The City offers variety of artist residencies and gallery programs designed to help artists advance their practices, develop skills and share their talents with local communities and the public. The City of Toronto’s Cultural Centres and Galleries are dedicated to engaging and supporting Toronto-based artists from equity-deserving communities.
The Public Gallery Program includes five City-operated public galleries. Recent updates to the the program are aligned with CARFAC (Canadian Artists’ Representation / Le Front des Artistes Canadiens) guidelines and are designed to increase equitable access to the City’s cultural spaces and elevate support for artists, while advancing some of the key objectives of the City’s Culture Connects: An Action Plan for Culture in Toronto.
Priority will be given to Toronto-based artists working or living in Toronto. Artists who have exhibited at a City of Toronto public gallery at Assembly Hall, Cedar Ridge Creative Centre, Clark Centre for the Arts or the two galleries at the Etobicoke Civic Centre, are not eligible to be considered for an exhibition at another gallery site in the following year.
All works submitted for consideration must conform to the City of Toronto Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policy and be suitable for a general audience.
Browse the opportunities below and learn how to showcase your work.
The Assembly Hall Gallery is committed to providing the community with high quality and varied shows each year, striving to present a balanced roster of exhibitions in all media and styles, from different age groups. Assembly Hall is wheelchair accessible.
Artists are welcome to submit either as individuals or as part of a group.
The gallery spans two floors and displays works in the halls, lobby and display cases in the Assembly Hall. The hanging space allows for 40 to 60 works, depending on the size and medium. A wide range of visual art mediums is accepted including but not limited to painting, photography, sculpture, mosaic, collage, printmaking and illustration. There are usually eight shows annually, with most exhibitions running for one month each.
Interested artists must complete the online form by the deadline of August 15, 2025.
Cedar Ridge Creative Centre gallery issues calls for submission once annually from visual artists and crafts people working in a variety of media for its gallery program. Art exhibitions are scheduled for approximately one month at a time between January and November 2026. Submissions are assessed by invited professional artists and staff.
Artists are welcome to submit as individuals or as part of a group.
The gallery space features three large rooms with plenty of natural light on the main floor of a historic mansion. Cedar Ridge Creative Centre is wheelchair accessible.
Interested artists must complete the online form by the deadline of September 4, 2025.
Clark Centre for the Arts is an accessible facility that welcomes artists of all media , individual artists and/or artist collectives, as well as professional and emerging artists. The centre’s main gallery, Gallery 191, is available monthly between January and May and between July and December annually.
Artists are welcome to submit as individuals or as part of a group.
Gallery 191 spans three floors. Art works must be exhibited across the gallery for the full term of the month. Clark Centre for the Arts and Gallery 191 is wheelchair accessible.
Interested artists must complete the online form by the deadline of September 4, 2025.
Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery is located within the Centre Block of the Etobicoke Civic Centre, comprised of a main gallery on the ground floor and the Ascent gallery on the lower level. Each gallery requires its own application. Both galleries are wheelchair accessible.
Art groups of four or more artists.
The gallery displays works in the halls, foyers and display cases in the Etobicoke Civic Centre central block on the main (ground) floor.
The hanging space is approximately 230 feet, allowing for 45 to 75 works, depending on the size.
There are usually 10 shows annually, with most exhibitions running for one month each.
Interested artists must complete the online form by the deadline of August 15, 2025.
Submit for the Etobicoke Civic Centre Main Gallery
Located on the lower level, the Ascent Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting works by emerging individual artists and/or artist collectives, with a focus on artists who identify as Indigenous, Black, 2SLGBTQ+ and disabled.
Early career artists as individuals or as part of a group. Artists who are Toronto-based and/or identify as equity-deserving.
Early career artists are defined as artists who are at least 18 years of age, have produced a small body of work and achieved some local recognition through limited grants, commissions, sales and public exhibition experience. This includes artists who have been practicing for two to five years and/or are post-secondary fine art students.
When submitting as a group, all members of the collective must be early career artists.
Ascent gallery displays work in the halls of in the Etobicoke Civic Centre central block on the lower level. The hanging space is approximately 82 feet, allowing for 20 to 30 works, depending on the size. There are four shows annually, with most exhibitions running for 10 weeks each.
Interested artists must complete the online form by the deadline of August 15, 2025.
Process+Practice is a two-year dance residency at Assembly Hall that supports local dancers in the research, creation and presentation of new works while offering compelling artistic experiences that allow the local community to engage with the art of dance. Presented in partnership with TOES FOR DANCE, the program nurtures artistic development and community-building by holding time and space for dancers and choreographers to experiment, discuss and explore the art form.
Professional dance artists who are Toronto-based and or identify as equity-deserving.
Applications are currently closed. Call for applications for the 2026 to 2027 residency will be issued in July 2025.
The Cedar Ridge Summer Residency program provides one emerging or mid-career visual artist with a unique workspace at the center for eight weeks, from early July to late August at no cost, and an opportunity to present works developed during the residency at the Cedar Ridge Gallery.
Toronto-based artists working or living in Toronto. The residency program is dedicated to engaging and supporting Toronto-based artists from equity-deserving communities.
Applications are currently closed. Call for applications for the 2026 Summer Residency program will be issued in early 2026.
The Clark Centre for the Arts Artist Residency program provides emerging and mid-career Toronto artists with opportunities to think, experiment, work and create in an artistic lakeside urban environment. Residencies conclude with a one-month exhibition in Gallery 191.
Toronto-based artists working or living in Toronto. The residency program is dedicated to engaging and supporting Toronto-based artists from equity-deserving communities.
Interested artists must complete the online form by the deadline of September 4, 2025.
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