This year, Feheley Fine Arts participated alongside twenty-one Toronto galleries in the UnMasked biannual fundraiser for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Awareness (CAMH). Italian food met Inuit art on the night of May 29, 2019, as the gallery transformed into an intimate dining experience catered by renowned local Sicilian restaurant, ARDO.

The idea behind UnMasked is to “take a mask off mental illness”—encouraging open conversations about mental health in art filled environments to raise money for CAMH programs. It’s true that art has a therapeutic quality, whether viewing a contemplative (or simply beautiful) piece, or creating a work yourself. Cape Dorset artists like Annie Pootoogook and Jutai Toonoo have been known to cite their own artistic expression as part of a process of mental healing and coping with difficult memories.

The thirty-two guests in attendance at the intimate dinner party enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, a four-course southern Italian meal of insalata di mare, risotto, mertuzzo, and panna cotta; and dessert. Guests were seated in the main gallery space amongst stunning works by Shuvinai Ashoona, Padloo Samayualie, Kenojuak Ashevak, David Ruben Piqtoukun, and more.