McMichael’s Moonlight Gala raises funds for art exhibitions and education, OCAD U Gala supports student talent | Canada Voices

McMichael Canadian Art Collection’s Moonlight Gala

Nestled in the Humber River Valley, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection is home to one of the foremost collections of Canadian and Indigenous art. The gallery’s Moonlight Gala, a swish summer fundraiser, gathered some 600 guests to raise funds for exhibitions, education, outreach programs and the maintenance of the art museum’s glorious gardens.

This year’s event will be the last for a little while, as the gallery embarks on a multiyear redevelopment of the site – the first major investment it has seen in more than four decades.

Built in the 1950s as the private home of gallery founders Robert and Signe McMichael, the timber-and-stone art museum and its out-buildings have a cozy, intimate quality. Hariri Pontarini Architects will lead the redevelopment project, and conceptual renderings (as well as talk at the gala) confirm that the new space will meet modern needs while revering the place’s legacy.

On co-chair duties for the evening were Debra Fenwick, who sits on the gallery’s board of trustees, and Laura Mirabella, a member of the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation board. Steven Del Duca, mayor of Vaughan, Ont., and Stephen Lecce, Ontario Energy Minister and MPP of King-Vaughan, served as honorary co-chairs.

Sarah Milroy, the Frances and Tim Price executive director and chief curator, addressed the crowd under a full moon. Artists in attendance included transdisciplinary Anishinaabe artist Maria Hupfield; Sandra Brewster, whose site-specific installation, FISH, is on view at the gallery; Melanie Authier, whose 2023 work Venture Myth is featured in the show Fresh Air: New Acquisitions in Context (on through July 5); and Derek Liddington, who is also represented in Fresh Air.

OCAD U Gala

A couple of nights earlier, OCAD University held the second edition of its art-filled gala fundraiser at the school’s Toronto campus. The evening raised $420,000, which will support bursaries for talented young people to pursue their studies and develop their creative practices.

Drinks were held in the school’s main building, where installations by artists including Cell Driver, Golnoush Mir Salari, Simone Northey, Jordan Shaw and Sohyun Yoon dotted the space. Later, dinner was served up in the Rosalie Sharp Centre for Design.

The centre’s namesake and honoured guest, Mrs. Sharp, who graduated from the school in 1969, donated her 2026 artwork Blue My Mind (Jordin Mimran and Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka were among the other alumni who contributed pieces to the evening’s auction). Back this year were co‑chairs Amy Burstyn‑Fritz and Jeff Hull. Seated on my left at dinner was committee member, gallery owner and interior designer Alison Milne; and nearby were fellow committee members Jaclyn Cobourn, Alison Currie and Nandini Gupta.

Also in attendance were OCAD supporters Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau; curator Gaëtane Verna; OCAD president and vice-chancellor Ana Serrano; and chancellor Jaime Watt.