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adventures IN ART |
The Carlu and Environs
Guided tour and afternoon tea at the Carlu (fabulously restored Eaton Auditorium, dining room and private event facility) plus visit to either
- Gallery Arcturus, Foundation for the Study of Objective Art or
- Gallery Neubacher, an elegant contemporary art gallery or
- the Arts and Letters Club, founded by members of the Group of Seven and repository of wonderful portraits and archival treasures.
Historic Distillery Complex (Daytime)
Tour the newly unveiled Distillery District, a 10-acre site comprising more than forty Victorian industrial buildings retrofitted for arts and entertainment purposes with stops at four fine art and fine craft galleries plus a studio visit at the Artscape artists' building. We'll stop for an organic beer at the Mill Street Brewery and finish with chowder or fresh seafood at the Pure Spirits Oyster House or a comparable restaurant in the complex.
Historic Distillery Complex (Late Afternoon/Early Evening)
As above, but ending with an elegant and memorable dinner at Perigee, a fine-dining experience limited to 25 guests. Enjoy chatting with the chef about the day's menu in this new open-kitchen restaurant.
Toronto's New Art Scene
Funky new galleries are sprouting all over the West Queen West area. Visit Virus Arts, Lehmann Leskiw & Schedler Fine Art, Peter-Richmond Gallery, Greener Pastures, Goodwater and meet the young gallerists who are turning the art scene on its head.
Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation
Guided tour of Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation's renowned international contemporary art collection magisterially housed in a renovated uniform factory. Hendeles is one of the top 50 contemporary art collectors in the world. We'll also visit an artist's studio in the area and end with drinks at Crush.
Yorkville Gallery District
Within a three-block radius in the tony Yorkville district, there are more than twenty art galleries. Based on your interests, Betty Ann will take you on a tour of the best of them, and introduce you to some of the top dealers and artists in the city. We'll end with afternoon tea at the Park-Hyatt or the Four Seasons Hotel (optional)
*FREE* Yorkville: First Thursday evening Artwalks
On the first Thursday of every month (except January) Betty Ann Jordan and her team of expert Art InSite guides lead a free walking tour of the Yorkville gallery district, sponsored by participating galleries. Join us after 6 pm. at the Rotunda in the lower level of Hazelton Lanes, accessible via entrances at 55 or 87 Avenue Rd. Tours depart at 6:30 pm sharp and last for 1 1/2 hours.
Historic St Lawrence District
Walking tour of about 2 1/2 hours' duration involving visits to the St. Lawrence Hall, Farmer's Market, Toronto's First Post Office, St. James Cathedral and adjacent period garden. We'll also visit a craft gallery, several art galleries, and a quality second-hand bookstore that also specializes in old maps, documents, prints.
Artist Encounters
(sample encounters. Possibilities are limitless.)
- Charles Pachter: Famous for his Queen on a Moose and other pop-art visions of Canada's history and culture, Charles is a wonderful raconteur and painter with a good selection of landscapes and Hockey-esque evocations of cultural icons.
- Vivian Reiss: Her upbeat still-lifes and portraits are reminiscent of the French Post-impressionist Raol Dufy. Meet the intrepid Reiss and view her art in her home in Yorkville, a legendary combination of casbah and Victorian fantasy, which also houses her many collections, including a collection of doll-house kitchens, buttons, paintbrushes from the four corners of the world, and military costumes.
- Andrea Marcus: Marcus has custom-built her home to be a private gallery showcasing her glass art. Meet the artist and see her work in a unique setting in Forest Hill
Private Galleries
Marcia Rafelman Fine Arts: see a wide selection of well-priced Canadian and international contemporary art located in a beautifully renovated home especially designed for the showcasing and sale of art.
Sacred Art
Mark Thompson's glass art installations at St. Christopher's Church in Etobicoke, plus studio visit with internationally acclaimed stained glass artist, Sarah Hall.
Boutique Hotels
Behind the scenes tours of two new boutique hotels in Toronto led by the designers / artists, including Two by Four Design and James Lahey at Hotel St. Germain. View glass canopy by Dale Chihuly at Soho Metropolitan. Treats at Sen5ses Cafe.
Harbourfront in the Summer
Spend a glorious afternoon on Toronto's waterfront, exploring several of the more than two-dozen artists' gardens, and the Toronto Music Garden, inspired by the music of Bach and co-sponsored by Yo Yo Ma. We'll see cutting-edge contemporary interrnational art at the Power Plant gallery, and meet glass, ceramic, metal and textile artists at the Harbourfront Craft Studios. We'll break for drinks and boat-watching at an outdoor cafe by the water, then, with art collecting and gifts in mind, visit several Inuit and First Nations art and fine craft galleries and a fine craft boutique.
Art and Collecting: Spadina & King Environs
We'll tour a landmark renovated industrial building occupied by scores of galleries, studios and cultural entrepreneurs, seeing firsthand why developers come from as far away as Japan to check out this arts nexus complete with a magnificent roof-top garden. Along with several gallery visits to lively contemporary commercial and artist-run galleries, we'll have a break at a favourite arts cafe before exploring several other gallery buildings. Betty Ann will point out great restaurants and clubs in the area, famed for its fashion and entertainment venues and, if it's a Saturday afternoon**, we'll end up at the famed Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation. The latter is a private foundation showcasing extraordinary international art, amassed by a Toronto collector who is annually included in the Art News top 100 collectors' list.
**Ydessa Hendeles Fdn. open Saturdays from 1 to 4 pm only.
First Nations Art and Culture
Canada's First Nations art has garnered great acclaim, ranging from the carved masks and totemic sculptures of the West Coast artists to the shamanic carvings in stone and bone of the Inuit. We'll visit several uptown galleries, take a break in a Yorkville cafe, then head downtown, with five commercial galleries on our list.
We'll meet several leading gallerists who will share their in-depth knowledge of Canada's indigenous art and artists, and, for the uninitiated, learn more about the spiritual, cultural and market-related aspects of this most fascinating and unique art. First Nations art is compelling and very affordable, so collectors take note.
Special Themed Tours
- Ceramics and Fine Craft.
- Textile art. Art-glass.
- Jewellery.
- 20th century furniture and collectibles.
- Historic art.
- Second-hand and antiquary books.
- Independent Fashion Designers.
- Chic Restaurant Interiors.
- Artful Eateries. etc. and most especially,
- Artist Encounters.