Toronto art galleries are a popular attraction in the city. In the late 1940's and early 50's an influx of Europeans set up studios in Toronto drawing attention to their artwork, then locals became more comfortable showing off their creations. 

Before long an art community was born. Today the city of Toronto has a huge art audience with over 60 art galleries.

Toronto's galleries show a wide range of exhibitions. Paintings, photography, glass art, sculptures, gothic art, textiles, and ceramic are examples. Some of the finest galleries in North American can be found along Toronto's Queen Street West and in the Bloor/Yorkville area.

Over the last 25 years music, fashion and visual arts has taken over the Queen West area. Today art dominates the community and it is known internationally as an artistic destination. It draws millions of tourists.

The Bloor/Yorkville neighbourhood has always been synonymous with style and culture so it only makes sense that some of the cities outstanding galleries would be set up in this area. 

While Queen West and Yorkville are obvious art neighbourhoods, keep the Distillery District in mind as well. Not only is this area host to a number of great galleries, the restored Victorian industrial buildings are interesting to look at. Check out www.thedistrillerydistrict.com for more details.

Toronto's art community has always been able to sustain itself due to the pool of talented artists, as well as the support of city officials. 

In fact, the City of Toronto has its own art collection; over 2 thousand paintings, prints and sculptures. City Council has been helping sponsor art exhibits since the late 1800's.

It would take too long to describe every gallery and museum in Toronto that carries and sells artwork. However, when art enthusiasts think of the city there are a few places that automatically come to mind; the Art Gallery of Ontario or AGO, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art; referred to as MOCCA, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and Masluk McLeod Gallery.

Perhaps Toronto's most famous gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario was founded in 1900. It is one of North American's largest art facilities, with over 80,000 works in its collection, including pieces from Canada and around the world. For more information visit www.ago.net.

Established in 1999, this modern day museum exhibits and promotes contemporary art by Canadian artists. Close to 1,000 people have displayed their creative work at this Queen Street West museum.

Located on the outskirts of the city of Toronto, in the beautiful rural setting of Kleinburg, is the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. It has the largest collection of Group of Seven paintings. The gallery is built on one hundred acres of picturesque conservation land.

This fine art gallery in Toronto's trendy Yorkville is a popular place to go for Inuit art. Paintings, carvings, sculptures and other forms of native art from Masluk and McLeod are shipped to art lovers all over the world.

While the above mentioned may be some of the well-known art destinations in the city, Toronto has many other galleries that are equally impressive.  Here's a list of some other popular galleries in the city.

• Stephen Bulger Gallery
• Le Gallery
• Monte Clark Gallery
• Diaz Contemporary
• Gallery 44
• Sleeping Giant
• Allison Smith Gallery
• Gallery One
• Edward Day Gallery
• Ingram Gallery
• The Lilith Gallery
• The Power Plant
• The Market Gallery
• Mayberry Fine Art

Like most metropolitan cities, Toronto has developed an audience for new media galleries. These galleries focus on artists who use non-traditional objects for their creations or utilize computer technology. 

One example of this would be art created through computer animation. Currently, Toronto has 3 new media galleries. Since new media is a relatively young art form, galleries often offer classes in addition to viewing artwork. The owners are eager to educate the public about new media art.

The Greater Toronto Area is also a hot-bed of artistic expression. If you live in the city or are visiting, it will take just a short drive for you to get to one of the many GTA art galleries that are open to the public. 

A quick search on the internet will lead you to great collections in communities like Mississauga, Unionville, Aurora, King City and Ajax for example.

Toronto's art community beams with pride so it is always ready for visitors; always open to new eyes.