Art Toronto 2026

Tara Francis is a Mi’kmaq artist from Elsipogtog First Nation, specializing in Porcupine quillwork as well as silk painting and acrylic painting. She considers herself a contemporary artist, influenced by traditional techniques and teachings, bringing them forward in new forms and forums addressing the Indigenous voice in a modern world. She considers her work part of her own personal spiritual journey, a blessing to the Wabanaki people, honouring the symbols and traditions of her ancestors, and passing them forward to the next generation.

She attended the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD), where she received her Certificate of Native Art Study and Fine Craft Diploma in Surface Design, going on to obtain an Aboriginal Creation grant from ArtsNB to build a body of work inspired by the Mi’kmaq Petroglyphs of Kejimkujik NS. Her work has been featured on APTN’s Wabanakik documentary series, as well as various arts columns and magazines.

Using the traditional materials of the Mi’kmaq, native to the territory, birch bark, porcupine quills and sweet grass, I have created these ideal shapes based on my experiences with each element while I was at Kouchibouguac Park. In the Earth Cube, for example, I depict the raccoon we thought was a bear in the middle of the night, the squirrel that kept me company while I made my morning coffee, the view from the forest floor while I quilled from my screen tent. The apple and bunchberry blossoms and unfurling fiddleheads into beautiful ferns. Our teachings say that the spirit world is reversed from the physical plane, so the dodecahedron is a rendering of a reversed night sky with the Big and Little Dippers encircling it. The Octahedron shows the daytime sky and clouds and one mosquito, which made every moment of our residency a challenge. The Icosahedron depicts the view from Calendar’s Beach and the Tetrahedron, our nightly bonfire, where we would all gather and roast marshmallows, or make bannock on a stick, while we shared our stories with each other. 

Sylvie Pilotte s'inspire de l'observation des mœurs propres à son environnement pour tenter d’en comprendre les valeurs sociales, ces valeurs qui semblent immuables, voire incontournables, et qui influencent nos comportements collectifs. Aussi, suivant l'idée selon laquelle un système capitaliste et patriarcal puisse tirer les ficelles d'une société axée sur l'image, elle cherche à déconstruire cette image en privilégiant une esthétique anarchique obtenue à l'aide d’agencements incongrus de fragments visuels en rupture avec leur contexte original. Dans un processus de création basé sur l'improvisation, les fragments sont sélectionnés pour leur suggestivité. 

Sa technique compte notamment le collage, le dessin, le crayon marqueur et l'intégration d'objets. Par l'entremise du photomontage, la photo noir et blanc est jumelée à celle en couleur de manière à imbriquer le passé dans le présent et nourrir une réflexion sur la technologie, l'écologie, le féminisme. Aussi, s'intéresse-t-elle aux individus marginalisés, et plus particulièrement à la femme.

Sylvie Pilotte is inspired by the observation of the mores specific to her environment in an attempt to understand its social values, these values ​​which seem immutable, even unavoidable, and which influence our collective behaviour. Also, following the idea that a capitalist and patriarchal system can pull the strings of an image-oriented society, she seeks to deconstruct this image by favouring an anarchic aesthetic obtained with the help of incongruous arrangements of visual fragments breaking with their original context. In a creative process based on improvisation, the fragments are selected for their suggestiveness.

Her technique includes collage, drawing, pencil markers and the integration of objects. Through photomontage, the black and white photo is paired with the coloured one so as to interweave the past in the present and nurture a reflection on technology, ecology, feminism. Also, she is interested in marginalized individuals, and more particularly in women.

Carol Collicutt has been a practicing professional artist in New Brunswick for over 30 years.  She holds two Bachelors degrees, in English Literature, and in Education, and a diploma from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Carol has exhibited at such venues as Gallery Connexion, the City of Saint John Galleries in Saint John, the CBC Georges Goguen Gallery in Moncton, ArtsPlace in Annapolis Royal, NS, Confederation Centre, Charlottetown, eyelevelgallery and the Mary E Black Gallery in Halifax, and most recently at Galerie Coline at the University of Moncton at Edmundston.  Her work has also been part of many group exhibitions in the Atlantic Provinces, and the United States.

Ned Bear (1954-2019) was a sculptor from the Wolistoqiyik First Nations Community in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Bear, inspired by a Native Elder carver as a young boy, received formal training at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, where he became the first aboriginal student to graduate. Bear received additional training at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (now the First Nations University of Canada), the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and the University of New Brunswick, where he obtained a Bachelor of Education.

Bear created sculpted masks and marble or limestone figure forms. His masks are approximately three feet high and are usually carved from butternut or yellow birch. Each mask is adorned with horse hair (symbolizing the free spirit), bear fur (symbolizing healing), and/or metal (symbolizing something which is of the earth). Each mask or “spirit helper” tells a story and offers a modern interpretation of traditional spiritual beliefs. When creating art, Bear considered himself to be simply a vehicle through which energy flows from the eternal Great Spirit to the medium he is using. He said: “I prepare no preliminary designs or sketches for any of my work...allowing the spirit to guide me, and the medium to speak on its own behalf.”

Ned Bear made significant contributions as an instructor of Native art and culture, a curator, a guest speaker, and a juror. He served as the Director of Education for Saint Mary’s First Nation and as a member of the New Brunswick Arts Board. In 2006, he won first prize at the prestigious Face the Nation competition at the UC Davis Design Museum.

Since the early 1970s, Terry Graff has maintained a disciplined studio practice as a visual artist, and has exhibited his art regionally, nationally, and internationally. He is the recipient of major sculpture commissions, acquisitions, grants, and awards, and has conducted numerous talks, lectures and workshops across the country.

Born in Cambridge (Galt), Ontario, Graff studied Fine Art at the Doon School of Fine Arts, Doon, Ontario, and Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, London, Ontario. He received a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, and a B.Ed in Visual Arts from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. He also studied art history, philosophy of art, media arts, and art education at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, received a postgraduate diploma in Fine Art (M.F.A. equivalent) from the Jan Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, the Netherlands, and holds a M.A. in Art Education from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia (Thesis: Art and Ecological Vision). 

In addition to his studio practice, Graff also maintained a distinguished career as a curator, art educator, art writer, and gallery director. He has served as Director of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery (NB), the Mendel Art Gallery (SK), Rodman Hall Arts Centre (ON), Confederation Centre Art Gallery (PEI), and the artist-run Struts Gallery (NB). He has curated over 200 exhibitions and has authored numerous articles, catalogues, and books on both contemporary and historical art. In addition, he was a high school art teacher, an education curator for the Art Gallery of Windsor, an instructor of drawing and sculpture at Mount Allison University, an instructor in the Arts and Culture Management Program at the University of New Brunswick, the founder and co-editor of the magazine BILLIE: Undercurrents in Atlantic Canadian Visual Culture, and currently chief editor of A-Vista, an AICA Canada publication. 

Graff has received several awards in recognition of his various cultural contributions across Canada, including the Fanshawe College Distinguished Alumni Award; The Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan (Official Honour of the Crown recognizing individuals who have made a significant contribution to the Province of Saskatchewan); the Christina Sabat Award for Art Criticism in Atlantic Canada sponsored by the Sheila Hugh MacKay Foundation; Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Museums in Canada and to the Activities of the Canadian Museums Association; and two eagle feathers from the Mi’kmaq First Nation for his work in promoting the art of aboriginal artists. 

Chan Polchies is a Two-Spirit Indigenous artist from Woodstock First Nation. They started their career at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design studying both Aboriginal Arts and Jewelry/Metal Arts. Their work combines leather, traditional loom beading, and chased/repoussé metal. They hand form metal with a technique called Chasing and Repoussé. Chasing is a technique in which metal is hammered from the front to sink the metal, and Repousse is a similar technique but instead the metal is hammered from the reverse side to create a low relief design. 

Creating art connects them with their culture and lets them tell stories in a tactile form. They love telling stories because they feel storytelling is important in educating people on culture and history, or in having something that conveys feelings. 

Chan’s work was displayed in the Sterling Jewelry/Metal Arts Student Annual Exhibition in 2016-2017, the Momentum Advanced Studio Practice exhibition in 2018, the Wabanaki Exhibition in 2020-2021 and the Kmawqupiyapon (we are sitting in the same circle) Exhibition, 2022. They were the recipient of the 2017 Brilliant Award from the NBCCD Student Metalsmith Competition. They also attended the Kingsbrae International Residency for the Arts.

Carol Taylor is an Atlantic Canadian artist who has worked figuratively for 15 years. Bisque and glazed clay have been her primary medium in both flat work and three dimensional figures. Born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, she grew up in a rural area of Apohaqui, N.B., then moved to Saint John for three years to study art at the former Saint John Vocational School under Fred Ross and Ted Campbell. Further training came from night classes with Rosamond Campbell, workshops with Tom Smith (raku), Joyce Weiland, Robyn Wall (printer) and Bruce O'Neil of Saskatchewan.

She received a sculpture commission for the City of Saint John in 1995. The approximately 11' sq. piece is made of 6" sq. clay tiles and is titled The Figurehead; it is installed under the clock on the outside the Germain St. entrance to the Saint John City Market. Over the past ten years she has been in exhibitions curated by Shirley Bear, Tom Smart, Linda Dornan and Roslyn Rosenfeld.

Michael Khoury (b. 1950, Lebanon) is a visual artist based in New Brunswick with a prolific career spanning over 40 years. Since immigrating to Fredericton in 1959, he has developed a deeply reflective practice in painting and photography that explores the natural and built environments of New Brunswick, weaving in themes of heritage, symbolism, and cultural longing. Known for illuminating intimate portrayals of domestic life and tributes to the influential people around him, Khoury’s artworks resonate at the intersection of memory and history, elevating mundane moments with reverence and depth. Diverse professional experiences inform Khoury’s unique artistic lens, and his unwavering dedication to his practice has earned him widespread respect and admiration across Canada’s creative community.

Khoury earned a BA in Biology from the University of New Brunswick before launching a successful entrepreneurial career in the fashion industry with his wife, Nadia. While raising four children, they ran three retail stores in the Fredericton Mall for 21 years, introducing brands like Mexx and ESPRIT to the city for the first time. His experience in fashion significantly influenced his artistry. He studied photography under the renowned photographer Freeman Patterson, who accompanied Khoury on a research trip to Lebanon, Khoury’s home country. Khoury received formal training from the late Canadian war artist Molly Lamb Bobak, who helped shape his distinctive painting style during his formative years. He also continued to develop his photography repertoire, focusing on the lush and ever-changing maritime landscape.

Khoury dedicates a significant portion of his time to research-driven practice, including an eight-month self-directed residency in Paris, where he established a studio across from the Louvre. Through daily museum visits, he studied significant art movements, including Romanticism and Modern Expressionism, while developing a deep appreciation for the innovation from the early Renaissance to the modern era. Influenced by masters like Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli, Khoury balanced his study of historical works by capturing the dynamic life of the Parisian streets, pushing and evolving his own visual language.

Khoury’s works are held in notable public and private collections, including the Presidential Palace of Togo, Africa; the 2003 Canadian Ambassador to France, Raymond Chrétien; The Honourable Frank McKenna, former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations; the University of New Brunswick Art Centre; and Jeunesse Musicales. He has exhibited internationally including, but not limited to, Galerie Kastel Gallery (Montreal, QC); Gallery Ehden (Lebanon); Andrew and Laura McCain Gallery (Florenceville, N.B.); Hollander York Gallery (Toronto, ON); Whistler Village Art Gallery (Whistler, B.C.); Aitken Bicentennial Exhibition Centre; (Saint John, N.B.); Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Fredericton N.B.); FUNF Gallery (Montreal, QC) and Gallery on Queen (Fredericton, N.B.).

For many years, Khoury was represented by Kastel Gallery in Westmount, Montreal, before building a permanent home at Gallery on Queen in Fredericton.

Austin Daigle b. 1995, is a Fredericton based artist working in painting, jewelry, sculpture, writing and photography. He graduated from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design in 2017 from Jewelery and Metal Arts and has since worked as an art preperator for Gallery on Queen, displaying work for a number of public art exhibitions and installations and working with artists across the province