The Art of Arts Support

Creative types and business heads mingled at a philanthropic affair

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Janice Pinto

Together, business and art can make beautiful music. Ana Lopes, chair of the board of directors for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, proved it at the annual Business for the Arts dinner and awards night. Introducing the evening’s big winner – Don K. Johnson, senior adviser to BMO Capital Markets – Ms. Lopes explained how the TSO’s annual donations had grown to $5-million from $300,000 in just a few short years.

Mr. Johnson, she said, had doggedly lobbied the Canadian government to remove the capital-gains tax on gifts of securities to charities. In the May, 2006, federal budget, the government conceded and, as Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, so eloquently put it, passed “Don’s Law.” Since then, artistic organizations such as the TSO and the National Ballet of Canada have been reaping the rewards.

Other winners at the blacktie event, held at Roy Thomson Hall last month, were BMO, TD Bank Financial Group, Rethink Advertising, Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel and Blue Note Mining. The evening was laced with black gowns: Anna McCowen- Johnson, Don’s wife, wore black velvet Armani; Nicole Anderson, Business for the Arts interim president, was striking in a one-shouldered Pat McDonagh; and Karen Kain shone in a sparkling black suit.

In his speech, Mr. Johnson thanked his wife, a former ballerina, for sparking his interest in the arts. He concluded with a quote from Winston Churchill, and a reminder to us all: “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”