiences in other professional fields can inspire their work, job demands can also prevent artists from adequately devoting themselves to their craft.

“My friends who came out of art school, they’re just getting to Toronto and they don’t have a family home within the city,” says Anson Ng, a landscape painter based in Chinatown. “Many of us have to pay $800 to $1,800 a month in order to survive. So the time that an artist needs in order to be an artist is just not there if you’re spending 40 hours a week to pay rent.”

ATTENDEES CHECK OUT THE 'THE BITTEN PEACH: ASIAN QUEER SPACES' ART EXHIBIT ON AUG. 3, 2023 IN THE URBANSPACE GALLERY AT 401 RICHMOND ST. W.
📸: KEVIN NIU.

To make matters even more challenging, Toronto lacks an art culture, Ng adds. “Our general population has a lack of understanding of the value of art, the value of expression, its value in the community and how it can make us feel,” he explains.

Spence echoes Ng’s sentiment. She says fine art is only seen as something to be enjoyed in public galleries such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, but not something to be owned privately. Spence notes that smaller galleries, where art can be purchased, don’t receive much traffic. 

“The same way you buy cupcakes and keep the baker alive, buy art. That’s how you keep the artists alive,” she says. “You keep them in their craft, in their business, in their careers. Buy their art. I don’t think we have that understanding [in Toronto] yet.”

THE INTERIOR OF SPENCE GALLERY AT 106 HARBORD ST.
📸: SPENCE GALLERY WEBSITE.

Spence highlights the contrast between Toronto and other major urban centres like New York and London where local galleries are often packed, which is why gallerists here have a harder time selling art and supporting local artists. She emphasizes that buying art shouldn’t be viewed as an elitist activity, and that high-quality pieces can be purchased for as low as $20 in Toronto.

Although local artists may not receive as much support as they need to fully pursue their craft, that doesn’t deter Ng. He reflects on his parents’ journey immigrating to a far less culturally diverse and accepting Canada, and starting a Thai restaurant nearly 30 years ago.

“It’s very hard to change culture,” Ng says. We [need] to start now as artists to build a foundation for our appreciation. And it takes a very, very long time for [this] to happen.”

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