LETTER FROM MATTHEW TEITELBAUM

Art has the capacity to lead us to connect with people, ideas, and feelings in ways that are new and invigorating. Sometimes art puzzles us, sometimes soothes us.... yet always, art has the capacity to engage us in new ways of thinking and making our world bigger.

My own experience of seeing art in art galleries and museums intensifies these feelings. In the public space of the gallery I am led to think of others, for in the experience of the public space there is a sense of community. In the galleries I am connected to others through my experience.

It's this sense of community that makes the connection between art, the Art Gallery of Ontario and Casey House a natural. And so I am particularly pleased that our association continues, for this, the fifth year that the AGO has been home to the annual fundraiser, Art with Heart. Casey House leads by example in creating caring, supportive environments in which the sense of community is paramount. And the benefits are enormous, not only to individuals who receive remarkable care and comfort, but in the sense of belonging that is created. Casey House connects people, and creates a social space of abiding importance.

Tonight, share in the pleasures of art, reflect on the meaning of public spaces and community created, in their own different way, by the AGO and Casey House and..... yes, bid vigorously and often and help Casey House continue its important, irreplaceable work.

Matthew Teitelbaum
Director & CEO, Art Gallery of Ontario