2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2004 • 2003

September 2009
PIA + The Power Plant
Factum, the fifth instalment of The Power Plant's Commissioning Program and the second work supported by Partners in Art under this program, was unveiled in September 2009 as part of the first North American survey of works by internationally -acclaimed video artist Candice Breitz. Shot in Toronto, Factum (its title referencing Robert Rauschenberg's 1957 set of near-identical paintings) explores the myriad ways that twins differentiate themselves in a world that values nothing more than the individual. Woven together, the recollections and opinions of the twins both collide and harmonize, thereby conveying the simultaneous sense of sameness and difference experienced not only by twins but by 'singletons' (as twins call non-twins) too. By interviewing several sets of twins --- and one set of triplets --- each separated from their sibling but asked the same questions, Candice Breitz has created a series of dynamically edited video portraits.

June 2009
PIA + Justina M Barnicke Gallery
Partners in Art supported the  Justina M. Barnicke Gallery at  Hart House to represent Canada at the 53rd International Art Exhibition at the 2009 Venice Biennale (June 7 - November 22 2009), with a new project by Mark Lewis, curated by Barbara Fischer. The donation from Partners in Art also provided support for a public lecture by Mark Lewis in conjunction with an exhibition opening for "Mark Lewis: In a City".

February 2009
PIA + Justina M Barnicke Gallery
Partners in Art supported the launch of an International Curator in Residence program at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, University of Toronto. The first curator invited was Anselm Franke, Director of the Extra City Centre for Contemporary Art in Antwerp, Belgium. During his three week visit to Toronto, Franke engaged with students, artists, curators, professors and the public in Toronto. He gave a public lecture at University College to a packed audience, shared his knowledge with master students from UofT, OCAD, York and Ryerson, extended his research studies and connected with numerous galleries and institutions with in the artistic community.

2008 - back to top

November 2008
PIA + The Power Plant
With a donation of $120,000, Partners in Art supported The Power Plant's Commissioning Program for 2008 and 2009. For The Power Plant, as Canada's leading, non-collecting contemporary art gallery, the commissioning of major new projects is a distinctive and important role. It is committed to realizing at least one major new artwork of international significance per year. Partners in Art was proud to be its commissioning partner for the fourth and fifth commissions under the program.

The 2008 commission was a work by Toronto-based, Canadian artist Scott Lyall. Entitled The Color Ball, the piece is named after a fictitious gala party reminiscent of The  Power Plant's annual Power Ball. Inhabiting 3655 square feet of gallery space, The Colour Ball references works from a range of Lyall's previous exhibitions. Exposing the dichotomies that arise from our notions of the contemporary gallery space as a site for presentation, the project investigates how artworks can be finite and infinite, and how an 'art exhibition' can possess both symbolic and imaginary functions.


The Color Ball, 2008                                                                     Photo Credit: Raphael Goldchain


February 2008
PIA + Canadian Art
For the second year in a row, Partners in Art provided sponsorship funds for The Canadian Art Foundation’s Reel Artists Film Festival. The series was held in Toronto as part of the Foundation's mandate to foster awareness of the visual arts in Canada. A curated showcase of documentaries on Canadian and international visual artists, the festival provides a forum for thoughtful public discussion on questions about the role of the artist and the shaping of contemporary art history. 

2007 - back to top

September 2007
PIA + ICC
Partners in Art made a $10,000 grant to the Institute for Contemporary Culture at the ROM for a commissioned performance piece by Kent Monkman, as a feature event of the Shapeshifters exhibit. The piece marked the opening of the exhibition that brought together evocative objects from the ROM's collections of works by leading contemporary Aboriginal artists.

February 2007
PIA + UQAM
Partners in Art awarded $1,000 to the Gallery Fund of the Université du Quebec à Montreal for their sponsorship of Canada’s Venice Biennale artist, David Altmejd.

February 2007
PIA + Canadian Art
Partners in Art donated $30,000 as lead sponsor of The Canadian Art Foundation’s Reel Artists Film Festival. The series was held in Toronto as part of the Foundation's mandate to foster awareness of the visual arts in Canada. It provides a forum for thoughtful public discussion on questions about the role of the artist and the shaping of contemporary art history.

2006 - back to top

May 2006
PIA + OCAD
In 2006, Partners in Art collaborated with OCAD to raise $110,000 to launch OCAD’s inaugural Artist-in-Residence Program. Two internationally acclaimed artists, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Ann Hamilton, presented public lectures and participated in workshops with students during their time in Toronto. Entitled Nomadic Residents, the program has brought the world's top practitioners of art to OCAD, increasing the university's international profile, and enhancing the challenging academic and studio program offered at the university.

2004 - back to top

October 2004
PIA + Mocca
In 2004 Partners in Art provided funding ($81, 000) for a series of four exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. Entitled Future Species, this series of four exhibitions (Hybrids, Cyborg Living, Exoskell and Makeover Madness) was a spirited speculation on how the human physical form may appear several steps ahead in the evolutionary process. Curated by David Liss, the exhibitions included works by Karma Clark-Davis, Edith Dakovic, Nicholas Di Genova, Istvan Kantor, Geoffrey Pugen, Flora Sigismondi, KC Adams, Mike Bilodeau, and Steven Meisel.

2003 - back to top

May 2003
PIA + AGO
Partners in Art hosted its inaugural fundraiser to raise $30,000 for the purchase of Frank Thiel’s Stadt 5/23/A (Berlin), 2001 for the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario.