Booth Camp
What is ‘Booth Camp’?
Booth Camp is a series of FREE professional development sessions where seasoned artists and TOAF team share knowledge, tips, and tricks. We will cover everything you need to know to prepare for the Fair and make the experience as successful as possible. An outdoor (or online) art Fair in a new environment can seem very demanding and intimidating for even the most experienced artists, and we are here to ease the worries and share how to address the challenges and prepare for them. We want you to have the most successful experience, whether it’s your first or fifth time participating in the Fair.
Who should come?
It is mandatory for first-time participants to attend and/or review the video recordings of Booth Camps in order to prepare yourself for the Fair.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. To ensure our participating artists have priority access, we kindly ask that you refrain from bringing guests. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation!
Building an Online Presence for TOAF65
This session is for all participating artists and will focus on Online Artwork Sales A – Z and Social Media Marketing.
An introduction to the online art Fair, learn about the rules to keep in mind, key dates, resources for artists, and what to do when an artwork sells online. The TOAF Marketing Team will also give you a breakdown of TOAF65’s marketing and public relations plan, how to use the TOAF Sharekit and how to build engaging content, grow and maintain your social media following. You’ll also hear from our seasoned artists about how to create a stellar online artist profile, curating your selection of works for your online profile, photographing and presenting your artworks in context, top tips for independent artists, and Instagram content creation. A recording will be available on this web page after the session.
Wednesday, May 6th, 2026 at 12:00PM – 1:30PM EST via Zoom
TOAF65 Nathan Phillips Square Survival Guide
This session is for artists who are participating in the in-person Fair at Nathan Phillips Square.
The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair team and seasoned artists will share knowledge, tips and tricks to get yourself prepared and ease your worries about the in-person Fair. You’ll get to meet the TOAF team, connect with speaker artists, and meet with fellow TOAF Fair artists. We will go over the rules, with an overview of Nathan Phillips Square map; why rent tents and what’s included in a tent rental package; how to prepare for the weather, and how to curate a stellar booth at the Fair and so much more!
Saturday, May 9th, 2026 at 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
This session will take place in-person at the TOAF Office in Toronto, 401 Richmond Street West, Unit 262. Space in our office during the speaking portion is limited, but a video recording of that portion will be provided to you afterwards.
- Presentation: 10-12:30AM (will be recorded)
- Drop-in mingle period with TOAF team and fellow TOAF65 artists: 11:30AM – 1:00PM
Speakers
Daria Gavrilina
My primary interest in art is creating paintings inspired by landscapes and their various forms, lines, and shapes. I seek to find geometry, simplicity, and elegance in every composition. Because my work is highly textured, I prefer oil media for the flexibility it provides to apply multiple layers, adjust colour, and create physical volume. Much of my work is an exploration of light, geometry, and the overall atmosphere of the landscape—from the misty, ethereal shores of Georgian Bay to the sharp, rhythmic shapes of the Alps.
Recent recognition of my work includes five editions of TOAF, group shows at Cloud Gallery, Earlscourt Gallery, Black Cat Gallery and The Other Art Fair Brooklyn. I am also the recipient of an Artist Merit of Distinction Award from the En Plein Air Competition curated by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Emily Carriere
Emily Carriere is an award-winning mixed-media artist based in Hamilton, Ontario. Working across layered 2D pieces and intricate sculptures, she explores materiality, surface, and the tension between desire and disgust. Combining traditional techniques with digital processes and unconventional materials—including cut vinyl, plexiglass, resin, and studio off-cuts—her work feels both organic and otherworldly.
Since 2017, Carriere has exhibited across Canada and internationally, earning recognition in major juried exhibitions. She received the Best Use of New Material Award at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Best Mixed Media at Riverdale ArtWalk, and was also the winner of the Untapped Emerging Artist Competition at the Artist Project.
Through meticulous layering and glossy, tactile surfaces, she creates psychologically charged forms that transform industrial materials into vibrant, almost biological compositions.
Kit Li
Kit Li was born in Beijing and has lived in Hong Kong, Toronto, London, and New York City. After years in the fashion industry, extensive travel and exposure to diverse people and cultures deeply shaped her artistic perspective. Her work reflects a blend of contrasts, from East to West and from subtle to bold influences.
Alongside her corporate career, she maintained a strong and persistent drive to create art. In 2023, she left fashion to pursue art full-time, supported by recognition from the City of Toronto, the Guggenheim, and the public.
Matthew Walton
Matthew Walton (b. 1996) is an emerging artist based in Toronto. Through a mixed-media practice that combines drawing and painting, Walton merges his love of the human form with a distinct graphic sensibility. This marriage births bold, figurative compositions that boast striking textural contrast—a visual tension between softness and the hardness of an unforgiving world. Walton’s work highlights the quiet charm of everyday queerness, reimagining mundane moments through a vibrant technicolour lens. These vignettes invite viewers into intimate, relatable scenes that blur the line between public and private space. It is within this liminal realm that Walton’s camp and Cubist-coded figures live—uninhibited.
