Rajni Perera Wins MOCA Toronto Award

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Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto

Toronto's Rajni Perera will receive a $25,000 artist award from the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto.

The museum, which which recently reinstated its MOCA Award to recognize innovation, accomplishment and contributions to contemporary art, also gave a luminary award to Nada Ristich, head of community giving at the BMO Financial Group.

"We're striving to serve as an inclusive cultural hub, celebrating our hyper-diverse city and world through artwork that provokes active dialogue and celebrates complexity," said Kathleen Bartels, the museum's executive director.

Perera, who has roots in Sri Lanka, is a painter and sculptor known for exploring systemic power structures through science fiction imagery, with a focus on issues related to hybridity, ancestry and immigration. 

As part of the award, Perera will create a new commission to be exhibited at the museum in 2024.

Ristich has been a significant voice in corporate giving for more than 25 years, and has previously received the Queen's Jubilee Medal for voluntary service and an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto.

The awards will be presented at a gala in the fall. For more information, go here.