Gallery Visits Toronto

THROUGH Opening Reception

New paintings by Mark Viola explore layered identity, movement, and perception through translucent, process-driven works. Through explores translucence, movement, and the layered nature of perception. Figures emerge and recede within surfaces that reveal the process of their making, inviting viewers to look beyond the immediate image toward what lies beneath. In this way, the act of painting becomes inseparable from the subject itself. The accumulation of layers echoes the psychological and emotional weight carried by each figure, suggesting that identity is not static, but continuously constructed, obscured, and revealed over time. Rather than offering resolution, the works remain open—holding space for ambiguity, motion, and multiple readings. Through ultimately asks not only what we see, but how we see, and what might be uncovered when we choose to look beyond the surface. [ENROLL NOW](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/through-opening-reception-tickets-1989021637260?aff=ebdssbdestsearch)

Free Admission: International Ceramic Art Fair + Food/Drinks (Gardiner Museum)

On **Wednesday August 12th,** **explore the International Ceramic Art Fair** (ICAF) before it leaves the Gardiner Museum on August 16th! The ICAF is the Gardiner Museum’s biennial celebration of innovation and contemporary directions in ceramics, inviting visitors to discover how the boundaries of craftsmanship are being redefined in clay. ICAF 2026 has been expanded from a 10-day event to a 12-week exhibition and public program exploring how ceramics is evolving across art, design, and emerging technologies. At the heart of this year’s edition is the theme “the city and the commons,” presenting ceramics as both material and method for examining how we live together in rapidly changing cities. From architecture to infrastructure, ceramics shelter, connect, and ground us, offering new ways to think about belonging, resilience, and shared space. It's a must-visit for anyone who loves contemporary art. **Additional Exhibits** * In Search of Imperfection: The Macdonald Collection of Japanese and Japanese-Inspired Ceramics * Highways of Harlan House **COST** Free Admission Meetup fee: $5 *** **SIGNING-UP** * **Simply RSVP Yes confirming if you will join for food/drinks after** * RSVPs close 1 day prior, and cancellations after will result in a No Show and impact future attendance. * You can also just show up and join us at the event meetup spot and time * A reminder will go out the day before with my cell and details when to meet, etc. ‐‐----‐----‐‐-------------‐----------- **MEETUP TIME** **Meet me at 6pm** **inside the entrance of The Gardiner Museum at 111 Queen's Park.** We will then head over to the ICAF exhibit at the Special Exhibition Hall on the 3rd Floor. Members are welcome to come and go as they please, and visit the Store. After: Meet at the initial meetup spot to head out for food and drinks Enjoy and please post your Comments after!

Pottery Night: Clay, Creativity & Community

Pottery Night at Orkid Gallery! All tools included. No experience needed—just come create, connect & sip tea with us! 3-hour workshop.

Impressionists at the AGO

Visionary Public Speaking Club - Practice Your Public Speaking Skills With Us

Are you looking to enhance your public speaking skills and boost your confidence? If so, then join us for an exciting Public Speaking meeting! Get inspired by one of the prepared speeches, or be brave and participate in our fun table topics. The meetings at our club provide a save space for you to practice speaking in front of others, receive constructive feedback, and develop your public speaking skills. We believe that everyone can learn how to become a great speaker and we welcome everyone who want to join us in person for one of our meetings and improve their public speaking skills. Don't miss out on this chance to take your public speaking skills to the next level and meet other like-minded individuals. Join us at our next meeting and start building your confidence and leadership skills today! Please reach out to the Event Host if you have any questions. This event is not hosted by or sponsored by the Toronto Public Library

Private Guided Tour New Art Trail on New Toronto Island + Dinner

**Note: I have arranged a private guided tour to see both East and West Trails.** On **Saturday August 8th**, **take a Private Guided Tour of the New Lassonde Art Trail (LAT), that opened late June with its final art installation completed on July 25th. LAT is part of the new Biidaasige Park, situated on the extraordinary site of a new island in the Toronto harbour archipelago, with the TTC stop and parking across the street**. This is the largest park to open in Toronto in a generation. LAT is a series of 15 interconnected public art sites spanning over 4 km of paths that weave through 60 acres of new parkland along Toronto’s waterfront. LAT believes public art enhances wellbeing, guides respectful dialogue and opens our eyes to how we steward the environment. Tours are subject to cancellation in the event of adverse weather. So if the forecast calls for rain, I will make a call 3 hours prior to the event start time. LAT is at the heart of a massive $1.4 billion project that rerouted the mouth of the Don River and built flood protection for downtown Toronto. This feat of civil and bioengineering created a new island in the city harbour called Ookwemin Minising. The project established a new river valley with functional wetlands and 60 acres of publicly accessible open space along the riverbanks and inner harbour. It cleaned and restored soils contaminated from past industrialization, and naturally accommodated the effects of flooding and erosion. In the process it re-established aquatic and terrestrial habitat where Indigenous species of plants and animals can thrive. **Prepare for the walk:** * Walking shoes * Hat * Sunglasses * Water ‐‐----‐----‐‐-------------‐----------- **COST:** Meetup Organizer Fee: $5 ‐‐----‐----‐‐-------------‐----------- **SIGNING-UP** * **RSVP and confirm joining after for food/drinks** * A reminder will be sent the day before with my cell and reminder details where to meet and when. RSVPs close 1 day prior or until full, and all cancellations will result in a No Show and impact future attendance. **MEETUP TIME** **Meet at: 3:45pm** **to the right side, outside of The Old Fire Hall 30 at 51 Commissioners St. I will wait 5 min, then we will join the rest of the tour group.** **Tour starts:** **4pm** **Tour length: 40 mins** After: Food and Drinks at a nearby restaurant Enjoy and please post your Comments in the event after

Consumerism and The Good life

Do We Own Things, or Do Things Own Us? At Auravista Gathering 5, we will explore the relationship between consumerism, media, advertising, and our idea of a good life—a conversation about how our desires are shaped and whether having more necessarily means living better. 🎙️ Five open mic spots are available for those who would like to share a five-minute personal reflection or experience. Please send us a DM to participate.

Indoor Draw & Sketch Hangout - MaRS Discovery District

Hi everyone! We're doing an afternoon sketching hangout at the MaRS Building food court tables- Enter MaRS from Collage Street where the statue of two men are sitting by the glass doors. Turn left and head down the escalator. Turn left at the bottom of the escalator and head down the hall past another escalator and Foosball table the event will be held at the far end of the food court. **First time meeting us and still not sure about the vibe?** Check out photos from **[past in-person events of 2023](https://www.meetup.com/artsrecto/photos/34212927/)** Please bring your art supplies. Digital tablet, dry mediums, watercolour set, really anything that doesn't smell and is non toxic and easy to clean up. Please be considerate and leave the space as clean as it was before. Feel free to grab a drink or snack if you'd like. *Note the food court is closed but there are a couple of coffee shops in the area at street level. **Where to meet exactly?** MaRS Discovery District at 2pm **How to get there?** \- Public transit \- get off at Queens Park subway station\, walk East along Collage you should see glass doors with a statue of two men sitting at a table outside\. Instructions stated above Looking forward to meeting you all :) ================ **Support This Group 🥰🤩** We hope you're enjoying the Arts & Rec events! If you'd like to give support, please consider making a small Ko-fi donation of $5-10 USD at [https://www.ko-fi.com/artsnrectoronto](https://www.ko-fi.com/artsnrectoronto.) . This helps cover meetup and miscellaneous expenses with hosting events! For more inquiries, please PM me for more info! Thank you all so much!

Impromptu Sketching Hangout - The Well (Food Court)

Hi everyone! We're doing an afternoon impromptu hangout at The Well (food court) **First time meeting us and still not sure about the vibe?** Check out photos from **[past in-person events of 2023](https://www.meetup.com/artsrecto/photos/34212927/)** Bring your art supplies (mainly dry medium or small watercolour set), and order a warm drink and snacks. **Where to meet exactly?** The Well food court **How to get there?** From Union station, 1) it's an 18 minute west walking on Front Street OR 2) take the 'street car' / bus #510 and get off at Front Street. Looking forward to meeting you all :) =========================== **Support This Group 🥰🤩** We hope you're enjoying the Arts & Rec events! If you'd like to give support, please consider making a small Ko-fi donation of $5-10 USD at [https://www.ko-fi.com/artsnrectoronto](https://www.ko-fi.com/artsnrectoronto.) . This helps cover meetup and miscellaneous expenses with hosting events! For more inquiries, please PM me for more info! Thank you all so much!

🚶‍♂️Private Guided Walking Tour New Art Trail on the New Toronto Island + Food

**Note: I have arranged for a private guided tour of both East and West art trails**. On **Saturday August 8th**, **take a Private Guided Walking Tour of the New Lassonde Art Trail (LAT), that opened late June with its final art installation completed on July 25th. LAT is part of the new Biidaasige Park, situated on the extraordinary site of a new island in the Toronto harbour archipelago with the TTC stop and parking across the street**. This is the largest park to open in Toronto in a generation. LAT is a series of 15 interconnected public art sites spanning over 4 km of paths that weave through 60 acres of new parkland along Toronto’s waterfront. LAT believes public art enhances wellbeing, guides respectful dialogue and opens our eyes to how we steward the environment. Tours are subject to cancellation in the event of adverse weather. So if the forecast calls for rain, I will make a call 3 hours prior to the event start time. LAT is at the heart of a massive $1.4 billion project that rerouted the mouth of the Don River and built flood protection for downtown Toronto. This feat of civil and bioengineering created a new island in the city harbour called Ookwemin Minising. The project established a new river valley with functional wetlands and 60 acres of publicly accessible open space along the riverbanks and inner harbour. It cleaned and restored soils contaminated from past industrialization, and naturally accommodated the effects of flooding and erosion. In the process it re-established aquatic and terrestrial habitat where Indigenous species of plants and animals can thrive. **Prepare for the walk:** * Walking shoes * Hat * Sunglasses * Water * **SIGNING-UP** * **RSVP Yes, and confirm joining after for food/drinks** * A reminder will be sent the day before with my cell and reminder details where to meet and when. RSVPs close 1 day prior or until full. All cancellations will result in a No Show. 🗓️ **Event Details** 📍 **Meet me: 3:45pm** **to the right side, outside of The Old Fire Hall 30 at 51 Commissioners St. Then we will join the rest of the tour group.** 🚶‍♂️ **Tour Starts:** **4pm** ⏱️ **Tour Length:** 40 mins **After:** Head over to a local restaurant for food and drinks 🎟️ **Cost:** $5 📲 **Join Our WhatsApp Group:** [Click here to join](#) 🎥 **A Quick Word About Walking Etiquette** Please: * Turn the sound off on your phone * Don’t talk while the tour guide is speaking * Be respectful of others Repeat offenders will be removed from the group. 👥 **About the Group** This event is open to everyone — single, not single, shy, social, new in town or a long-time local. We're a group for people who love movies *and* making real connections. We also do walks, hikes, restaurants, arts & culture — come be part of it! 🎬 **Group** **Organized by:** Matthew 📧 Questions? Reach out: **torontomoviesandoutings@hotmail.com**

Fashion Implied/Lingerie/Fine Art w/ Katie Marie from LA (#2)

Fashion Implied/Lingerie/Fine Art w/ Katie Marie from LA