The Art Gallery of Ontario's annual fundraiser, Art Bash, set a new record on September 24, 2026, raising a record $1.6 million CAD in a single evening — the largest total in the event's history. The sold-out gala, presented by Intact Insurance, drew 1,000 of the museum's supporters together for a night celebrating art and music. This year's edition leaned into the raw energy of rock and roll, pairing the genre's spirit with contemporary art throughout the evening. It was co-chaired by Josée Letarte and Charles Brindamour, chief executive officer of Intact Financial Corporation. The honorary co-chair was artist and musician Melissa Auf der Maur, whose solo exhibition "My '90s Rock Photographs" is currently on view at the AGO, making her a natural figurehead for a music-themed night. Proceeds from Art Bash support the museum's collections, exhibitions, and access programs, funding the work that keeps the institution's galleries active and its doors open to broad audiences. The AGO is a registered charity, and the record haul represents the fundraising event's most successful night to date. The achievement caps a sold-out evening that the gallery says set new records across its fundraising, underscoring the strength of donor support for the museum's programming ambitions. The museum framed the night around the meeting of rock's raw energy and contemporary art, a pairing embodied by Auf der Maur's own dual career as a musician and visual artist, and the $1.6 million CAD total set a new single-night benchmark for what one Art Bash can deliver.