New records for the Museum annual Ball

The fifty-fifth edition of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Ball, which took place on November 5, surpassed all expectations both for attendance and for the net proceeds it raised. The event, whose theme was “Give Peace a Dance” to inaugurate the opening of the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace, raised $1.2 million in net profit, the best performance in the history of this annual fundraising event.

This success can be attributed to the determination of the Co-presidents, who worked tirelessly to meet and surpass the lofty financial goals. Michael D. Penner, Chairman of Hydro-Québec’s Board of directors, and Brian J. Porter, President and CEO of Scotiabank, did an exemplary job, as did Marie-Hélène Sicard, Executive Vice-president, Marketing and Strategic Planning, Sodexo North America, who persuaded young entrepreneurs to get involved. To make the Ball a stand-out event, the MMFA came up with a bold artistic concept, with fourteen artists from the cultural and visual arts communities who came together to deliver their messages of peace with texts and contemporary art installations.

The event was also a tribute to the late Michal and the late Renata Hornstein, represented at the Ball by their family, and their donation of seventy-seven works to the Museum. Over cocktails, the 930 guests and 150 members of the Young Philanthropists Circle had their first look at the new pavilion, featuring 800 works of international art.