Tory bubbly with hope at arts fundraiser

October is prime time for culture-world fundraising dinners, and the most crowded bash of the season was the Mayor’s Evening for the Arts at the cavernous Metro Convention Centre on Monday.

The final score: $1.4 million raised in support of Toronto Arts Foundation, which subsidizes many of the city’s arts groups, partly with large chunks of funding from city hall.

And the star of the evening was Mayor John Tory, who was not only upbeat and supportive, sending us all home understanding that the warfare between city hall and the arts world during the Ford era is definitely over, and dreaming of a golden age for the arts as long as Tory is in office.

“We’ve embraced the arts because it’s in the city’s interest,” he said. Noting that 50 per cent of Toronto residents were born somewhere else, he explained, the arts are more important than ever, because “it’s the way we tell our stories, and more than ever, that helps us live together and understand each other.”

Tory was not only an enlightened culture booster; he was also so entertaining that he almost made up for the embarrassingly amateurish variety show the crowd had to endure for the two preceding hours.

Given the spectacular array of talent working in this town every week of the year — and with a captive audience full of major producers, the city’s most influential players, philanthropists, artists and arts workers — it’s hard to fathom how and why the organizers offered a program that, with a few welcome exceptions, came across as a throwback to the Ed Sullivan Show circa 1955 or perhaps a high school variety show.

The event drew a crowd of 1,200, with a price tag of $1,000 a plate or $10,000 for a table.

One missed opportunity was the chance to play a dramatic card in the event’s history. Everyone loves a showbiz comeback story, and in 2015 the Mayor’s Evening for the Arts was reinvented thanks to regime change in the mayor’s office.

Originally developed during Mel Lastman’s reign as Toronto mayor, it resurfaced for one year as the Mayor’s Arts Ball in 2012 while Rob Ford was mayor. But given the increasing disconnect between arts leaders and Ford’s regime, this event took a time out in 2013 and 2014.

Tory jokingly noted that he and his predecessor share a birthday on May 28. But without directly attacking Ford, he signalled they don’t share an attitude to what the arts contribute to the city.

Culture boosts the economy, Tory proclaimed, makes Toronto a place people want to visit, and helps explain why it is ranked as one of the world’s most livable cities.

Tory has mercifully put an end to the bad old days when Ford was the mayor, and arts funding was regarded as a target for slashing. Tory made it clear that as long as he is in office, the mayor’s office will embrace the arts. Combined with Justin Trudeau’s victory a week earlier, ending a dark age for the arts in Ottawa, this was welcome proof that everything seems to be coming up roses for culture.

Tory was also especially bubbly about a coming attraction — combing the power of the arts with the greenery of the city’s parks. A chunk of the money raised at this event will be used to roll out a new program bringing the arts to 22 parks.

One take-away image: when the crowd was heading for the exit, I caught a glimpse of David Mirvish lugging a KitchenAid mixing bowl he had won in the silent action — for a much higher price than anyone ever paid at Honest Ed’s.

Advice to organizers for next year: Hire a seasoned producer to put together a show that truly demonstrates the wealth of talent that makes Toronto a cultural hot spot every week of the year. mknelman@thestar.ca