The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (MOCA) has received a $5.7 million contribution from its landlord Castlepoint Auto Building, Inc. (Castlepoint). The contribution completes the Museum’s $25 million Tomorrow of Contemporary Art (TOCA) capital campaign, which launched in 2017.
“This outstanding and timely support from Castlepoint is highly impactful when many cultural organizations, including MOCA, are engaged in urgent discussions about programming and operational sustainability due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic effects,” said Board Chair Brad Keast. “Castlepoint’s contribution towards the TOCA campaign—to retire a capital loan for the construction of MOCA—allows the Museum to fully engage in its current and future programme planning and operational fundraising.”
The goal of TOCA was to raise funds for the required capital improvements of the Museum’s current home in the Automotive Building at 158 Sterling Road and to support operations in the new building.
MOCA Executive Director and CEO Kathleen Bartels said, “On behalf of the staff, I want to express our profound gratitude to Castlepoint President Alfredo Romano for his visionary act, his confidence in MOCA’s mission and leadership, and his commitment to creative placemaking in Toronto. This contribution provides much-needed momentum for our ongoing fundraising to ensure operational sustainability. Looking ahead, we plan to build on our national and international ties with cultural partners and further relationships with both established and emerging artists, envisioning MOCA among the most ambitious contemporary art museums in North America. Everything we do programmatically is rooted in our commitment to representing a wide diversity of voices and to equity and accessibility.”
The Government of Canada also made a $5.9 million investment towards the museum’s expansion. “I would like to congratulate MOCA on reaching this significant milestone and achieving the target goal of its capital campaign,” said the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage. “Our government is committed to continuing to invest in world-class cultural spaces like MOCA that nurture creativity and inspire Canadian artists. Our $5.9 million investment in the renovation of MOCA, through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, will help to ensure that this cultural space will be there for the next generation of artists, while continuing to support the dynamism of Canada’s cultural scene as well as the vitality, quality of life and prosperity of the community.”