Artists showcase their finest work at the Toronto Art Crawl Christmas market

By Kristian Tofilovski

Inside the Toronto Art Crawl Christmas Market, Dec. 3, 2023 (Kristian Tofilovski/CanCulture)

The Toronto Art Crawl hosted its ninth annual Christmas market, highlighting the work of more than 80 local artists and designers.

Nadia Lloyd, an artist and designer, founded the Toronto Art Crawl in 2013 to share the work of local artists and designers while also promoting culture and creativity in the city. Throughout the year, the organization holds a variety of events, including its much-anticipated Christmas market.

Hosted at the Great Hall on Queen West, vendors sold food, jewelry, home decor items, photographs and more.

The event also included a live DJ playing holiday tunes, a bar area with warm beverages and sparkling string lights dangling across the ceiling. These elements created an environment that was nostalgic, cozy and filled with the Christmas spirit, turning ordinary shopping into a joyful, multisensory experience that draws public attention.

"I've really enjoyed the vendors, the venue and the decor," said one event goer who decided to check out the market after passing by its sign outside.

A live DJ plays at the Toronto Art Crawl Christmas market, taken on Dec. 3, 2023. (Kristian Tofilovski/CanCulture)

Vendors are given great networking opportunities with consumers and fellow business owners through art markets.

"This is only my second event and I’ve already made great connections," said a vendor, commonly referred to by her nickname as Dr. Auntie Ruby, owner of Dr. Auntie Ruby Stuff. "It builds a sense of community,” she added.

Art markets also provide a platform for local artists to advocate for social causes that are meaningful to them.

Janet Holmes, a local photographer, donates her profits from selling art prints and cards of wild and rescued animals and from her book, Nest: Rescued Chickens at Home, to animal rescue. Holmes said, "I encourage people to see farmed animals differently, not just as food on our tables but as individuals with personalities."

A key goal of these art markets is to offer sustainable shopping experiences often lost in online and retail shopping, which helps preserve local businesses and culture. However, some vendors find that promoting their businesses through art markets can be costly. According to the Toronto Art Crawl website, fees for a booth start at $235, including tax.

Vendors say that sharing their products with others is a key factor to supporting their businesses.

"It doesn't have to be a grand gesture," said Cyan Hill, an ambassador for Pepper Brew, highlighting the benefit of getting the word out on social media.

Holmes said displaying artists' products in your home or at work also helps spark conversation with others and draws interest to their causes.

Lia Reyes (left) and Dr. Auntie Ruby (right) represent Dr. Auntie Ruby Stuff at the Toronto Art Crawl Christmas market, taken on Dec. 3, 2023. (Kristian Tofilovski/CanCulture)

The booth for Janet Holmes Photography at the Toronto Art Crawl Christmas market. (Photograph by Janet Holmes)

Cyan Hill represents Pepper Brew at the Toronto Art Crawl Christmas market booth, taken on Dec. 3, 2023. (Kristian Tofilovski/CanCulture)

The atmospheric and supportive shopping experiences that art markets are able to provide continue to remain unmatched. So, if you are looking for a new way to shop for the holiday season or during the rest of the year, art markets are a great place to check out!

By Serena Lopez

If you’re not an up and coming artist in the Toronto area, you probably haven’t heard of or used a space in the city called a creative hub. Creative hubs, also known as cultural hubs, are on the rise in the arts community in Toronto and have become staple additions to the city’s established art scene.

A creative hub is a facility that is specifically dedicated to providing space and support for networking, business, development and community engagement for individuals within the creative, cultural and tech industries.

Many of the creative hubs that currently exist in the city are built under the Toronto Artscape Foundation. According to the Artscape Foundation’s mission statement, they are made up “of a group of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to creating spaces for creatives and expanding arts development in communities.” They currently have 15 developments in multiple locations in downtown Toronto.

Here’s a breakdown of some of Artscape cultural hubs that are already supporting local artists in the community:

Artscape Youngplace (180 Shaw St.)

Courtesy of Artscape Youngplace/Jeff Hitchcock/Wikimedia Commons

Opened in 2013, Artscape Youngplace is located in the West Queen West neighbourhood. It offers studio spaces for both artists and organizations for rent and hosts artistics programs and events for all ages. They offer various opportunities for artists to show off their work in their space whilst collaborating and networking with other artists both big and small.The facility also features a centre for Indigenous theatre and exhibitions that showcase underground artists’ works that are free and open to the public right in Toronto’s strongest artistic community.

Artscape Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas Street East)

While most creative hubs in the city require membership, this Regent Park facility is completely open to the public and hosts a number of arts programs for youth. This facility hosts a wide range of arts related programs including dancing, art-making, singing and music with various cultural spaces open to the public and organizations. Artscape Daniels Spectrum encourages not only creative expression but to promote community building and a greater appreciation for the arts in the neighbourhood.

Artscape Daniels Launchpad (130 Queens Quay East, East Wing; 4th Floor)

Courtesy of Artscape (artscapeto) via Instagram

This 30,000 square-foot facility opened last fall on Toronto’s Waterfront and specializes in providing programs and entrepreneurial opportunities for artists. With co-working spaces, workshops and innovative creative studios equipped with the latest technology, Artscape Daniels Launchpad inspires and gives artists a way to expand on their work.

Toronto-based filmmaker, Qais Pasha, got a first-hand experience of what Daniels Launchpad had to offer through a program the hub launched in the summer of 2017 before it opened.

“I hadn’t even thought about a plan to make profit off of my work before starting the program at Daniels Launchpad,” said Pasha.

Having no prior professional experience through Daniels Launchpad, Pasha said he was given a grant to support the funding of his feature film project. In addition, he was also provided the tools to expand his skills and teach him how to sustain himself as an upcoming artist. Memberships are required in order to access the space and range from $50-125 per month. Artscape Daniels Launchpad also shares a joint talent space within their facilities called HXOUSE x Launchpad (a Toronto-based creative hub started by The Weeknd and his team), which also commits itself to providing creatives with the resources they need to successfully develop their ideas.