The Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival and The Gardiner Museum celebrate and nurture creativity

The Globe’s On The Scene column shines a light on philanthropic events across Canada.

Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival Opening Night, May 30, Toronto

Popping up after hours inside Toronto’s Eaton Centre was the fourth edition of the Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival. The four-day happening brought together some 100 Indigenous artists, designers, makers and brands from Canada and beyond, who gathered to present and sell their work, take part in symposiums and more broadly amplify the work and voices of Indigenous creators. Opening night on May 30 saw My Tender Bundle, a runway presentation which the show notes described as “a demonstration of family justice and radical caregiving.” R S Gustafson presented pieces as tribute to Ojibwa matriarchs and Ogitchitaakwe. Kayla Lookinghorse presented a collection that referenced the bond between mother and child, while the brand ARCTIC LUXE honoured ancestral craft by presenting a collection of all-fur traditional outerwear for children and adults. A performance by Benay Elijah and Quinna Hamby of Hatiyo, which too referenced the theme of family, closed the show and served as a segue to the opening-night party. There in the room celebrating were countless designers including Jaymie Campbell of White Otter Design Co., Warren Steven Scott and Randi Nelson; actor Ellyn Jade from the television series Little Bird; journalist and activist Hillary LeBlanc; Vogue’s Christian Allaire; Joleen Mitton, who founded Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week; Vicky Milner, who heads the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards; Kerry Swanson, the co-executive director of the Indigenous Screen Office, who also serves as an adviser for the Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival; and of course Sage Paul, fashion designer and founding executive and artistic director of the Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival.

The Gardiner Museum Preview Gala and SMASH art parties, May 22 and 30, Toronto

The Gardiner Museum, one of the only museums in the world dedicated to ceramics, each summer holds a pair of parties that celebrate ceramics and support the institution’s programming. May 22 saw the Preview Gala for the International Ceramic Art Fair 2024, this year chaired by Hilary Weston. The event, which ran for 10 days, featured work by both established and emerging makers from across the globe – which visitors could purchase – and supports the Gardiner’s Community Access Fund, which makes clay programs available to communities with limited arts education. The following week on the evening of May 30, the museum held a swell of guests for their annual young-patrons party called SMASH, this year themed Between Worlds. The annual gathering is geared toward the next generation of ceramic enthusiasts and smartly enlists contemporary artists (this year Arnie Guha), floral designers (Jaime McCuaig of GUNNAR Floral retuned) and DJs (DJ Jayemkayem was 2024′s go-to) to transform the museum into a one-night-only experience. Artist Briony Douglas served as chair of the event, and crafted just for the night a fantastic five-foot-long ship made from bedazzled recycled pop-tabs, which greeted guests as they made their way into the museum.