Museum of Bad Gifts: New Museum Celebrates the Art of Awful Presents

In a stroke of genius, or perhaps madness, four young artists have turned the holiday season’s most dreaded byproduct – the bad gift – into a spectacle of art at the newly christened Museum of Bad Gifts on Roncesvalles Ave.

Stephanie Avery, Shari Kasman, Martin Reis, and Sean Martindale, clearly tired of the annual gift-giving conundrum, have decided to showcase the bizarre, the bewildering, and the downright baffling gifts that we all pretend to love but secretly loathe. “One man’s trash is another’s treasure… or at least, a good laugh,” quips Kasman, who seems to have found her calling in curating cringe.

The gallery space, once a place of solemn art appreciation, now hosts a collection that includes a quacking rubber hippo masquerading as a duck, a wine bottle that’s hoofed its way into existence, and a cookbook for one, gifted to someone who just tied the knot. Talk about a recipe for disaster!

But curating such a collection isn’t without its pitfalls. Kasman notes, “People often yeet these items into the trash or into the abyss of their basements.” And there’s the added anxiety of “What if Aunt Edna sees her crocheted toilet roll cover here?”

For those who’ve already purged their bad gift memories, fear not! The museum offers an interactive twist. Visitors can sketch their own horror gifts from memory and hang them up like cautionary tales. Or, if you’ve brought your own nightmare, head to the Imaginarium to transform it into something… well, less nightmarish.

One visitor, Andy Fischer, shared her story of receiving a Cabbage Patch doll that looked like it was assembled by Dr. Frankenstein after a particularly bad day. Now, this “artwork” hangs proudly in the museum, proving that even the worst gifts can find a new, if not exactly loving, home.

Kasman brushes off any accusations of ingratitude with a laugh, “It’s all in good fun.” And in true holiday spirit, all the exhibits will be auctioned off to benefit the Daily Bread Food Bank, giving these unwanted items a chance at redemption.

So, if you’re in Toronto and tired of your own collection of dubious gifts, pop into the Northern Gallery from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 for a chuckle or a shudder at what could have been your own gift-giving fate. Remember, in the world of bad gifts, one person’s misfortune is another’s museum exhibit.