Art Toronto 2003 a resounding success
Art Toronto
“Toronto has a buzz.” – Art Toronto 2003 a resounding success
Glowing reviews, grinning exhibitors and satisfied collectors were the final outcome of Art Toronto 2003. With unprecedented sales, a 20% increase in attendance, solid out of town VIP collector participation and special projects that drew strong curatorial attention, Art Toronto 2003 experienced, according to The Globe and Mail art critic Sarah Milroy, “the strongest of the Toronto fairs to date.”
The fourth Toronto International Art Fair opened with a dazzling Preview Gala benefit for the Art Gallery of Ontario that attracted over 1,500 guests who quickly set the buying mood which continued solid for the four days of the fair.
Weekend sales activity alone witnessed over 500 art works depart in the hands of contented collectors, averaging 6 to 7 pieces per gallery. Dealers reported major purchases and excellent connections for future sales, crediting the fair for bringing a wave of new business. Several dealers sold out early into the show while others maintained a constant turnover of art on the walls.
Curatorial interest in the fair’s special projects (The News at Five, the Toronto/Vienna Vice Versa project, Sobey Art Award – The 2002 Exhibition) and a lineup of speakers that included a curator hot list as well as collector pros Martin Margulies, Joe Friday and Bill Goldiner were not only media magnets, but prompted art editor Russell Smith to write, “Clearly, this year the organizers are investing more deeply in the fair’s educational and curatorial programming, an approach that could give TIAF the reputation as a clearing house for new ideas.”
The fair welcomed a solid stable of Canadian dealers including newcomers, Rene Blouin, Pierre-François Ouellette, and Roger Bellemare of Montréal as well as West Coast dealers Catriona Jeffries and Tracey Lawrence. New additions to the European roster included experienced fairgoers Galerie Krinzinger and Galerie Voss who agreed TIAF is one of the most well organized fairs in the circuit. The intimate size of the Toronto International Art Fair is collector friendly and allows for excellent networking, resulting in an already strong exhibitor return for Art Toronto 2004.
Art Toronto 2004 is scheduled for September 30 – October 4, 2004 and marks the 5th anniversary of the Toronto International Art Fair.
For more information:
Phone: 604-925-0330
Fax: 604-925-0380
E-mail: info@tiafair.com
Web: www.tiafair.com
TIAF 2003 is sponsored by Cadillac, The Globe and Mail, Canadian Art magazine, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Tourism Ontario.
