Brooklyn-based artist Brian Donnelly (1974), better known as KAWS, bridges the worlds of art, popular culture and commerce with sophisticated humour and insightful appropriation. Straddling the world of art and design, KAWS has forged a large international following both inside and outside the art world. Join five Canadian collectors for a panel discussion about the role art plays in their lives, and how KAWS played a role in their collecting journeys.  John Wee Tom will moderate a conversation with Marcus Troy, Jonathan Elias, Sara Nickleson, and Houman Rahimzadeh. Presented as part of KAWS:FAMILY.

John Wee Tom is an entrepreneur, independent curator and collector based in Toronto. He was the instigator and co-curator of This is Not a Toy at the Design Exchange in 2014, the first museum exhibition dedicated to the consideration of art toys, at which KAWS was a central focus.

Sara Nickleson is an artist, curator, and Senior Director at Library Street Collective gallery in Detroit. Sara was the Head Curator and Director of Collections at the Design Exchange in Toronto where she curated several exhibitions, including This is Not a Toy, The Politics of Fashion, and 3DXL.

Marcus Troy is an artist, creative entrepreneur and collector based in Montreal. One of the OG cultural bloggers and influencers, Marcus has been featured in Forbes, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and he has collaborated with the likes of Nike, Puma, Timberland, Levi’s and Bentley.

Born in 1982 to a family of art lovers in Iran, Houman Rahimzadeh is the Founder and Principal Designer of Studio Houman, a Toronto-based design studio with a focus on a “human” approach to design. Houman started his collection in 2006 and it includes artists such as Daniel Arsham, Cleon Peterson, Takashi Murakami and KAWS.

Toronto entrepreneur, and menswear store Lost & Found owner Jonathan Elias came by his love for vinyl art pieces while completing his MBA. What started as love for lowbrow pop art from Japan became an obsession as his collection grew to include works by artists KAWS, Barry McGee, Hanai Yusuke and Yoshitomo Nara.