Join us for a thought-provoking conversation between esteemed author Sheila Heti and celebrated artist Margaux Williamson, whose solo exhibition is currently on view at MOCA.
Longtime friends and collaborators, Heti and Williamson have spent nearly twenty years in ongoing dialogue about art, life, meaning, and the act of looking—conversations that have significantly shaped their creative work. Their intertwined lives were famously captured in Heti’s critically acclaimed novel, How Should a Person Be?, in which the two main characters are based on Heti and Williamson themselves.
This special offsite event will take place at Paradise Theatre (1006c Bloor St W, Toronto), with doors opening at 6 pm. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Williamson’s exhibition, Shoes, books, hands, buildings, and cars, runs through August 3, 2025, alongside presentations by Jessica Stockholder, Justin Ming Yong, Alex Da Corte, and Jennie C. Jones.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear from two of Canada’s most influential creative voices as they explore the evolving relationship between art and life.
MOCA Members at the Enthusiast level and above can take advantage of their free event benefit to attend this talk.
About the Artists
Sheila Heti is the author of eleven books, including the novels Pure Colour, Motherhood and How Should a Person Be?
She was named one of “The New Vanguard” by The New York Times; a list of fifteen writers from around the world who are “shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century.” The Washington Post called her “one of the freshest, funniest and most ingenious humans writing today… one of our best living authors.”
Her books have been translated into twenty-seven languages. She is a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow. She lives in Toronto.
Sheila Heti. Photo: Margaux Williamson
Margaux Williamson. Photo: Steph Martyniuk
Margaux Williamson was born in Pittsburgh and lives in Toronto. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Queen’s University, Kingston, and was the recipient of an exchange scholarship to the Glasgow School of Art. A survey of her work, Interiors, opened at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in 2021. It was accompanied by a publication, and travelled to other museums across Canada for two years. Her most recent paintings were included in solo and group exhibitions at White Cube in Hong Kong, James Cohan Gallery in New York, and Bradley Ertaskiran in Montreal.
As well as being a painter, Williamson writes and makes films and videos. Her feature-length work, Teenager Hamlet, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is archived on UbuWeb. She has also contributed movie reviews to the cultural site Back to the World. Her work has been covered by New York Magazine, The New York Times, Vogue, BOMB Magazine, The Globe and Mail, The Believer, The Huffington Post, and Momus among others. Her paintings can be found in the collections of the Longlati Foundation in Shanghai, Tumurun Musleum in Indonesia, Australia China Art Foundation, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the National Gallery of Canada, The Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Art.
Margaux Williamson was born in Pittsburgh and lives in Toronto. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Queen’s University, Kingston, and was the recipient of an exchange scholarship to the Glasgow School of Art. A survey of her work, Interiors, opened at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in 2021. It was accompanied by a publication, and travelled to other museums across Canada for two years. Her most recent paintings were included in solo and group exhibitions at White Cube in Hong Kong, James Cohan Gallery in New York, and Bradley Ertaskiran in Montreal.
As well as being a painter, Williamson writes and makes films and videos. Her feature-length work, Teenager Hamlet, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is archived on UbuWeb. She has also contributed movie reviews to the cultural site Back to the World. Her work has been covered by New York Magazine, The New York Times, Vogue, BOMB Magazine, The Globe and Mail, The Believer, The Huffington Post, and Momus among others. Her paintings can be found in the collections of the Longlati Foundation in Shanghai, Tumurun Musleum in Indonesia, Australia China Art Foundation, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the National Gallery of Canada, The Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Art.
Margaux Williamson. Photo: Steph Martyniuk
