Thinking about applying to our 61st Toronto Outdoor Art Fair in July? Every Friday during the Call for Artists, you can book an appointment with us for a one-on-one phone consultation and get direct feedback on your last year’s application!
Whether you are applying for the first time, or you are a seasoned TOAF alumni, take advantage of this opportunity to ask your questions and receive advice on how to build a stronger submission. Spaces every Friday are limited, so book early! Our TOAF61 Call for Artists & Makers opens on December 1, 2021 and closes on March 8, 2022.
How to Book an Appointment
You must email us using the following format to schedule an appointment:
- Subject: ‘Feedback Friday – Your Name’
- Your phone number
- Are you a first-time applicant?
If you have previously submitted an application, the feedback will only focus on the previous year's application. To prepare, please be sure to log into your TOAF profile and review your previous year's application before your appointment.
First-time Applicants:
As a first-time applicant, you are eligible to receive feedback on a draft of your application for this year. Starting December 1, 2021, you can upload a draft of your application to the portal, but please do not submit the payment yet.
Here are the suggested steps for first-time applicants to prepare for Feedback Fridays:
- Create your TOAF account.
- Upload your application draft into our system without submitting payment just yet.
- Prepare 5-7 images from a single body of work.
- Prepare n installation or booth image (if you have it already).
- Write a 500-character artist statement.
- Write a 200-character description of your process/technique.
- Email us to book a phone appointment to receive feedback before submitting payment.
Please note: Feedback on draft 2022 applications is only available for first-time applicants.
Confirm Your Appointment
A member of our team will respond to confirm your scheduled appointment time between 11 AM and 1 PM on the next available Friday.
To keep things manageable for our small team, phone calls will be kept to 10 minutes. If Fridays do not work for you, please provide your alternative availability in your appointment request email. If you require an alternative method of communication for accessibility reasons, please indicate this in your email, and we will gladly accommodate. Due to the volume of applications, feedback is focused on how to strengthen future submissions only and will be limited to one call per artist.
Specific juror comments, and ‘reasons for being declined’ will not be given.
App Camp
Join our Virtual Application Information Session on January 18th.
This information session will give you insight on how to prepare a winning application, from great photos, booth/installation image, to curating your portfolio for success. Witness a Mock Jury Session, where you will get a first-hand peek at what our jurors are looking for. Register here.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Book an Appointment Today
How is Your Application Selected?
Artistic excellence, originality, quality of support materials and consistency of ideas and design, are qualities our curators apply to evaluate your application. We carefully put together an inclusive, external and multidisciplinary panel of curators, made up of professional artists, gallerists, art educators, curators and other respected members of the visual arts community to review all submissions in every category. Our panel rotates every year to keep the roster of our artists diverse, fresh and exciting. Our team and board members do not participate in the selection process. Read TOAF's Equity and Non-Discrimination Policy.
Our curators score submissions out of 30 points, according to the above selection criteria. They select the best artists with the highest scores (above 23 points). We maintain a waitlist of artists with a score of 22 points. Waitlisted artists are accepted once space becomes available with priority given to applications submitted earlier.
