The City of Toronto offers a variety of residencies and gallery programs designed to help artists develop their skills and share their talents with local communities. Browse the opportunities below and learn how to take your creative practice to the next level at a City-operated cultural centre.
Subscribe to the CultureTO newsletter to receive weekly emails on upcoming opportunities and local arts news.
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 based in Toronto or have some other meaningful and ongoing connection to the area.
A cohort of two artists/projects will be selected for 2025 to 2026 that reflects the communities within and around Toronto. Artists working in non-dominant dance forms/practices and equity-seeking artists, especially those who identify as IBPOC, disabled/mad, and a part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, are encouraged to apply.
Applications are currently closed. Call for applications for the 2025 to 2026 residency will be issued in July 2024.
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 all regions and age groups.
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.
The fee for an Assembly Hall Gallery exhibition is $395.50 (HST included).
Artists interested in exhibiting at the gallery must read the terms of entry and complete the online form by the annual deadline of June 15. Submissions must include digital images of relevant works.
Cedar Ridge Creative Centre gallery issues calls for submissions once annually from visual artists and crafts people working in a variety of media for two gallery programs: Contemporary art exhibitions and Cedar Ridge Gallery Rentals. Calls for submissions for the following year’s gallery programs are issued each spring.
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.
Download the Cedar Ridge Floor Plan
Contemporary art exhibitions are scheduled for approximately one month at a time between January and April. Submissions are assessed by a peer jury.
Gallery rentals are available on a biweekly basis from September to December. Submissions are assessed by the Gallery Committee.
$520 for two weeks for all three rooms
Applications will be available in Spring 2024.
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, and a residency package valued at $6,000.
Nestled in the Cedar Ridge Park and gardens, the residency space is The Gardener’s Cottage, overlooking a ravine with the Highland Creek below. The cottage is adjacent to the Cedar Ridge Main House, which holds galleries and instructional art studios.
The successful applicant will have access to the workspace during Cedar Ridge operating hours and will have the opportunity to present works developed during the residency at a September exhibition at the Cedar Ridge Gallery.
Artists interested in applying for the Summer Residency must complete the online form by the deadline of April 26.
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 yet urban environment. Residencies conclude with a one-month exhibition in Gallery 191.
Applications are currently closed.
Clark Centre for the Arts is an accessible facility that welcomes artists of all abilities, individual artists and/or artist collectives, as well as professional and emerging artists. Its main gallery, Gallery 191, is available monthly between January and May and between July and December.
Submissions to exhibit are accepted until mid-September for the following year.
Gallery 191 spans three floors and must be rented together. Art works must be exhibited for the full term of the monthly rental.
$1,040 per month (HST included)
Groups interested in exhibiting at the gallery must read the application disclaimers and complete the online form by the annual deadline September 15. Submissions must include digital images of relevant artworks.
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.
Art groups of four or more artists.
The gallery encourages applications from diverse arts organizations and artists who have not previously exhibited at this location.
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.
$638.45 (HST included)
Groups interested in exhibiting at the gallery must read the Main Gallery terms of entry and complete the online form by the annual deadline May 1. Submissions must include digital images of relevant artworks.
Early career artists as individuals or as part of a group.
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. Preference is given to submissions from artists who identify as IBPOC, disabled persons and 2SLGBTQIA+ and artists living and working in Toronto.
When submitting as a group, all members of the collective must be early career artists.
Ascent gallery displays works 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.
$395.50 (HST included)
Artists and groups interested in exhibiting at the Ascent Gallery must read the Ascent Gallery terms of entry and complete the online form by the annual deadline of July 15.
Submissions must include a Curriculum Vitae for each artist and digital images of relevant artworks.