Toronto is a city rich in art and culture. Its numerous galleries, art studios and world renowned museums offer art from all periods and styles. Art Strollers makes it easy for mothers to discover the vibrant Toronto art scene and to further their knowledge with our cultural learning series for mommies, all with baby or toddles in tow. Fathers welcomed.

Our tours offer an educational and relaxing environment where mothers can enjoy art, have the opportunity to discuss the exhibits with our art consultants during a tour, enhance their artistic knowledge during one of our classes, spend quality time with their little one and meet other mothers who share the same interests in a friendly and welcoming environment. All tours are structured and accompanied by an art consultant and include caregiver services and tea time.




Who we are

Veronika Roux-Vlachova, Founder, art enthusiast and mother

A business major, Veronika started her career in accounting and finance, a career which took her to Montreal, New York, Prague and Toronto where she currently resides. With a desire to move towards a more strategic development role in the business world, she ventured into stock photography where she now oversees third party content relations for one of the largest international stock agencies . Along the way she discovered a love for photography and for the arts, with this new born passion and interest she founded VRVGallery, an online art gallery offering contemporary international artists a free space to exhibit their work. Wanting to introduce art into her children's lives at an early age and finding it hard to meet people who shared her interests for art and children, she founded the Art Strollers. Veronika is also the sponsor and director of "Downtown Art and Sound" a monthly exhibition which is set to start in January 2009 at the Rivoli. When she is not working, Veronika spends time with her two young sons, Carl-Edmund and Martin-Oliver.


Sara Baig, PR & Marketing Consultant

With a bachelors degree in Architecture from Pakistan, Sara launched her career in Toronto as the District Director for a New York based kitchen design Company Valcucine. Working in the rich art and cultural precinct of Toronto, the Distillery District, she nurtured her creativity through regular visits to neighbouring galleries and theatres reviving her passion for the arts. Sara’s medium of creative expression other than interior design has also been blogging and photography. Her blog www.urbaniche.blogspot.com has been inspired by the blandness of suburban life versus city life and an escape from her transition of moving countries. Since then Sara has been involved with free lance design work, and supervising her catering business of Indian/ Pakistani Cuisine and desserts. She represented Valcucine in the Interior Design show ’08 the success of which led to an extension of the showroom. She is presently a full time mom to 5 month old baby boy, Nyle. In her pursuit for finding a niche for her love of art, work and motherhood Sara found Art Strollers where her acquaintance with Veronika has led her to knit all the pieces together. Alongside, Sara is working on getting her thesis “In-Between Urban Spaces”, published.


Paul Byron, Art Consultant

Paul currently attends the University of Toronto, where he is working towards his Masters degree in Art History. He is a previous student of McMaster University in Hamilton, graduating in both Studio Art and Art History, and has also attended the Dundas Valley School of Art and Sheridan College in pursuit of formal training in art. Paul has taught Art History at the undergraduate level, and provides instruction in the visual arts at a number of venues throughout Toronto. His artistic practice focuses on Painting/Drawing, while his academic research interests include Modern Western and Buddhist Art, the Philosophy of Art, and the recent intersection of aesthetic theory and cognitive neuroscience.


Kristen Smith, Art Consultant

Born in Regina Saskatchewan and currently living in Toronto, Kristen is an emerging artist and practicing artisan. She recently completed her BFA with Distinction from the University of Regina in Intermedia. Her knowledge and interests stem from performance, video, installation, drawing and print media. With interest in theatre and puppetry her work references their influences as well as the world or dreams, life as carnival and her experiences as a child. She enjoys art that is interactive and all consuming with a belief that it should not be confined to a gallery space or museum.


Jarrod Ouakine, Art Consultant

Has his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education from Concordia University as well as a background in graphic design. He is an established artist who has had a number of shows. His preferred medium is acrylic paint but will work with anything that is available. He has been teaching and working with children for almost ten years in various schools, community centers, and religious institutions.

Jessica Darmanin, Art Consultant

Jessica's photographic love affair budded in a charming photo gallery in Los Angeles while on tour with an intriguing tour guide. She pursued her fascination with the authentic art form by enrolling in Ryerson University's photography program, attaining a BFA in Image Arts – Photography. Her passion for photography and love for conversation led her to Loyalist College's photojournalism program, paving her way to a contract position with The Hamilton Spectator as a staff photographer.
Jessica's role with Art Strollers includes her workshop series, *Photographic Arts & Thoughts* which enables you to rediscover and express your inner photographer through photographic exhibitions and workshops. She also offers the *Day in your Life *project, a photographic documentation of you and your child's life journey up until now.


Farhad Nargol-O'Neill, Art Consultant

Farhad is a professional visual artist living and working in Toronto. He is a member of the Sculptors Society of Canada, the Sculptors Society of Ireland, and the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, where he is the Chair of the art committee. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including a major sculpture commission to create the “Corpus et Spiritus” sculpture for the Catholic Education Centre in Aurora, Ontario in 2007. He completed his BA in Fine Arts at York University. Farhad's role with the Art Strollers will be to bring his drawing expertise and create Chinese and Indian Ink workshops.


Nikki Goldman, Art Consultant

Nikki Goldman is a trained art therapist, who has been working in the art world for many years. Her preferred medium is photography but she has used a variety of other visual arts and explored areas in the dramatic arts. She studied photography at Fanshawe College, completed her BA in psychology at the University of Western Ontario and did post-graduate studies in art therapy at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. Over the years she has received numerous grants from both the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council to run photography programs at Gallery 44, through LAMP CHC. She currently runs several expressive art programs around the city of Toronto, please feel free to visit her website for more information about her programs: www.nikkigoldman.com. She is also currently working as a play/art therapist at Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Offices and Applegrove Community Complex. Nikki has been involved in the art world since she was young child and has always had it incorporated in her life to some degree or another.


Shelley Savor, Art Consultant

Shelley Savor is a Toronto area artist. She has enjoyed the world of pictures and words since she was very young. She thinks it’s important for everyone, young children to very old adults, to exercise their creative energy. Shelley has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University. She has participated in many group exhibitions and several solo shows in Ontario, her work has also appeared in publications such as ‘Room of One’s Own’ and ‘Wenches With Wrenches’ Community Bicycle Network poster project. She lives with her family and various reptiles in Richmond Hill.



Contact us

For more information, details about our services, media contacts or partnership possibilities, contact Veronika at veronika@artstrollers.com or 416-830-7335

You can also fill in the form below. Looking forward to hear from you.