Article by Amoryn Engel, Financial Post

 

The 31st annual Business for the Arts Awards Gala was a sold-out affair with 300 leaders from the realms of arts and business descending on the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) to celebrate outstanding community leaders. The black-tie event featured performances by Simone Osborne of the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio program, as well as a musical performance by the Royal Conservatory of Music's Alex Seredenko, a rising young pianist, who collaborated with electric violinist Dr. Draw for an unforgettable duet.

 

A special tribute was made to Charles Baillie, chairman AGO, and retired chairman and CEO of TD Bank Financial Group, who was selected as the 2009 winner of the prestigious Edmund C. Bovey Award, in recognition of the contributions he has made as a volunteer in the arts. Nancy Palk, one of Soulpepper's founding members, gave a poetry reading in honour of Mr. Baillie.

 

"It is always so wonderful to see Canada's leading lights in the arts and business community gather every year for the Business for the Arts Awards Gala to recognize some of Canada's truly great business leaders in the arts," said Nichole Anderson, president and CEO, Business for the Arts. "Our Bovey winner, Charles Baillie, and all of our winners this evening are a testament to what is possible when creative business minds invest in the arts. They have helped bring new cultural buildings to life, provided access to music education, opera and dance for our children and supported the creation of new works of art, plays and films. In short, they are business leaders who believe that arts and culture matter, and they have made a difference."...cont'd