History

At the time, there was a network of collectives that we could look to for inspiration. We saw the ongoing organizing work of labour unions, and the determination of artists who self-organized to make and keep their practice accessible to their community.

We started on Queen Street, before moving to Spadina, in a neighbourhood in Toronto known for a number of districts: artisans, factory workers, and more gathered there to display their wares. Now we’ve settled in our space at 401 Richmond, but the inspiration remains the same.

We saw their outlets and thought: artists need an outlet, too. We saw their history of organizing for their labour rights and thought: artists need a way to organize, too.

The name YYZ Artists’ Outlet reflected a desire to create something new that was still a connection to, and extension of, the multi-layered history of artists supporting artists. We chose our name in the days before certain search engines offered certain optimization tools. It is still our name, and we are proud to stay connected to the legacy of reasons for why we chose it, but first we must note that we are not an airport.

Artists must be given the space to try something new, and then the space to show something new. We believe that artists are always in a moment of starting something new, whether that expresses itself in a new medium, new idea, new place, new boundaries. The artist-run center is a site where artists can engage the public with contemporary issues too contentious for the mainstream, paving the way for opening discourse and challenging notions of the normative. YYZ Artists’ Outlet is committed to providing opportunities to find new modes of expressions, and that’s why the gallery, publication, and archives exist to serve those principles—to remain and grow as a forum for the most diverse and exciting range of artwork in the past, present, and future.

The decades since have been determined by a continuing commitment to those starting values. We have expanded our programs and fostered the careers of many artists, writers, and critics in, around, and beyond the Toronto arts community. YYZ Artists’ Outlet was the first gallery space in Toronto to have a room dedicated to video work, second only to the National Gallery of Art in Ottawa. Starting in the 1990s, we knew that this then-new technology deserved to be seen by the public, and given the same respect as any other medium.

YYZ Artists’ Outlet has always supported the work of queer artists and the work of advocating for queer rights, indigenous artists, and equity and autonomy in the Canadian artistic community.

YYZBooks was founded in 1988, and remains one of the few artist-run centres in Canada that run a publishing house dedicated to Canadian artists and writers.

To learn more, visit our shop.

In 1997 YYZ Artist’s Outlet moved to 401 Richmond, the space we’re still in today.

Our doors are open for a visit.

We launched YYZine in 2001. Produced six times a year and sent to over 600 individuals and organizations, our print publication combined promotion, information, writing, and artist’s projects in every issue.

We continue to commission critical writings in the form of essays that are in conversation with our exhibitions on view.

In 2002 YYZ Artists’ Outlet expanded and added a new window exhibition space, thanks to a generous donation from Margie Zeidler and funds from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Show with us in one of our 3 galleries.