An Evening At Toronto's Ritz-Carlton for Art for AIDS

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Recently, we were proud to host "An Evening At the Ritz", an exhibit and fundraiser at Toronto's Residence at the Ritz-Carlton. The event featured a new collection of artwork made by young people from across Canada and Tanzania exhibited in the Ritz's beautiful Sky Lobby alongside black and white photography by award-winning photojournalist Dave Chidley, taken during recent Art for AIDS International workshops in Tanzania.

The event was generously sponsored by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) and the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW). We'd like to thank both organizations for their ongoing support and leadership in the community. We would also like to thank our food and beverage sponsors, Ponte Wine and Spirits, Steam Whistle Brewing, and Fare Catering for providing food and beverages for the event, which were enjoyed by over 100 visitors throughout the evening.

Finally, the event would not have been a success without each of our guests who came to learn more about the impact that HIV and AIDS is having in our community and in communities across Africa, and about the work that Art for AIDS International is doing to help stop the spread of HIV through art and education. As a result of your support and enthusiasm, the event raised over $10,000. These funds will help us continue to engage young people across Canada and abroad in our educational workshops, and will benefit directly our partner organizations in Africa, who provide care and support services to women and children affected by HIV and AIDS in their communities.

If you weren't able to join us in Toronto, here are a few of the photos taken by Dave Chidley during the event.


Event Sponsors

About OETCA

OECTA is a teachers’ association that represents 45,000 professional women and men who teach all grades in publicly funded English Catholic schools in Ontario. Through support from OECTA, Art for AIDS International has brought important educational programming to young people from across Ontario and to school communities in East Africa.

About CAW

The Canadian Auto Workers union is one of the largest private sector unions in the country with approximately 193,000 members from coast to coast to coast. CAW has been a close friend and partner of Art for AIDS International since we began working with Canadian youth to raise awareness about the impact of HIV and AIDS in their own community and in communities around the world.


To learn more about upcoming Art for AIDS International events in your community, visit our Events and Exhibits page. You can also contact us if you'd like to learn more about hosting an event or exhibit in your community.


Getting Ready for the Gladstone Hotel Exhibit

It seems odd in retrospect that after almost a decade of hosting exhibits and workshops with students throughout Ontario and around the world, that we have never hosted an exhibition in Toronto (despite the incredible support we have received from local schools and individuals).  To rectify this we have been working hard to ensure that 2010 will see no shortage of activity in the greater Toronto area.  The first of what will be many events on the horizon will open this Friday, April 9th, at the famous Gladstone Hotel on Queen Street West in Toronto.  Located in their second story gallery, this exhibit will feature 25 works of art made by internationally recognized artists from Africa, North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia as part of Art for AIDS' International Portfolio.  This work is exhibited alongside 40 unique works of art made by students from Canada, Uganda, South Africa, Mozambique, and the Netherlands.

We finalized hanging the exhibit yesterday and it will be available to view from today until next Sunday when the exhibit will be taken down.  Regular hours during the week will be 9 until 3 and the official opening will occur this Friday from 7PM until 10 PM.

We strongly encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the opening, learn more about Art for AIDS, and, if you are so inclined, purchase a piece of art.  The student prints will be available for $75 each framed and the international portfolio pieces will be sold individually for $550 each.

All of the proceeds from the sale of this work will be directed grassroots civil society organizations that assist women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.  In the past Art for AIDS International has worked with and contributed to a number of inspiring organizations in South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.

Just in case anyone wanted a sneak peak of the exhibit, or if you are unable to attend I thought I would attach a photo.

A sneak peak of the upcoming exhibit at the Gladstone Hotel

As I mentioned above, the Gladstone is only the first of many upcoming events in the Toronto area.  To find out about events in Toronto or elsewhere in the world, please visit our website at www.artforaidsinternational.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter by following the links to the right of this post!

The next exhibition will be hosted in the Steam Whistle Brewery this summer for an entire month. Please check back soon for more details.

We hope to see you all this Friday!

The Gladstone Hotel is located at 1214 Queen Street West, in Toronto between Ossington and Duffern.

For more details contact us at [email protected]