• Closed for Renovations!

    As we celebrate 15 years in our Kensington Market, Chinatown, and Alexandra Park Storefront, we’re thrilled to share that we’re embarking on a major gallery renovation! Supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and in collaboration with SHEEEP Studio, this project will bring essential upgrades to enhance safety and inspire creativity within our walls. Our refreshed space will embody the playful, experimental spirit of our community, and we can’t wait to open our doors again. Stay tuned for our reopening celebration and ways to support the work and programming we’re excited to share with you!

  • On Display/For Review

    On Display/For Review (OD/FR) is a digital residency/think tank culminating in a series of commissioned digital projects that interrogate, intervene, and are tangential to social media, its limits, and boundless possibilities.

    Image from: l0ve2watch By Tennessee

    Made possible by Canada Council for the Arts and EQ Bank

    Check it out!

Whippersnapper Gallery is a non-profit artist-run centre in Toronto. We are committed to the underdog artist* and the racialized, queer, disabled and working class communities we are a part of.

*The underdog artist?

Our definition of emerging artists includes individuals of all ages, with or without formal art education. We also consider artists who are restarting their careers after significant hiatuses, and artists who are making a significant shift in their practice and experimenting with new ways of working that might not be supported by other institutional frameworks.

You are eligible to work with us if you:

  • have exhibited for less than 7 continuous years after graduating (if applicable)

  • have had less than 2 solo exhibitions at a Category II institutions or above (as defined by CARFAC)

Some exceptions may be made in the case of partnership programs that may be relevant to Whippersnapper’s community, or have a significant mentorship element for emerging artists.

Exhibitions

Whippersnapper often provides artists with their first solo exhibition in an artist-run centre. See who’s been in our space.

Special Projects

Workshops. Reading groups. Performance series. Public interventions. Research. Publications.

Features

Artist interviews. Highlights. Digital Programming and videos.

Praise for our mentorship program:

Petrina Ng, GENDAI Collective

“It is very rare to see an art gallery invest in long-term relationship building with emerging artists and external arts workers, moving away from transactional approaches that can be tokenistic and superficial.”

Erin Howley, Pervious PEERS participant

“The PEERS Program provides supports and capacity building for emerging artists in a way that I have never seen before, and that continues to impact my community-engaged art practice. […] I firmly believe that PEERS addresses fundamental needs that are not being addressed elsewhere, and hope very much to see this work continue.”