Toronto’s MOCA and the Giller Prize celebrate Canadian visual and literary arts | Canada Voices

MOCA Toronto Award & Gala, Dec. 3, Toronto

On the evening of Dec. 3, Toronto’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) hosted its biennial fundraiser, which recognizes leaders in the visual arts. Acclaimed artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat, whose sweeping 2022 show Land of Dreams was a coup for the museum, won the MOCA Artist Award and its accompanying $25,000 prize. When the award was last presented, in 2022, it went to multidisciplinary artist Rajni Perera (Edward Burtynsky and the late Michael Snow are also past recipients).

Canadian arts philanthropists Tim and Frances Price, who have long supported prominent arts organizations such as the National Ballet of Canada, the Shaw Festival and MOCA, were also recognized with the MOCA Luminary Award (Nada Ristich, who attended this year’s event, took home the award in 2022). On offer for the several hundred guests gathered at Evergreen Brickworks was a special performance by Ballet Creole, Canada’s leading professional Black dance company. Founded by choreographer Patrick Parson, the organization focuses on African- and Caribbean-centred works and educational programs.

Among those who helped raise funds for MOCA’s exhibitions and programs were Alfredo Romano and his wife, Moira Romano, who underwrote the artist award; art supporter couples Carol and David Appel, Judy and Wil Matthews, and Michelle Koerner and Kevin Doyle; architects Bruce Kuwabara and Don Schmidt; and philanthropists Emmanuelle Gattuso, Nancy McCain and Carol Weinbaum. Also in attendance were MOCA artistic director and curator Rui Amaral, executive director Kathleen Bartels and board chair Michael Bertrand.

The Giller Prize, Nov. 17, Toronto

On the evening of Nov. 17, at the dinner held by The Giller Prize to laud this year’s best Canadian book of fiction, just one main prize was awarded. Host Rick Mercer noted in his opening monologue that this year’s award was “proudly sponsored by The Giller Prize.” It felt like a concerted reset of sorts for the organization, which since its founding in 1994 by Jack Rabinovitch in honour of his wife, journalist Doris Giller, has been focused on supporting fiction writers in Canada. Souvankham Thammavongsa took home this year’s award for her novel, Pick a Colour (Knopf Canada), and the accompanying $100,000 prize. The book tells the story of a nail salon owner and explores themes of love, labour and class.

Those out to support included Robert and Sylvia Mantella, who founded the The Giller Mantella Scholarship; Douglas Knight, CEO and chair of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (daughter Emma Knight, who was there with her husband Anthony Green, was a shortlisted author); Griffin Poetry Prize founder Scott Griffin and his wife, Krystyne Griffin; Penguin Random House Canada CEO Kristin Cochrane; longtime Giller supporters Gerald Sheff and Shanitha Kachan and Charles and Marilyn Baillie; authors John Irving and André Alexis; former UN Ambassador Bob Rae; senator Pamela Wallin; prize jury chair Dionne Irving and fellow jurors Loghan Paylor and Deepa Rajagopalan; and the prize’s executive director Elana Rabinovitch.