Artist First is Mercer Union’s commissioning platform and the first of its kind amongst artist-run centres in Canada. Rooted in Mercer Union’s organizational history, Artist First evolves our identity as a space that is uniquely positioned to support the production of new and experimental work.

We invest in the lifecycle of a project from conception to realization with curatorial vision and rigour, establishing Mercer Union as a space where artists can present ambitious new artworks. We have accomplished this as only Mercer Union could: through a commitment to artists at the heart of our operations, and an ethos of collaboration that sustains discovery, risk-taking, and artistic development through long-term support and dialogue.

Artist First emerges from this long-held commitment to building an intimate and supportive space for artists. The platform formalizes our commitment to the commissioning process and sets out to create milestone opportunities for artists to bring their visions to fruition in Toronto.

Artist First commissions are made possible with the generous support of

Join a passionate group of changemakers who enable exceptional talents to experiment, take risks, and pursue ambitious new projects at Mercer Union.

To learn more, contact Masaki Kondo, Development & Operations Officer at [email protected].

Our gratitude extends to the founding commissioners who made the launch of Artist First possible