Top 10 Toronto arts events this spring

Toronto’s art scene is filled with art shows, exhibits, gallery openings and big ticket shows year round, and the spring arts season is no exception. This year, art lovers can visit the AGO for the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit, explore Iranian art at the Aga Khan Museum or attend the Powerball, “Toronto’s most notorious art party.” From 2017’s most buzz-worthy exhibitions to the art world’s best fetes, here is your Toronto arts spring preview. [Photo credit: Georgia O’Keeffe @AGO - Georgia O'Keeffe. Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, 1932. Oil on canvas, 121.9 × 101.6 cm. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Photography by Edward C. Robison III]

The one-night event (March 31) at Toronto’s cultural institution 401 Richmond is a fantastic way to infuse a little bit of play into your spring arts circuit. A spin on the traditional Easter egg hunt, the tenants of the building at Spadina and Richmond create trading cards that are hidden through the 200,000 square-foot building. Art hunters can explore the space, discover cards and win prizes. Emerging artists from VIBE Arts host a pop-up marketplace during the after-party (where you can grab a drink and trade cards with fellow hunters). Oh, and of course, there is a photo booth.

80 works from the beloved American modernist painter Georgia O’Keeffe visit the AGO this spring (April 22 to July 30). In collaboration with the Tate Modern, the exhibition features O’Keeffe’s stunning nature and landscape paintings, alongside works by O’Keeffe’s contemporaries, including Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and Alfred Stieglitz.

Power Ball XIX: Stereo Vision closes off the spring arts season and makes way for the summer. Taking place June 1 at the Powerplant Contemporary Art Gallery, this event marks the 19th year celebrating Toronto’s “most notorious art party.” In partnership with fashion house Max Mara, Power Ball takes over the sprawling gallery on Queens Quay, offering evocative art installations and performances, expert cocktails and snacks, and elbow-rubbing with some of the art world’s elite.

Though this internationally renowned photography festival hosts small events and exhibitions year-round, the spring festival is when it floods the city with the work of emerging and well-known photographers from across the world. The 2017 festival launches April 28 at the Ryerson Image Centre and April 29, Petra Collins’ photo exhibition opens at the CONTACT gallery proper

One long weekend in April, Toronto’s beloved boutique hotel hosts its fifth annual art festival exploring the relationship between urbanism, landscape design and contemporary art. With exhibitions and installations that take over the historic Gladstone Hotel on Queen Street West, the festival also hosts a green edition of the hotel’s monthly flea market, as well as a special event for Earth Day.

The historic dance hall on Queen Street West hosts an exhibition that explores the multi-faceted nature of Canadian identity through photographs. Set in the site’s newly renovated main hall, Humans of the North commemorates Canada’s 150th birthday with lifestyle photography, music and interactive installations from a group of Canadian artists. Cash bar, snacks and party to follow? Check.

Make sure you schedule a day at the Aga Khan Museum for this poignant group show running Feb. 4 to June 4, 2017. The sprawling site is located off the DVP and is complete with gorgeous outdoor gardens, so you can double up on gallery-going and sunshine-basking. 23 contemporary Iranian artists have contributed works to Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians, which examines self-expression and cultural rebellion through large-scale installations, paintings, photography and more

The Art Gallery of Ontario’s annual fundraising party, Massive, is easily one of Toronto’s most buzzed about parties. Hosting near 2,000 people, it’s not hard to understand why this year’s Machine Age Massive is a must-attend for art world folks. The event explores the relationship between humanity and machine (alongside cocktails, snacks and a dance party that last into the wee hours of the morning), featuring artists Harly Valentine, Trudy Elmore and Jon Sasaki. The event happens April 27; Massive tickets are currently on sale for $165.

This famous mecca for Canadian art is located just beyond the city limits in Vaughan, but it’s well worth the short commute to witness the largest collection of Canadian Aboriginal art in the world (it’s also the burial site of six of the 7 Group of Seven artists – spooky!). Spring 2017 sees the opening of two fantastic exhibitions at the gallery: Size Matters, which features Steve Driscoll and photographer Finn O’Hara and riff off the relationship between urban and rural sites, alongside Arctic Echoes which showcases stunning Inuit art, set to the sounds of the Arctic environment, Inuit songs and instrumental performances.

Running Feb 12 to May 21 at Canada’s renowned ceramic museum in Toronto, Janet Macpherson’s exhibition is a must-see in the sea of art programming put on for the Canadian sester-centennial. The ceramic exhibition features Macpherson’s signature spliced ceramic animals in installations that fill the four rooms of the gallery and are accented by video and audio work.