The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

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The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

The Power Plant is Canada’s leading public gallery devoted to art, ideas, and conversations! ALL YEAR, ALL FREE presented by BMO Financial Group.
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06/23/2026

Meet Leisure, a collaborative art practice, and learn about their participatory work 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺 🦋

Inspired by a presentation by artist Simon Nicholson and economist Hazel Henderson at the First Global Conference on the Future held in Toronto in 1980, Leisure (Meredith Carruthers & Susannah Wesley) revisits early conversations around environmental care, collective action, and imagining more hopeful futures.

These ideas are reflected in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺, where visitors engage with sand, paper, and water through play and experimentation—inviting moments of curiosity, reflection, and connection.

👐 Come play, make, and get your hands dirty! The group exhibition 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 is on view until Monday, September 7.

06/22/2026

In the Toronto Star’s recent 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳 series, our Artistic Director, Adelina Vlas, reflects on how Toronto’s arts sector plays a vital role in shaping connection, belonging, and the cultural life of the city.

“If I were mayor, I would invest in arts organizations’ mission to strengthen a sense of community and belonging to the city. As an arts professional, I believe in the power of art to connect us, to present us with different perspectives on the lived experience of our fellow humans and to provide opportunities for community building.”

Her vision closely resonates with The Power Plant’s commitment as a leading contemporary art gallery devoted exclusively to artists from Canada and around the world—sharing art with wider audiences through free admission to exhibitions, public programs, and events, while connecting communities locally and internationally through diverse artistic voices and pressing contemporary issues.

She underscores the role of arts organizations in creating spaces for connection and belonging—making room for thought-provoking art, ideas, and conversations in everyday city life.

🔗 Read the full feature in the Toronto Star’s 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳 series: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/reject-nukes-patronize-the-arts--and-add-an-s-to-museum-station-heres-what-these-torontonians-would-do-if-they-were-mayor/article_2cd2728b-fb0d-4e49-a1f5-49f3f64a7baa.html.

06/18/2026

Have you experienced Harold Offeh’s The Mothership Collective 2.0?

Meet UK-based artist Harold Offeh, who presents an interactive installation, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝟮.𝟬, as part of the group exhibition 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨 at The Power Plant. Working across performance, video, photography, learning, and social art practices, Offeh employs humour as a means to confront viewers with historical narratives and contemporary culture.

Through this installation, Offeh invites you to engage with instruments, generate music, create poems, and play with fellow visitors, while reflecting on what you’d like to see made or developed in the future.

🪩 Come play together and imagine alternative futures!

06/17/2026

Have you experienced Harold Offeh’s The Mothership Collective 2.0?

Meet UK-based artist , who presents an interactive installation, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝟮.𝟬, as part of the group exhibition 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨 at The Power Plant. Working across performance, video, photography, learning, and social art practices, Offeh employs humour as a means to confront viewers with historical narratives and contemporary culture.

Through this installation, Offeh invites you to engage with instruments, generate music, create poems, and play with fellow visitors, while reflecting on what you’d like to see made or developed in the future.

🪩 Come play together and imagine alternative futures!

06/15/2026

🎉 Congratulations to The Power Plant exhibiting artist Lap-See Lam, the fourth recipient of the Lise Wilhelmsen Art Award, on the opening of her award-winning solo exhibition 𝘖𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘴 at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.

On view now until January 3, 2027, 𝘖𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘴 re-presents Lam’s immersive video installation 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 alongside other works ranging from new sculptures to installation and virtual reality. The exhibition explores cultural heritage, migration histories, and storytelling, drawing on the Hong Kong Chinese diaspora. Lam’s practice engages Cantonese opera, shadow play traditions, and historical visual languages such as Chinoiserie, weaving together themes of memory, belonging, and generational inheritance.

𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 was previously presented at The Power Plant in Fall 2024, in partnership with The Vega Foundation. Drawing on folklore and a layered mix of traditional and contemporary video techniques, the work reflects on the experiences of the Hong Kong Chinese diaspora in Europe and beyond.

🌊 If you’re near Oslo, make sure to check it out!

Images: 1–3. Installation views: Ombres, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter⁠, 2026. Photo: Magnus Gulliksen. / 4. Lap-See Lam, Floating Sea Palace, 2024. Organized and developed in partnership with The Vega Foundation. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto, 2024. Photo: LF Documentation.

06/11/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Connectors: International Speakers Series with artist Pablo Helguera!

Presented alongside Colourful Parachutes, Helguera’s talk, Building Strange Oases: Practices of Play, explored play as a critical artistic strategy and its role in imagination and contemporary life. His lecture resonated with audiences and generated sustained interest and discussion among arts and education professionals.

🎥 If you missed it, watch the full talk on our YouTube channel!
https://youtu.be/lOyLt9dfbcw

With thanks to Canada Life for supporting our programs.

Images: 1. Connectors: International Speakers Series – Pablo Helguera. Photo: The Power Plant. / 2. Pablo Helguera speaking at the Connectors Series. Photo: Brian Medina.

06/10/2026

Drop by The Power Plant if you’re down at the waterfront for soccer events! ⚽

The Power Plant is open during the World Cup—come experience Colourful Parachutes while you’re in the city.

Gallery Hours during the 2026 FIFA World Cup
⚽ Monday: CLOSED
⚽ Tuesday: CLOSED
⚽ Wednesday: 11 AM–6 PM
⚽ Thursday: 11 AM–6 PM
⚽ Friday: 11 AM–8 PM
⚽ Saturday: 11 AM–6 PM
⚽ Sunday: 11 AM–6 PM

📍 The Power Plant, 231 Queens Quay West
🎟️ FREE admission—no ticket required

🔗 Everyone’s welcome—whether you’re soccer fans or not. Plan your visit ahead: https://www.thepowerplant.org/visit.

06/06/2026

The Power Plant alum Abbas Akhavan is now at the 61st Venice Biennale, representing Canada! 🎉

For the Canada Pavilion, Akhavan presents the site-specific installation Entre chien et loup, reimagining the building’s architecture as a Wardian case—a precursor to the terrarium once used to transport plants across the British Empire. Through this work, he offers a meditative space in which to revisit a pivotal moment in world history and to consider how we position ourselves today in relation to our natural and built environments.

Akhavan is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice reflects on the relationships between place and history, attending to the geopolitical forces which define spaces.⁠ At The Power Plant in 2018, he presented a solo exhibition, variations on a landscape, transforming the Clerestory with a circular fountain, creating a communal space for gathering, reflection, and exchange.

🪷 If you’re planning a trip to Venice, be sure to experience his installation — on view until November 22, 2026.

Images: 1-2. Installation view, Abbas Akhavan: Entre chien et loup, 2026, Canada Pavilion, 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada and presented in partnership with the National Gallery of Canada Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts. Photos: Francesco Barasciutti. / 3. Abbas Akhavan, variations on a landscape, 2018. Installation view: The Power Plant, Toronto, 2018. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.

06/01/2026

Happy International Children’s Day! 🧒🌈

First proclaimed in Geneva in 1925 during the World Conference on Child Welfare, this day recognizes the rights, well-being, and voices of children around the world.

Our current exhibition, 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴, takes a cue from this seminal movement to recognize and uphold the rights of children—the future builders and changemakers of tomorrow. Shifting traditional exhibition structures, it actively engages children and young people, putting their interests and needs front and center through movement, exploration, creativity, and play.

🪂 Bring your little ones to discover 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 on Wednesday and Thursday from 11 AM–6 PM, Friday from 11 AM–8 PM, and weekends from 11 AM–6 PM.

Image: Temitayo Ogunbiyi, 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 (𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛-𝘥𝘰𝘵), 2023–26. Manila rope, steel, rubber tiles. Courtesy the artist. Installation view: 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴: 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺, The Power Plant, 2026. Photo: Roya DelSol.

Address

231 Queens Quay West
Toronto, ON
M5J2G8

Opening Hours

Wednesday	11am - 6pm
Thursday	11am - 6pm
Friday	11am - 8pm
Saturday	11am - 6pm
Sunday	11am - 6pm

Telephone

+14169734949

Website

http://thepowerplant.org/

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