29th Annual Mistletoe Magic
A holiday art fundraiser
On View: December 6 – 13, 2018
Gala Fundraising Night: Thursday, December 13, 6 – 9 p.m.
The John B. Aird Gallery is pleased to announce the details of its annual fundraising gala Mistletoe Magic, which will take place on Thursday, December 13, from 6 – 9 p.m.
This highly anticipated event brings together over 150 works of art from more than 100 contemporary artists across the province.
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The John B. Aird Gallery is delighted to present its 29th edition of Mistletoe Magic, a silent art auction fundraiser. This popular event raises much needed funds for the Aird Gallery’s year-round programming (12-13 exhibitions per year) and to increase the visibility of the gallery, the participating artists and organizations, while remaining free of charge to the public.
This highly anticipated event brings together over 150 works of art from more than 100 contemporary artists across the province. In addition, the gallery is delighted to feature three renowned artist at this year’s fundraiser: Tony Vander Voet, OSA (posthumous), Andrew Harwood and Chris Ironside.
Leading up to the December 13 event, visitors will have a week, beginning Thursday, December 6, to visit the gallery to preview and even place an advanced bid for this year’s outstanding collection of affordable Canadian art.
Poignantly, Mistletoe Magic 2018 will mark the final edition of this popular annual silent art auction before the Aird vacates its space as part of the upcoming Macdonald Block reconstruction project. Critically, the funds raised will support the Aird’s search for a new home over the next several years.
The Gala Fundraising night is open and free to all, from 6 – 9 p.m. on Thursday December 13, where the final frenzy of bidding will take place! The winning bidders will be able to take home their outstanding artworks at the end of the evening. The event includes lots of nibbles and a cash bar.
OUR FEATURED ARTISTS:
TONY VANDER VOET (posthumous) was an artist, scientist, teacher, leader, public servant (Ontario), world traveler and photographer. He embraced his life and adventure. Born in Holland and immigrated to Canada with his family when he was five years old, Tony was always drawn to the arts. He was primarily a self-taught artist and studied drawing, painting and printmaking with a number of renowned Canadian artists at both the Haliburton School of the Arts and at the Toronto School of Art. His works can be found in the Government of Ontario Collection and private collections in Canada, Germany, Chile and Mexico. Tony applied his organizational abilities to several arts organizations as President, Colour and Form Society and Ontario Society of Artists; Treasurer, John B. Aird Gallery and board of Pastel Artist of Canada and Headwaters Arts. His work “Inspired by the Glacier” won first prize, International Juried Online Exhibition, Society of Canadian Artists, just before his death. He passed away on April 22, 2018.
ANDREW HARWOOD is a Toronto-based artist who works in a variety of media, currently painting. His most recent solo exhibition, “While I Was Away” 2017, at No Foundation, Toronto concentrated on the relationships between interior design, nature and painting. Harwood has had exhibitions in Miami, Los Angles, The Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art, Toronto and the Tom Thomson Memorial Gallery, Owen Sound. His works are in the collections of the TD Bank, Bank of Montreal, University of Guelph, Queen’s University, University of Manitoba, Centennial College, Sheridan College, The Gay and Lesbian Museum of Art, New York and in private collections in Canada, The United States and Europe. He opened one of the first galleries, Zsa Zsa, in what is now called the West Queen West Art and Design District in Toronto. He is a co-founding member of the Toronto Alternative Art Fair International, 2004 – _06, co-organizing and co-curating exhibitions, lectures and special music events for TAAFI held at the Drake and Gladstone Hotels. He was the former President, BOD A Space Gallery and Treasurer, BOD member Gallery TPW.
CHRIS IRONSIDE received his MFA from York University and BA from the University of Guelph. His drawings and photographs have been exhibited throughout North America. His work has been featured in the Globe and Mail, C Magazine and Headmaster Magazine, and exhibited at Daniel Faria Gallery, the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives and the Gladstone Hotel (Toronto), Four-Eleven Gallery (Provincetown) and with ClampArt at the Art on Paper Fair (New York). His recent body of work, “Loving For the Fame”, was exhibited at Angell Gallery this past October and he will have his first solo public gallery exhibition in the fall of 2019 at the Art Gallery of Peterborough. He has formerly taught in the School of Fine Art and Music at The University of Guelph and currently teaches in the Faculty of Fine Arts at York University.
ABOUT THE JOHN B. AIRD GALLERY:
Our Mission: The Aird is a generous, safe contemporary art exhibition space where visual culture can be shared and explored by an audience as diverse as its makers.
The John B. Aird Gallery opened in 1985. It was named in honour of the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to recognize his support for the visual arts in the province and in Canada. Governed by a board Directors, the Gallery’s mandate is to create awareness and promote the enjoyment of works of art by professional contemporary artists.
The Aird is one of the few remaining public art galleries in Toronto. Operating for over 30 years as a non-profit and registered charity, we connect people to ideas – where contemporary art is presented, discussed and enjoyed. We are a space where visual culture is shared to inspire, where communities connect with each other, and where artists are supported throughout their career lifespan.
John B. Aird Gallery | Galerie John B. Aird www.airdgallery.org
900 Bay Street, The Macdonald Block, TO, ON, M7A 1C2
A Canadian Registered Charity: 85850 5191 RR000
