Toronto
#1 Art & Design Event
New artistic director Josephine Ridge returned the 12-day arts festival to David Pecaut Square in 2017, when a four-part celebration of Indigenous performance was a highlight. As Luminato entered its second decade, sponsors included TD Bank. BMO and Volvo. Next: June 6-24, 2018
Toronto
#2 Art & Design Event (up from #3)
Crowds grew to 1.3 million in 2017, with 190 venues—including galleries, restaurants, shops, and office buildings—displaying 1,000 photographs. CBC joined as a sponsor in 2017, and the theme was “Focus on Canada.” Next: May 1-31, 2018
Toronto
#3 Art & Design Event
About 1 million artsy night owls participated in 2016, making an economic impact of $43 million, according to the City of Toronto. The overnight event celebrates Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017 with the theme “Many Possible Futures.” Next: September 30, 2017
Toronto
#4 Art & Design Event (up from #5)
Both the exhibition and the reception for some 700 art-lovers moves to the University of Toronto’s Hart House this year, and returns to Ottawa in 2018. Prize money for the prestigious award for artists under age 40 increases to $110,000 in 2017, with grocer Sobey remaining the title sponsor. Next: October 25, 2017
Toronto
#5 Art & Design Event (up from #6)
Attendance at the independent design festival grew by 30,000, to 130,000 in 2017, when more than 700 artists and designers participated, and Keilhauer returned as the presenting sponsor. The 2018 symposium focuses on “Designing the Future of Work.” Next: January 15-21, 2018
Toronto
#6 Art & Design Event (new to the list)
The 2017 edition of Canada’s international art fair for modern and contemporary art will focus on Los Angeles and remain sponsored by RBC. Admissions at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in 2016 increased to a record 22,000. Next: October 27-30, 2017
Toronto
#7 Art & Design Event
Canadian architecture, notably Centennial-period buildings from the 1960s, were the focus for the 2017 sesquicentennial edition, when developer Great Gulf returned as a presenting sponsor. New this year: a series of concerts in unique and unexpected places such as the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. Next: May 26-27, 2018
Ottawa
#8 Art & Design Event
For the first time, the vernissage took place away from Ottawa, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, in 2017. Eight winners each received $25,000 for their artistic achievements, and were feted at a private ceremony at Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence. Next: Spring 2018
Montreal
#9 Art & Design Event (up from #10)
The fair, dedicated to the promotion of art on paper, hosted about 18,000 visitors in 2017, with 39 galleries and 300 artists participating. Sponsors included Loto Québec and Banque Nationale. Next: April 2018
Toronto
#10 Art & Design Event (new to the list)
Canada’s largest and longest-running outdoor art exhibition returned to Nathan Phillips Square in 2017, when 340 artists showed their work and crowds grew to 115,000. Artists received $40,000 worth of prizes, the most in the show’s 56-year history. Next: July 2018
