In 2010, Tina Tehranchian joined the gallery’s board and became involved in several fundraising activities.Pawel Dwulit/The Globe and Mail
The donor: Tina Tehranchian
The gift: Helping to raise $1.4-million
The cause: The McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Soon after Tina Tehranchian immigrated to Toronto from Iran in 1990, she visited the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Ms. Tehranchian has been an art lover all her life and the gallery left a deep impression. "I used to live in Thornhill [north of Toronto] and the McMichael was the first art gallery that I ever went to in Canada," she said from Toronto, where she is a branch manager at Assante Capital Management Ltd. "My first introduction to Canadian art and how it shapes the Canadian identity was through the McMichael."
In 2010, Ms. Tehranchian joined the gallery's board and became involved in several fundraising activities. One involved launching the McMichael Moonlight Gala, an outdoor event that has become one of the gallery's main fundraisers. The gala has raised about $1.4-million since it started in 2012 and more than 700 people are expected to attend this year's event on June 3 which will mark the end of a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the gallery. Ms. Tehranchian has also involved other branches of Assante which will be raising money for the gallery.
"I have a deep appreciation in arts," she said. "And the McMichael really has a special place in my heart."
Paul Waldie