"The journey is personal; the story is universal."
In the fall of 2024, the founder of the Gallery of Human Migration, Rocco Maragna, had the pleasure of reconnecting with Danny Montesano after many years. He was struck by how memory defies time, how the past can resurface, vivid and immediate, in a single conversation.
At that time, a small group of people was working to launch the first edition of Canada’s Migration Stories for the Gallery of Human Migration. The launch of the Call for Expression of Interest would have been in February 2025. By the April 30th deadline, we were moved by the generous response: a chorus of voices from across the country, eager to share their journeys of beckoning, beginning, becoming, and belonging.
To mark this moment, the Gallery commissioned a statuette sculpted by the Abruzzese artist Ester Crocetta.
That meeting with Danny sparked an idea: dedicate the inaugural edition of the Gallery of Human Migration Literary Award to Donato Montesano and Madeleine Brazeau to honour their remarkable journey, a path shaped by resilience, determination, and the quiet strength that defines the migrant’s spirit.
The Award was officially unveiled during the 50th Anniversary Gala of Danny Montesano’s business on May 9, 2025.
With generosity, sensitivity, and remarkable creativity, the artist Ester Crocetta has given shape to something deeply intangible: the ongoing search for belonging, identity, and transformation that lies at the heart of migration.
"Italy gave me roots. Canada gave me wings. Between the two, I became whole. Migration is not about losing one identity for another — it is about carrying your past into new soil, and watching it grow into something greater. It beckons us toward belonging, and in belonging, we discover a new self."