Four northern artists to be showcased in Toronto art show

Four northern artists’ work will appear in the 2025 Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF), ranging from jewellery to glow-in-the-dark paintings.

The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair takes place in the city’s Nathan Phillips Square from July 11-13. This year’s TOAF will feature more than 400 different artists from all across Canada in a series of showcases, exhibitions and live performances.

The fair “celebrates Canada’s vibrant and diverse artistic landscape,” said its executive director, Anahita Azrahimi.

“We are uniting exceptional artists from across the country to engage, inspire, and connect with audiences through innovative and dynamic programming,” a press release for the event added.

From the NWT, John Sabourin, Robyn Scott, Delia Cepoi and Karen Novak will appear at TOAF. We spoke with Novak and Sabourin.

Karen Novak is a Yellowknifer currently residing in Hungary. Also a professional singer, she creates paintings inspired by her surroundings and is currently writing a theatrical rock opera.

Novak is excited to participate in the show, even if only online. “Most of the Northern artists, we don’t get a chance to get out of the North,” she told Cabin Radio.

“I’ve learned so much just from being part of the chats and watching how other people are doing.”

Novak is “very thankful” to organizers who have helped her take the next step in her career by showcasing her art. While she has been creating art her whole life, she said she became really interested in painting when she found herself with time to spend on it.

“I had medical downtime, and that’s when I started painting again, and I just remembered how much I loved it,” she said.

“Then I gave away some for Christmas presents and everybody liked them, and people started asking to buy them from me, and all of a sudden they got crazy. I was painting 10 paintings at a time,”

Novak said she is inspired by her surroundings, no matter where she is. In the North, she is inspired by nature and the aurora borealis, as well as the people with whom she surrounds herself. When she is in Hungary, she is inspired more by the castles and rich culture in the area, but still focuses many of her paintings on creating northern-inspired art.

Novak sings at the Gold Range when she is in Yellowknife. This, she said, is part of the reason she began painting with glow-in-the-dark paint – in the North, it is constantly dark during the winter months.

“I can write songs in the dark, but I wanted to do something else. I ended up painting in the dark,” she said.

Novak hopes she can continue to ramp up her painting career. She says she is enjoying “interweaving” her existing career with a whole new path that lies ahead.

John Sabourin owns Frozen Rock Studio in Yellowknife’s Kam Lake, where he creates and sells stone carvings.

Sabourin will travel to Toronto to attend TOAF in person, where he hopes to showcase approximately 25 carvings – though he added the final number may be lower as he “just keeps selling them.”

Sabourin’s carvings “explore the complex relationship between humans and nature,” and the artist told Cabin Radio he was inspired to create carvings by observing other carvers’ creation process.

“I was looking at some of these master carvers outside, carving at like 40 below. And I sat there watching, and I was walking with one of the local guys. He goes, ‘Oh yeah, that guy’s famous. He’s been all over the world,'” Sabourin recalled.

After seeing those carvers practise their art, Sabourin was “hooked” on the art form.

“I’m looking forward to Toronto, looking forward to a new venue to sell my carvings at, and look forward to meeting new people and new clients. You can’t always have that in Yellowknife,” Sabourin told Cabin Radio.

Sabourin described Yellowknife as a “difficult” place in which to sell art, because there are so many artists in the city.

“There’s a lot of talent, so you’re always having to compete in a really small boat in Yellowknife,” he said.

Sabourin will be taking this opportunity not only to showcase his work, but also to connect with other artists and “pick their brains.”

Find out more about the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair on its website.