The fourth edition of the Toronto Biennial of Art (TBA) will be curated by Allison Glenn and presented from September to December 2026.
“We’re thrilled to announce that Allison Glenn will shape the curatorial vision for the 2026 edition of the Toronto Biennial of Art,” states Patrizia Libralato, the organization’s founder and Executive Director. "Allison has a strong track record of collaborating with artists to develop ambitious ideas and realize transformative projects. She has focused on art in public spaces as a means to connect intergenerational audiences with impactful and accessible contemporary art. Her thoughtful approach, as well as her deep interest in Canada having grown up in nearby Detroit, will no doubt allow her to seamlessly work with artists and partners from across the country as well as internationally to create a powerful Biennial for Toronto.”
“Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world and is located on the Great Lakes waterway–a system that contains 20% of the world’s freshwater. This will undoubtedly impact the curatorial framework,” says Glenn. “I am honoured to be invited to consider a city so close to home, and to learn from the vast histories of the region while working closely with the brilliant members of the National Curatorial Advisory, enthusiastic TBA team, and dedicated partners of the 2026 Toronto Biennial of Art.”
Allison Glenn is a New York-based curator and writer focusing on the intersection of art and public space through public art and special projects, biennials, and major new commissions by a wide range of contemporary artists. For over fifteen years, Glenn has been devoted to realizing ambitious and experimental exhibitions and site-specific projects with artists working across the globe.
She gained broad acclaim for curating the pathbreaking 2021 exhibition Promise, Witness, Remembrance at Louisville, Kentucky’s Speed Art Museum. The exhibition reflected on the life of Breonna Taylor through the work of over twenty contemporary artists including Amy Sherald, Nari Ward, Bethany Collins, and Glenn Ligon. Glenn has held positions including Co-Curator of Counterpublic Triennial 2023; Visiting Curator, at The University of Tulsa, where she curated the Sovereign Futures convening; Senior Curator at New York's Public Art Fund; and, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. In this role, Glenn shaped how outdoor sculpture activates and engages Crystal Bridges' 120-acre campus through a series of new commissions, touring group exhibitions, and long-term loans by artists including Amanda Ross-Ho, Odili Donald Odita, George Sanchez-Calderon, and Rashid Johnson. She also held a curatorial position with New Orleans’ international art triennial Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp.
Glenn has published widely, contributing essays to catalogs produced by The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Counterpublic Triennial, Prospect New Orleans, Studio Museum in Harlem, Princeton Architectural Press, Neubauer Collegium, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and periodicals including Artforum, ART PAPERS, Brooklyn Rail, Hyperallergic, and ART21 Magazine. Glenn sits on the Board of Directors for ARCAthens, an international curatorial and artist residency program. She received dual Master’s degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism as well as Arts Administration and Policy. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art Photography with a co-major in Urban Studies from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Main Image Credit: Grace Roselli
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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