Will Munro Underwear Mannequins Courtesy the Will Munro Estate and Paul Petro (Watson’s) / photo AGYU
The 35th annual Ontario Association of Art Galleries Awards took place earlier this evening in Toronto, with the Art Gallery of York University’s exhibition “Will Munro: History, Magic and Glamour” taking home top honours as Exhibition of the Year.
Curated by Philip Monk and Emelie Chhangur, the exhibition provided a posthumous overview of Munro’s production. Munro’s parents Margaret and Ian were in attendance for the presentation of the award.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Toronto artist Kim Tomczak in recognition of his commitment to video art preservation and media arts heritage. The nomination was supported by Vtape, the Canadian Cultural Workers Network, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Art Gallery of York University.
Oakville Galleries’ Do You Read Me?—a book dedicated to youth-based zines—took home Art Publication of the Year. It was authored by young writers from Oakville Galleries’ Youth Council, the Art Gallery of Ontario Youth Council, Bronte Youth Centre and Oakville Public Library Youth.
The comprehensive website for “William Kurelek: The Messenger,” a collaboration between the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and the Winnipeg Art Gallery, received the Education Award.
The Art Writing Award went to Kathleen Ritter for “Incomplete & Open…Reading the Art of Derek Sullivan” from the catalogue for Sullivan’s Power Plant exhibition “Albatross Omnibus.”
Among the other 12 awards presented, philanthropist Peter Allen took home the Key Gallery Partnership Award for his significant contributions to the University of Toronto Art Centre.
The OAAG Awards recognize artistic merit and excellence in nine major categories: Exhibition, Curatorial and Art Writing, Public Program, Education, Art Publication, Design, Partnership, Colleague and Volunteer.
Jurors this year included Srimoyee Mitra of the Art Gallery of Windsor, Marlee Choo of Harbourfront Centre, Patricia Deadman of the Woodstock Art Gallery, Olexander Wlasenko of Station Gallery, Andrea Fantona of Toronto, Alexandra Badzak of the Ottawa Art Gallery, Nancy Gareh-Coulombe of the Art Gallery of Sudbury, Valentine Moreno of the Koffler Centre and Yves Théoret of MOCCA.
