The Toronto Biennial of Art is gearing up for its fourth edition this autumn, promising to make waves both literally and figuratively as it stretches its reach far beyond the city’s borders for the first time. Running from September 26 through December 20, 2026, this year’s event is titled "Things Fall Apart," a name that carries a rich tapestry of references—from Chinua Achebe’s seminal 1958 novel to The Roots’ 1999 album and ultimately to W. B. Yeats’s haunting poem "The Second Coming." According to Artforum, the theme is a deliberate nod to moments of rupture, both historical and contemporary, and is curated by Allison Glenn, who brings a deeply research-driven and site-responsive approach to the table.
Glenn, who grew up in Detroit, a city intimately connected to Toronto by the Great Lakes, sees water as both a physical resource and a historical witness—threading together distant geographies and shared histories. "Growing up in nearby Detroit deeply informed my understanding of how water, as both a physical resource and a historical witness, connects distant geographies through shared, fluid systems," Glenn stated, as reported by Artforum. This thematic current of waterways and rupture will run through the entire biennial, shaping not only the artworks but also the very locations where they’ll be experienced.
This year, the Toronto Biennial is breaking new ground by expanding its footprint beyond the Greater Toronto Area, stretching into Anchorage, Alaska; Detroit; and New York City. According to The Art Newspaper, this expansion is more than just a geographic leap—it’s a curatorial strategy to link histories and moments of rupture across vast waterways, embodying the biennial’s commitment to dialogue and cultural exchange. Glenn was inspired by the Great Loop, a 6,000-mile network of waterways that encircle the eastern United States and part of Canada, underscoring the interconnectedness of these diverse regions through water.
“We are living in a moment of intense rupture, and this title encompasses both the historical usage of this phrase and the contemporary moment,” Glenn told The Art Newspaper. She emphasized that many artists participating in this year’s biennial are creating work during times of great difficulty, with some hailing from countries embroiled in war and conflict, such as Lebanon and Iran. For Glenn, these artists are not just chroniclers of rupture—they’re using it as an ontological tool, a way to understand and navigate the world.
The 2026 edition will feature 30 artists and collectives from around the globe, with 17 of them presenting newly commissioned works. The roster includes celebrated names such as Kent Monkman, Rebecca Belmore, Bonnie Devine, Dawoud Bey, Coco Fusco, Nani Chacon, Julien Creuzet, Brendan Fernandes, Dala Nasser, Antonio Obá, Solange Pessoa, Dawit L. Petros, and Charisse Pearlina Weston, among others. According to Artforum, the show will also include collaborative projects like Allana Clarke’s Amend Garden in Detroit, Mary Mattingly’s Floating Garden as part of the Medina Triennial, and the Toronto Black Farmers and Food Growers Collective.
For the first time, the biennial’s programming partners will include institutions far outside Toronto, such as the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, Musée des Beaux-arts de Montréal, Remai Modern in Saskatoon, University of Victoria, and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Across the border, the Anchorage Museum in Alaska will participate, and in New York, Times Square Arts’ Midnight Moment will transform the city’s iconic crossroads into an open-air art showcase each evening. This international expansion reflects the biennial’s ambition to foster cross-border conversations and highlight the global relevance of its themes.
Back in Toronto, the main exhibition will be housed at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, but the biennial will also activate a constellation of venues across the city. These include the Royal Ontario Museum, Aga Khan Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto Pearson Airport, and the Scarborough Gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship dating to 1979. As reported by The Art Newspaper, these diverse spaces underscore the biennial’s mission to bring contemporary art into the heart of public life, making it accessible to a wide audience and embedding it within the city’s cultural fabric.
Patrizia Libralato, director of the Toronto Biennial of Art, highlighted the significance of this year’s expanded program. "We are proud to facilitate dialogue at a time when so much feels uncertain, reaffirming our shared commitment to access, cultural vitality and a recognition that contemporary art is not peripheral to public life but central to it," Libralato said in a statement shared by The Art Newspaper. She also noted that the biennial, though still young—it launched in 2019—has already attracted worldwide attention for its innovative model. “We could never be a Venice, but we can strive to keep leading something important and impactful in Toronto that continues to grow its reach while staying rooted in local contexts.”
Interestingly, as The Art Newspaper points out, five of the artists participating in the 2026 Toronto Biennial are also involved in this year’s Venice Biennale, highlighting the international caliber of the event’s contributors. The list of artists and collectives—38 in all, according to Artforum—reflects a broad spectrum of backgrounds, disciplines, and perspectives, from Indigenous voices like Bonnie Devine and Skawennati to global figures such as Raphaël Barontini and Regina de Miguel.
Seventeen of the works on display are new commissions, many of which are designed to respond directly to the unique environment of Toronto and its surrounding areas. The show’s site-responsive approach means that visitors can expect to encounter art that engages deeply with place—whether that’s the city’s urban core, its waterways, or even its airport. This responsiveness is more than just a curatorial buzzword; it’s a way of rooting the biennial in the lived realities and histories of the places it touches.
Ultimately, "Things Fall Apart" is a biennial shaped by the currents of history, geography, and human experience. By centering water and rupture as its guiding motifs, and by bringing together artists whose work is both global and profoundly local, the Toronto Biennial of Art is positioning itself as a vital platform for cultural dialogue at a time when such conversations are needed more than ever. For art lovers and the simply curious alike, this autumn’s event promises to be a confluence of ideas, places, and people—each with their own stories of connection and change.