Canada

Toronto Biennial spotlights 36 artists—from international stars to emerging Canadian talents—at venues across the city

The biennial’s third edition, organised by co-curators Dominique Fontaine and Miguel A. López under the theme “Precarious Joys”, spans artist-run spaces, major museums and the airport

Alleged leader of ‘biggest art fraud in the world’ sentenced in Canada

Prosecutors described David Voss as the leader of a forgery ring that created thousands of fake works by Norval Morrisseau

Art Gallery of Ontario receives 37 works from late telecoms executive's estate

Philip B. Lind left the Toronto museum a trove of works by Stan Douglas, Jeff Wall, Ai Weiwei, William Kentridge, Laurie Simmons and others

Second lawsuit to halt development of mega-spa on Toronto Modernist landscape is dismissed

The fate of the landmarked Ontario Science Centre also hangs in the balance of the redevelopment dispute over Ontario Place

Prizesnews

Former Art Gallery of Ontario curator wins Canadian foundation’s curatorial award

Wanda Nanibush and the artist Curtis Santiago are the recipients of this year’s Hnatyshyn Foundation Mid-Career Awards

Alex Janvier, visionary First Nations artist based in Canada, has died, aged 89

A prolific painter helped open doors for contemporary artists at a time when Indigenous art was often confined to ethnographic museums

Prizesnews

Artists Christi Belcourt, Joe Average and bill bissett receive one of Canada’s highest honours

The artists—and pop star Avril Lavigne—were among 83 new appointees to the Order of Canada

Legal challenge to preserve Toronto's Ontario Place rejected as mega-spa project moves forward

In addition, it was discovered that the provincial government agreed to pay almost C$1m to make its controversial case for moving the Ontario Science Centre, which closed permanently Friday due to structural decay

The Indigenous artist brightly patching up a Toronto expressway

Nico Williams has created a series of colourful interventions along an elevated highway that cuts through the city centre

After meeting with Pope Francis, Canada’s Justin Trudeau reiterates call for return of Indigenous artefacts from Vatican Museums

Last spring Pope Francis said “this is going on, with Canada”, but since there has been little movement on repatriation

Prizesnews

Finalists for Canada’s top art prize, the Sobey Art Award, revealed

From an initial field of 30 nominees, a shortlist of just six artists is now competing for the prize

Wreck of the ship Ernest Shackleton died on found off the coast of Canada

The famed explorer died aboard the Quest in 1922; the ship sank in the Labrador Sea 40 years later

Alleged ringleader of Canada’s ‘biggest art fraud’ pleads guilty

David Voss reportedly led a forgery operation that created more than 1,500 fake Norval Morrisseau works over 23 years

‘Electric’ mood at Heffel’s spring sales in Toronto leads to new auction records for Mary Pratt and Takao Tanabe

Works by Jean Paul Riopelle, Emily Carr, Tom Thomson and other titans of Canadian art history contributed to the evening’s total take of C$22.6m

Prizesnews

Pool of artists vying for Canada’s top art prize expands with addition of new regional category

Thirty artists are nominated for the Sobey Art Award this year, with the total purse for the award growing to C$465,000

Redevelopment of Modernist complex on Toronto waterfront alarms residents and preservationists

The provincial government passed legislation to push through a controversial, publicly funded development of Ontario Place

Prizesnews

Eight artists and curators receive Canada’s Governor General’s Award

This year’s winners of the prestigious Canadian honour include the Inuk artist Shuvinai Ashoona and Saskatchewan-based curator Michelle Jacques

Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum reveals details of $97m renovation project

The institution's “gift to the city, the province and beyond”, OpenROM will upgrade its public space, improve accessibility and add 6,000 sq. ft of galleries

Art Gallery of Ontario under pressure to explain Indigenous art curator’s ousting

Wanda Nanibush left the institution after a letter accusing her of “hate speech” was circulated by the group Israel Museums and Arts, Canada

Canadian museum removing name of former director and Nazi supporter Ferdinand Eckhardt from its entrance hall

The longtime Winnipeg Art Gallery director's Order of the Buffalo Hunt, one of Manitoba’s highest honours, has also been posthumously rescinded

A tangled mess: Canadian forgery scandal comes into full public view

An exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery grapples with how the museum ended up with ten fake works previously attributed to J.E.H. MacDonald, a member of the famous Group of Seven

Protesters calling for Gaza ceasefire stage die-in at Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The action, staged on International Human Rights Day, lasted 64 minutes in observance of the 64 days since the Israel-Hamas war began

Leaked report suggests Canada may abandon prime minister's crumbling home

The historic property in Ottawa needs more than $27m worth of repairs, but creating a brand new residence could cost more

Canadian Museum of History acquires artist’s memorial to victims of the country’s residential schools

Stanley C. Hunt’s memorial monument features carvings of 130 faces, representing Indigenous children whose remains were found in unmarked graves near a school site

Marisol, the once popular Pop artist, is back in the spotlight in major travelling show

A retrospective opening at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts gives overdue attention to the work of the Venezuelan American who graced fashion magazine covers in the 1960s before fading away from the limelight

Prizesnews

Lakota artist Dana Claxton, whose work subverts assumptions about Indigenous identity, wins one of Canada’s top art prizes

The Audain Prize, given annually to an artist based in British Columbia, comes with a C$100,000 cash prize

Film review

An experimental ‘art heist’ film leaves paintings in the vault and strands unresolved

Director Isiah Media’s new film “He Thought He Died”, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, was shot in part inside the storage facilities of an Ontario museum

Canada imposes sanctions on director of Russia’s State Hermitage Museum

Canada is the first country other than Ukraine to sanction Mikhail Piotrovsky for his support of Russia’s invasion

Artist duo Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller open dedicated space for their work in rural Canada

The work and life partners converted a former furniture showroom into a venue for their complex, large-scale installations

Remnants of First Nation village, including 1,000-year-old fish trap, discovered in Canada

A dig on Vancouver Island has revealed archaeological remnants of a 250-person fishing community