In a Canadian first, the New York Times’ TimesTalks series is coming to Toronto as part of the 2013 Luminato Festival.

TimesTalks, a series of live conversations between New York Times journalists and talented individuals from a wide range of disciplines, will take place June 15 and 16 at the Isabel Bader Theatre.

Luminato CEO Janice Price said TimesTalks organizers initiated the partnership.

“They were aware of the festival and the work we’ve been doing,” she said. “The partnership was a year in the making and will be officially announced at a TimesTalks event on Friday.”

The seventh edition of the Luminato Festival runs June 14 to 23.

Saturday’s TimesTalks guests include actor Willem Dafoe and director Robert Wilson in conversation with writer and former Times arts critic John Rockwell and architects Liz Diller and Charles Renfro talking with culture reporter Robin Pogrebin.

On Sunday, Times culture reporter Dan Wakin will speak with Canadian director Atom Egoyan. That will be followed by artists from the Luminato’s Joni Mitchell tribute concert Joni: A Portrait in Song chatting with the paper’s pop music critic Jon Pareles.

Price says the talks are designed to appeal to Toronto’s arts and culture enthusiasts and fans of the participants, but are also streamed online and will help the festival reach a global audience.

“The benefit also becomes there’s Luminato content that can live beyond the 10 days of the festival,” she said.

“That’s important for us, because it’s hard to sustain the awareness of an event and brand that only happens for 10 days in June throughout the balance of the year.”

Price said depending on how well it goes this year, both parties are leaving the door open to making TimesTalks an annual event and the hope on her end is to create a long-lasting collaboration.

TimesTalks tickets are priced at $35, plus applicable service charges. Presale begins April 16 with tickets for the general public on sale April 20. For ticket information visitluminato.comor for phone 416-368-4849.