Avrum Morrow

The late Avrum (Avi) Morrow was a businessperson with a passion for the arts. A long-time supporter of Concordia, he was one of the original contributors to the university’s Sir George Williams Art Gallery, now the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery.  He also established the Dora Morrow Fellowship for Excellent Achievement in Visual Arts.

Avi co-founded Avmor, Canada's leading manufacturer of professional cleaning solutions, in 1948. He has also commissioned more than 400 paintings, sculptures, photographs and drawings, on display at Avmor's Old Montreal headquarters.

His commitment to the future can be seen in Avmor's Sustainable Development initiative. 

True to his belief that every child deserves to experience joy, Morrow was posthumously revealed to be Montreal’s famous Bikeman. Every spring, through Sun Youth, he anonymously donated bicycles to dozens of disadvantaged children, giving away more than 1,700 bikes, helmets and locks over 33 years.

Avi was a member of the Concordia Faculty of Fine Arts Advisory Board, and in 2005 received a Fine Arts Award of Distinction. As a result of his philanthropy and commitment to the arts, Avi was named to the Order of Canada in February 2007.

Avi died on January 5, 2019.