About Us

Mandate & History

The Art Museum is comprised of the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery (Hart House) and the University of Toronto Art Centre (University College). Located just a few steps apart, the two galleries were federated in 2014 and began operating under a new visual identity as the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, one of the largest gallery spaces for visual art exhibitions and programming in Toronto.

Building on the two galleries’ distinguished histories, the Art Museum organizes and presents an intensive year-round program of exhibitions and events that foster—at a local, regional, and international level—innovative research, interdisciplinary scholarship, and knowledge of art and its histories befitting Canada’s leading university and the country’s largest city.

The Art Museum’s programs are distinguished by:

fostering emerging artists and curators through mentorship, experiential learning opportunities, and in collaboration with academic programs and studies across disciplines;
developing histories and knowledge of contemporary art and artists at a local and international level;
supporting original and experimental curatorial statements and positions;
and featuring interdisciplinary projects on critical subjects or thematic concerns relevant in contemporary culture.

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Land Acknowledgement

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Mee maw g’chi meyo zhu Anishnaabeg me gone daw wot. Huron-Wendat mean wa Seneca gee zhin cause wook. Credit River zeebing end daa wot Mississagas. University of Toronto, meegwetch when mook nda kee wot mom pee ki. Neebowa gee ya bi go n’kwesh daad wook maw ki mean ehn daa woot nen daa goot.
–Anishinaabemowin translation by Ernie Sandy

EH WETAMACK, OMA ASKI, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO KAHESHE CHAMATECK. WAYCATCH OCHI, HELILIWUK NISTUM OTA KEYTASHEKAYWAK. AH NOOCH MAKA, MECHAYTOWUK HELILIWUK OTA EH TASHEKAYCHICK. NEEWETHEYNA, EH NANASKOMOYAK OTA EHAHBATISSIYAK.
–Omuskegowuk translation by Andrew Wesley

Staff List

General Information

416-978-8398
artmuseum@utoronto.ca

Executive Director / Chief Curator

Barbara Fischer
barbara.fischer@utoronto.ca
416-978-2453

Operations Assistant

Melody Lu
mel.lu@utoronto.ca
416-978-8017

Collections Assistant

Johnny Pham
johnny.pham@utoronto.ca

Communications and Outreach Assistant (Young Canada Works)

Nicholas Markowski
nicholas.markowski@utoronto.ca

Collections Access Assistant (Young Canada Works)

Sana Murray
sana.murray@utoronto.ca

Advisory Board

Liza Murrell, Chair
Ayeza Ahmad
Erika DeFreitas
Francois Le Moine
Kajri Jain
Kelly Dixon
Libby Barnicke
Nyssa Komorowski
Rina Greer
Robert Levit
Robin Anthony
Sameer Farooq

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Ex Officio Members

Sali Tagliamonte

Acting Principal, University College, University of Toronto

David Kim

Warden, Hart House, University of Toronto

Sandy Welsh

Vice-Provost Students & First-Entry Divisions, University of Toronto

Annual Reports

Learn more about the Art Museum’s exhibitions and programming.

2022–24 Biannual Report
PDF version available upon request.

2021–22 Annual Report

2019–20 Annual Report

2018–19 Annual Report

2017–18 Annual Report

2016–17 Annual Report

Opportunities

As a university-based institution and steward of nationally significant art collections we are deeply engaged in mentorship, education, training, and experiential learning opportunities for students, emerging professionals, and volunteers.

Volunteering for the Hart House Art Committee

Academic Internships

Work-Study

For more opportunities, visit the Study + Research page.

For Artists

Exhibition Proposals

The Art Museum accepts artists’ submissions in the form of printed material and digital images for research purposes only. Materials will not be returned.

OAC Exhibition Assistance Program

The Art Museum is a sanctioned Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grant Recommender Organization for Region 3.

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The program provides grants of $500 to $2,000 to assist individual artists with costs related to presenting their work for an exhibition.

The Art Museum’s deadlines are June 30, 2025 at 1pm ET and October 31, 2025 at 1pm ET. Applications and guidelines are available through the Ontario Arts Council. For inquiries, please contact Noa Bronstein at noa.bronstein@utoronto.ca.

Press

For more information, images, or to join the Art Museum’s media list, please contact Marianne Rellin.

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Core Arts Funders

The Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Government of Ontario, and the Toronto Arts Council.

Toronto Arts Council Logo