Bal du MAC, September 14, Montreal
On the evening of September 14 in Montreal, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) Ball raised just north of $1.3 million. La Nesra, a warehouse-slash-event space in the centre of Griffintown, hosted the evening’s festivities as the museum continues to renovate its home in the Place des Arts complex, which is set to re-open in 2028 (the MAC is temporarily housed in Place Ville-Marie). Some 700 guests were in attendance to help raise the impressive sum, which will support the museum’s acquisition fund (it has an impressive collection of more than 8,000 works) and programs like the recently announced Habiter le MAC, which will support emerging artists through a residency at the museum that’s focused on connecting artists with the organization’s audience. The evening started with a cocktail reception hosted by Birks, where Montreal artist Shawn Kuruneru, whose work was recently shown at Cooper Cole Gallery in Toronto, was given a Bentley to paint during the evening. Dinner followed, and later, music by DJ Lost Heroes and dancing ensued. The evening’s co-chairs were Philippe Adam, president and CEO of Pomerleau, and Viviane Croux, senior vice-president and head of BMO Commercial Banking in Quebec. In attendance were Anne Lebel, executive director of the MAC Foundation, and the museum’s director, Stéphan La Roche, who stepped into the position last fall. Guests also included Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Mélanie Joly and Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Mathieu Lacombe; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts chief curator Mary-Dailey Desmarais; singer Marie-Ève Janvier; actor Joël Legendre; and author and mental health advocate Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.
Holt Renfrew Hosts Sabyasachi, September 19, Toronto
Widely considered to be India’s leading name in fashion, Sabyasachi Mukherjee launched his namesake brand in the late 1990s and has dressed countless stars of both the Bollywood and Hollywood variety, heiresses the world over and brides of certain echelon. A flagship shop in New York’s West Village came in 2022, its maximal, opulent interior a nod to the designer’s Kolkata roots. The location was a sensation, cementing Mukherjee’s global appeal (in 2024, he was the first Indian designer to attend the MET Gala). On the eve of September 19, Holt Renfrew hosted the designer in Toronto to kick off a pop-up of his coveted, lushly embroidered handbags and luxe accessories. Long-time clients were out to welcome Sabyasachi and his wares to Canada. Among them: Investor Arati Sharma and her mother, Alka Sharma; the stylish Gurpreet Kaur Ahluwalia (whose wedding ensemble was created by the designer); physician Parambir Keila and his wife, lawyer Anjli Patel (wearing a dress from one of the designer’s early collections); film director Japinder Kaur; stylist and brand strategist Sharad Mohan; and the CBC’s Arti Patel. The pop-up runs through October 12 at Holt Renfrew Bloor Street.
