A brand new exhibit is coming to one of Toronto’s premier destinations for both locals and tourists, and it will bring some new wildlife with it. 

Earlier this year, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, the 140,000 square foot attraction that has welcomed millions of guests since opening in Toronto’s downtown core in 2013, announced that a new exhibit that pairs art and fish will replace its now-closed reptile display. 

In March, an aquarium representative told INsauga.com that guests can expect to discover a variety of eye-catching fish and marine species, including some that they may not have seen here before. Now, with the exhibit slated to open later this month, the aquarium has revealed a few more details, including the name. 

Graffiti Reef: Painted by Nature will be the aquarium’s first new exhibit in two years, and the first that centres around local talent. 

A Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada representative told INsauga.com that the exhibit will use Toronto’s street art culture to help tell the story of coral reef ecosystems, pairing murals with colourful marine life to educate visitors on why reefs matter and why their decline is worrying. 

The aquarium said that coral reefs support nearly a quarter of all marine life and the world is currently in the midst of its fourth–and most severe–global bleaching event. Heat stress, the aquarium said, affects approximately 84 per cent of reefs across 83 countries and territories. 

Once complete, the newest exhibit will feature large-scale murals by local artists Nick Sweetman, Jieun Kim, and Brother Moises. Fish expected to be on display include parrotfish, cowfish, and rhinopias–some of which will be calling the aquarium home for the first time. 

The upcoming exhibit (of which an official opening date has not yet been announced) will take over the space occupied by the ‘dragons’ (which included a Kimberly rock monitor, a Gila monster, a green-crested basilisk, a green tree python, a beloved green iguana named Greg and others).

The Dragon exhibit, which opened in 2024, was the aquarium’s first special presentation to open in four years. 

Beyond special exhibits, the aquarium is home to several permanent galleries, including Dangerous Lagoon (home to an array of sharks), Planet Jellies, Canadian Waters, Rainbow Reef, Ray Bay, and more. 

Animal photos from Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada’s


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