A transformational donation for the MMFA from Jess and Mark Pathy
From left to right: André Dufour, Chair of the MMFA's Board of Trustees; Julie Jodoin, Director of Space for Life; Jo-Anne Duchesne, Director General of the MMFA; Jess and Mark Pathy, Major Patrons; Anne-Marie Sigouin, Borough councillor, Sud-Ouest, Saint-Paul-Émard-Saint-Henri-Ouest District; Stéphane Aquin, Director of the MMFA; Henry Mizrahi, Chair of the MMFA Foundation’s Board of Trustees
We have wonderful news! Some major embellishment projects for the Museum’s outdoor spaces are being set in motion, thanks to a transformational donation from Montreal art patrons Jess and Mark Pathy.
Their outstanding contribution of $1,250,000 to the 2023-2028 Major Fundraising Campaign, The Museum Transforms Lives, will benefit the community with an even more inviting outdoor environment, while also fostering urban biodiversity, highlighting the MMFA’s remarkable collection of public art works, and supporting its long-term success.
The donation served as a lever in bringing to life the recent revitalization of the Museum’s green spaces and will ensure the upkeep and promotion of these gardens for years to come, among other projects.
“The MMFA is one of the city’s prime cultural attractions, and it was important for us to support it in achieving its sustainable development objectives as well as in serving its community even more. We’re proud to put our name on this truly innovative project that unites nature and culture and inspires civic engagement,” say Jess and Mark Pathy.
Entirely redesigned by the MMFA and the Jardin botanique, one of Espace pour la vie’s five museums, the revitalized gardens comprise over 8,000 plants that contribute to urban biodiversity and pollination. The Pathys’ donation will serve to maintain and promote these spaces through high-calibre activities on Du Musée Avenue. As such, they will be transformed into an artistic setting, and a place for relaxing and entertainment for Montreal citizens and those visiting the city.
“An oasis in the heart of downtown, these green spaces that were relandscaped in collaboration with Espace pour la vie will benefit the entire Montreal community. Dotted with trees and abounding with vegetation, these gardens transform the urban environment into a haven of art and greenery. We are very grateful to Jess and Mark Pathy, whose visionary gesture supports the Museum in reaffirming its role as a hub of life in the city core,” says Stéphane Aquin, Director of the MMFA.
“The Museum and its Foundation wish to express their profound gratitude to Jess and Mark Pathy for the outstanding donation they’ve made under the MMFA’s 2023-2028 Major Fundraising Campaign. This incredibly generous gesture will have a significant positive impact on all the residents of Ville-Marie Borough and the MMFA’s public as a whole. It was about thirty years ago that engaged patrons lent their support to the Museum’s gardens initiative. Today, the Pathys are picking up the baton, along with other benefactors, to perpetuate a philanthropic tradition that’s vital to the flourishing of our institution,” says Jo‑Anne Duchesne, Director General of the MMFA Foundation.
CREDITS
The MMFA’s green spaces were redesigned in collaboration with Espace pour la Vie, and their landscaping was conceived by NIPPAYSAGE. This revitalization project was made possible by a transformational donation from Jess and Mark Pathy.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Major patrons: Jess and Mark Pathy, Godin Family Foundation | Estate: Max and Iris Stern | Partner: Tourisme Montréal | With support from Ville-Marie Borough and Fondation Marc Bourgie
