What's On at the Library

Comics creators and fans from around the world gather at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) held over two days every May at Toronto Reference Library.

The first TCAF was hosted in the Annex near the Beguiling book store in 2003. It was held again in 2005 and 2007 on the grounds of the Honest Ed’s department store and at the University of Toronto’s Victoria College respectively.

Since hosting TCAF in 2009, the festival has become an annual event that has welcomed a who’s who of artists from around the world, including Lynda Barry, Kate Beaton, Chester Brown, Daniel Clowes, Emmanuel Guibert, Kazu Kibuishi, Lorenzo Mattotti, Scott McCloud, Seth, Art Spiegleman, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Jeff Smith, Lynn Johnston, Bryan Lee O’Malley, and much much more.

The recent 2015 festival event welcomed over 20,000 visitors to the Reference Library, who once again enjoyed meeting their favourite artists, attending talks and panel discussions, viewing original art, and more.

Hosting TCAF at the library is a natural fit. Our comics and graphic novel collections continue to be popular. It’s also a fun way to showcase and celebrate the creativity and culture in our city – and the amazing artists in our city and from around the world.

The recent festival also allowed the library to showcase its Digital Innovation Hubs through a fun 3D design project created by library staff Alex Dimitrov.

The festival is a hit with artists and fans, including those visiting Canada for the first time. Artist Marc Ellerby, from England, said after attending the first library-hosted TCAF in 2009: “TCAF is quite opposite from the British conventions where you have to pay 20 pounds to get in and it’s usually out of the way,” he said and observing the crowd, he added. “And the sheer amount of people coming through the door. You have guys and girls, young and old, and it’s not just the nerdy fan boys.”

The late and legendary manga artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi visited Canada for the first time from Japan to attend TCAF in 2009. Of his experience, he said: “It was a fun two days… I think the [library] space is just perfect. I think [TCAF] will become bigger and bigger.”

And he was right. Each year has only become bigger, more fun and exciting. The library looks forward to seeing what is to come in future years!