TOAF61 Judges

Lex Barrie

Emerging Artists by Emerging Curator Award

Lex Barrie (they/them) is a fourth year Criticism and Curatorial Practice (CRCP) student at OCAD University, set to graduate in 2023. They have curated two group exhibitions to date, including one in partnership with the Archive of Ontario, featuring the works of current OCAD U students and past members of the Ontario Society of Artists. They are currently spearheading the reboot of the West Queen West Art Gallery Crawl, working with 8 Toronto art galleries to collectively feature their unique exhibitions. Lex has worked as an intern for Propeller Art Gallery in Toronto for almost a year, assisting in the marketing and administrative creation of member and group exhibitions since late 2021.

Flavio Belli

Murray & Marvelle Koffler Founder's Award

Flavio Belli is an artist, curator, art consultant and art collector with a broad range of experience in the Canadian cultural community. He is the current Chair of the Al Green Sculpture Studio and School in Toronto. His artworks have been shown in over 50 solo and group exhibitions and form part of public and private collections including the National Gallery of Canada. Flavio served on the Board of the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition for 10 years and during that time was also a member of the Sculpture Selection Committee for the McMurtry Gardens of Justice. He was appointed by the Governor in Council to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board in Ottawa from 2005 to 2012. Flavio was Director and Curator of the Carrier Gallery in the Italian community’s Columbus Centre from 1990 to 2005 and during that time he volunteered as an on-camera Arts Reporter on “Toronto Living”, for Rogers Television.

Neil Brochu

Mayor's Purchase Award

Neil Brochu is the curator of the City of Toronto Art Collection, which is displayed in public buildings across the city.  The collection began in the 1850s and has since grown to include over 3000 art works. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Guelph and a Masters of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto. A keen student of local history, material culture and fine art, Neil has worked with the City's art and artifact collections since 2004. He has steered numerous curatorial projects at the City's history museums; most recently Toronto through the Eyes of Women Artists – an exhibition at the Market Gallery exploring depictions of Toronto by women artists drawn from the City's collection.

Carlo Cesta

Best of 3D Works Award

Carlo Cesta is a visual artist who lives and works in Toronto, Canada. His exhibitions include: Beyond in Western New York (2005), organized by the Albright-Knox Museum at Hallwalls, Buffalo N.Y., and Canadian Club (2005), Canadian Cultural Center, Paris France. He has completed several public art projects in Toronto, including Drift (2013), and Fountaingrove (2014), a collaborative sculpture with fellow Toronto artist Nestor Kruger. His work has been included in Form follows Fiction: Art and Artists in Toronto, an exhibition at the Art Museum, University of Toronto (2016), Context New York, New York City (2016) and in a solo exhibition entitled 50 Gallons at the Boarding House Gallery at the University of Guelph in (2016). He participated in an exhibition, Imago Mundi, Palazzo Loredan, Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti, Venice, Italy (2017) and Onsight, OCAD Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2018). Cesta is the co-founder of Beauty Supply, an independent gallery located in Toronto Canada.

Corrie Jackson

Catherine Bratty Award for Best of Art Fair

Corrie Jackson, RBC Senior Curator, joined RBC in 2014, overseeing the management and strategy of the RBC Corporate Art Collection. Previ­ously she worked at the University of Toronto art Museum, at Sotheby’s Canada, and as an independent curator. She finished her Masters in Visual Studies, Curatorial Practice at the University of Toronto with a focus on contemporary Canadian artists. Her curatorial interests focus on cross-generational dialogues and developing the role of collections as accountable and inclusive narratives.

Nancy Jacobi

Best of Paper Award

Nancy Jacobi, founder of The Japanese Paper Place (The JPP) in Toronto, started the company 40 years ago to encourage creativity through the special qualities of washi, Japanese papers, some of which have been in production for 1400 years. In that quest, Nancy has supported throngs of artists both independently and through collaborations with major arts organizations, galleries, universities and colleges. With them, The JPP has presented lectures and exhibitions, sponsored workshops and special events, including the World Washi Summit in 2008. She has acquired a vast collection of outstanding artwork on washi by prominent Canadian artists. Now with the next generation continuing the work and mission of The JPP to support Japanese papermakers and inspire creativity with washi, Nancy is chronicling her fulfilling life as a “washipreneur" while championing artists who have embraced it in exceptionally effective ways.

Stuart Keeler

Best of Painting Award
Honourable Mention - Painting

TD Senior Curator, Stuart Keeler brings twenty-five years of experience in supporting the creativity and imagination of artists, by presenting groundbreaking programs of contemporary art, craft, living heritage and architecture with the goal of inspiring the radical imagination of audiences. Expertise includes American and Canadian contemporary art, museum and collections management, leading with equity, inclusion, and care.

Michael Klein

Best of 2D Works Award
Honourable Mention - 2D Works

Michael Klein participated in the early activities of The Winnipeg Photographers Group as well as Video Pool in Winnipeg, and began exhibiting his own video and photo-based work 40 years ago. In addition to several exhibitions at Winnipeg’s Plug In ICA (Inc.), in 2002/03 he conceived and co-curated Plug In ICA’s 30th anniversary exhibition, Back In The Day 2002-1972. He has curated, organized and programmed numerous exhibitions and publications as a former member of the Public Access collective, projects coordinator at Art Metropole, and programming chair at YYZ Artists’ Outlet. He has also been a board member at Art Metropole and sat on committees for Art Toronto, Canadian Art, Canada Council and Toronto Arts Council and panels at the Power Plant and Nuit Blanche. In 2007, he opened the gallery, MKG127 in Toronto and has since presented more than 130 exhibitions and participated in more than 30 art fairs in Canada, the USA and the UK.

Tiana Koffler Boyman

Murray & Marvelle Koffler Founder's Award

Tiana Koffler Boyman is Immediate Past Co-Chair of the Koffler Centre of the Arts, a prominent Toronto based Jewish contemporary cultural organization. The Koffler presents a cross-disciplinary arts program that promotes inter-cultural dialogue through a diverse range of programs in literature, theatre, visual arts and public engagement. Tiana has served the Koffler Centre in many capacities since 2001 including as a member of the Governance, Nominations, Fundraising, and Strategic Planning Committees as well as the Koffler Gallery Advisory Board.

Ms. Koffler Boyman is involved in the philanthropic community for over 30 years providing her focus on health, science, and arts related organizations. She has sat on numerous boards of charitable organizations including the Canadian Friends of the Weizman Institute of Science in Israel, the Board of Sterling Hall School (creating with her husband, Marc Boyman, the Boyman Student Art Gallery), and the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at the Mount Sinai Hospital. Through her continued association with the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre, Ms. Koffler Boyman remains as an advisor and currently is Co-Chair of the Breast Cancer Philanthropic Advisory Board as well as the Donor Relations and Stewardship Committee at Mt Sinai Hospital. Tiana Koffler Boyman is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Jacqueline Kok

Best of Student Award
The Power Plant Emerging Artist Award
Artscape Emerging Artist Award

Jacqueline Kok is a curator based in Toronto and New York City. She is also presently the Nancy McCain & Bill Morneau Curatorial Fellow at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery as well as the Assistant curator to many of the institution's exhibition. Kok’s curatorial research pursues the political and social potentials of space through a deep exploration of the dialectical relationship among the bodies within it. Prior to joining The Power Plant, she has held prominent roles including Curator at MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain under the direction of Nicolas Bourriaud. She has also worked in the curatorial department at MoCA Taipei and ArtinGeneral, as well as in the public programs department at e-flux. She has self-produced Art and Other Stories, a podcast under her curatorial collective, Triptych Arts, and Spaces of Exchange, a Zoom program uniting international Chinese artists in collaboration with the International Chinese Fine Arts Council.

Tara Moore-Jones

Best of Paper Award

Tara Moore-Jones grew up in a household surrounded by beautiful paper, art and artists. Working at The Japanese Paper Place off and on for most of her life, it was a natural transition to take over running the business, when her stepmother Nancy Jacobi who founded The JPP decided to step back. With other life experiences under her belt like attending U of T, getting her diploma in Interior Decorating and working as a Realtor in downtown Toronto, Tara brings her well-rounded skills and systematic approach to overseeing the day-to-day operation of the business. In her other life, she has 3 children and a husband, all creative individually and benefitting from Tara’s seasoned multi-tasking ability.

Lisa A. Pai

Best of Craft & Design Award
Best of Jewellery Award 
Ceramics Excellence Award

Working in the cultural sector for over thirty years, Lisa A. Pai (M.A. Comparative Literature) has run the L.A. Pai Gallery for twenty-two years. The gallery promotes contemporary Canadian artists that range from emerging to established. Pai has successfully nominated two Governor General/Saidye Bronfman laureates--to strong emerging artists--the gallery has run a national jewellery competition for nineteen years. Pai has acted as juror for numerous national public art-collecting organizations, and has exhibited artists in public venues that include national public galleries and international art fairs. Pai promotes mixed medium artworks to international clients and collectors from the heart of Canada's capital.

Lee Petrie

Gladstone House Award

Lee Petrie (MA, MMSt) is a curator and arts program manager based in Toronto. In her 25 year career, Lee has had the privilege of working with hundreds of artists to bring exhibitions and programs to Toronto Pearson International Airport, the Living Arts Centre, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and the Varley Art Gallery. Lee became the Curator at Gladstone House in October 2018, and worked on the hotel’s signature exhibitions including Come Up To My Room, Grow Op and Hard Twist. She is now leading Gladstone House’s new art program, managing the creation and installation of art by more than 50 artists in the renovated hotel rooms and public spaces. She is also the Curator for Gladstone House’s sister property, The Broadview Hotel. Lee is Chair of the Toronto Public Art Commission and is a member of program committees for several post-secondary visual art and craft programs. Her interests lie in curating exhibitions in non-traditional spaces, and in creating opportunities for emerging artists.

Katherine Takpannie

Best of Photography & Digital Media Award
Honourable Mention - Photography & Digital Media

Katherine Takpannie is an urban Inuk whose family is originally from Apex Hill, Nunavut. However she was born in Montreal, QC. Takpannie is a self-taught, emerging photographer who wants to reveal the complexities and nuances of urban Inuit life. Having lived most of her life in Ottawa, her work speaks to the Ottawa that she sees. Her visual language expands out from lifestyle portraiture to include lush landscapes, and gritty urban scenes. Takpannie also captures performative and political gestures. Hoping to bring reflection on issues that Canadians face daily. Katherine aims to help raise awareness, and bring forth important conversations through her work.