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.

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.

Who Can Submit

Professional dance artists who are Toronto-based and or identify as equity-deserving.

How to Submit

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.

Who Can Submit

Toronto-based artists working or living in Toronto. The residency program is dedicated to engaging and supporting Toronto-based artists from equity-deserving communities.  

How to Submit

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.

Who Can Submit

Toronto-based artists working or living in Toronto. The residency program is dedicated to engaging and supporting Toronto-based artists from equity-deserving communities.  

How to Submit

Interested artists must complete the online form by the deadline of September 4, 2025.

Submit for Clark Centre Artist Residency

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