The Collectors Symposium National Bank Private Wealth 1859 was established to give participants an opportunity to share in the experience of selecting a new acquisition for the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal’s collection. This year’s event was held on October 19, 2021, at Espace C2 in the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth and was co-chaired by Ève Giard and Nathalie Pratte.
During this fundraising event, the MAC’s curators, Marie-Eve Beaupré, Mark Lanctôt and François LeTourneux, each presented a work by a different artist to the gathering of 71 participants. Throughout the evening, hosted by Marie-Claude Lortie, the guests were able to ask questions and discuss with the curators to decide which of the three artworks would be purchased for the collection. These discussions were as rich as the delicious gourmet meal beautifully prepared by the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth.
At the end of the evening, our guests recommended the acquisition of Red Film by Sara Cwynar. The enthusiastic involvement of the guests and the incredible spontaneous generosity of nine donors – BMO Bank of Montreal, Diane Boissonneault, Louise Chagnon-Bucheit, Antoine Chagnon, Sanimax, Guthrie Stewart, Mr. Vincent Chiara and Ms. Stella Vassallo, the Yoon-Shareck family – along with the additional support of our cherished long-time partner, the National Bank, means that we will also be able to acquire the other two works presented at the Symposium: Lumapit Sa Akin, Paraiso [Come to me, Paradise] by Stephanie Comilang and Floralia by Sabrina Ratté. This is the MAC’s first acquisition from all three of these Canadian artists, women of the same generation who have international stature. The Collectors Symposium National Bank Private Wealth 1859 made history this year: it is the first time that the MAC has been able to purchase all of the artworks presented.
The event netted close to $110,000, which will enable the MAC to continue fulfilling its collection-building mandate for the community. The MAC and its Foundation would like to thank all the participants for supporting the expansion of the national collection, and to express its sincere appreciation to National Bank Private Wealth 1859 for its unfailing support of the event success during the past decade and more.
