Art Bash!, the AGO’s most important annual fundraising gala, made a splashy return Sept. 29. Under the theme of 'All Out,' a celebration of the bold and forward thinking, the evening raised north of $1-millionRyan Emberley/The Globe and Mail
The Art Gallery of Ontario’s Art Bash!
Art Bash!, the AGO’s most important annual fundraising gala, made a splashy return Sept. 29. Under the theme of “All Out,” a celebration of the bold and forward thinking, the evening raised north of $1-million, a record for the do.
The funds will help strengthen the Toronto-based museum’s collections and exhibitions, and provide support to its access programs (among them the $35 annual pass and free admission to anyone 25 and under).
Serving as co-chairs this year were Sonja Berman, wife of Tricon chief executive officer Gary Berman, Darcy Morris, founder of Ewing Morris and Co. Investment Partners, and Daniel Abichandani, a partner at Deloitte. Yours truly was seated at the table hosted by Abichandani for the dinner portion of the evening, which was held in the museum’s Baillie Court and followed the squishy drinks hour in its Galleria Italia.
Guests pack into an elevator reimagined by artist Patrick Cruz.Ryan Emberley/The Globe and Mail
Fernanda Dovigi and Lina Policaro at Art Bash!KENNEDY POLLARD/The Globe and Mail
The AGO was smart to amalgamate the swish, black-tie Art Bash! gala with the its annual young patrons party called Massive (an idea championed by Abichandani, a dynamo young patron with the hutzpah to do an outfit change between the two portions of the evening). Massive became the after-party (or the main event depending on your ticket), taking shape in the AGO’s Walker Court and the surrounding corridors, and populated by a sea of future big givers and stylish party goers.
Dotting the museum, in unexpected places and alongside permanent works, were one-night-only installations, among them Purification Room, in which Patrick Cruz transformed an elevator. Daniel Mazzone made a statement on self-expression titled Life Without Judgement, which was central to the dinner space, and a fashion installation featuring the work of forward-thinking labels, including Moskal, L’Uomo Strano and Ali Haider, greeted guests as they arrived.
Among attendees giving it their all out were: GFL Environmental CEO Patrick Dovigi and his wife, interior designer Fernanda Dovigi; Martina Sorbara of the band Dragonette, who performed during the after-party; lawyer Max Gotlieb and his wife, Heather Gotlieb; philanthropists Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin; financier Moez Kassam and his wife, author Marissa Kassam; and Stephan Jost, the AGO’s CEO and its Michael and Sonja Koerner Director.
Daniel Abichandani and Sonja Berman.Ryan Emberley/The Globe and Mail
From the left, Liza Mauer, Barbara Macdonald and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin.KENNEDY POLLARD/The Globe and Mail
Mic. Carter, designer of the label L'Uomo Strano.KENNEDY POLLARD/The Globe and Mail
Labatt celebrates 175 years with A Brewing Affair
The following week on Oct. 6, Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre Theatre was the backdrop for a dinner and the launch of a public exhibition to mark 175 years of Labatt. The exhibition, A Brewing Affair, on through Oct. 23, highlights the brewer’s history, from its founding in London, Ont., in 1847 by John Kinder Labatt to present day – there are now seven key breweries across Canada, 70 brands and more than 3,600 people in Labatt’s employ.
On offer alongside the visual exploration of Labatt’s history is a pair of contemporary works by OCAD alumni Suzanne Simoni, Maryam Zaraimajin and Hayley Myatt. Dinner, masterminded by chef Tony Loschiavo was served after cocktails and naturally, there was beer in just about everything (and with every course, too).
Across from me at dinner was Celtic music superstar Natalie MacMaster, who performed earlier in the evening alongside her husband, Donnell Leahy, (seated to my left) and their daughter, Mary Frances Leahy. Also out to toast the milestone were: professor of history at Ottawa’s Carleton University and Labatt historian of note Matthew Bellamy; TV types including Blink49 Studios’ Allison Brough and Traci Melchor, who served as emcee; Omar Alghabra, Canadian Minister of Transportation; media executive and author Denise Donlon; The Walrus executive director Jennifer Hollett; and Mika Michaelis, president of Labatt Breweries of Canada.
The Honourable Omar Alghabra and Mika Michaelis at A Brewing Affair.ERNESTO DiSTEFANO/The Globe and Mail
Artists Suzanne Simoni and Maryam Zaraimajin.ERNESTO DiSTEFANO/The Globe and Mail
From the left, Kate Alexander Daniels, Natalie MacMaster and Andria Case.ERNESTO DiSTEFANO/The Globe and Mail
Traci Melchor and Shayne Stephens.The Globe and Mail