Raquel Look and Kevin Vuong
On May 18, The Nova Music Festival Exhibition in Toronto featured a special event called A Tribute To Canadian Lives Lost: An Evening Of Remembrance.
At the exhibit itself, visitors are immersed in a powerful and deeply moving tribute to the victims and survivors of the tragic attack on the Nova Music Festival in Israel on October 7, 2023.
The exhibition is designed as an immersive walk-through, timeline-based installation that recreates the festival grounds. As you move through the space, you’ll encounter authentic remnants from the actual site, including burned-out cars, bullet-riddled bathroom stalls, abandoned merchandise stands, and personal belongings like shoes, backpacks, sunglasses, water bottles, and prayer books. The festival stage is reconstructed beneath the original dance floor canopy, and some of the porta-potties used as hiding places during the attack are also present, lending an eerie sense of realism to the experience.
Throughout the exhibition, survivors and bereaved family members share their stories both in person and through video screens, offering firsthand testimonies that bring the tragedy’s human impact to life. A candle-lit memorial area honors the 410 attendees and first responders who lost their lives, while handwritten cards and tributes from previous visitors line the space, including a long, candlelit table in the memorial section. There is also an alcove displaying the names and faces of hostages, including those taken from the festival who have since been released.
The exhibition’s journey is carefully curated to lead visitors from the horror of the attack through to the resilience and hope of the Nova community.
The atmosphere is intentionally intense and immersive, with dim lighting, video installations, survivor testimonies, and actual footage from the attack (with bodies blurred for sensitivity).
Survivors and bereaved families rotate through the exhibition to interact with visitors, and it is suggested you allow at least an hour to fully experience and reflect on the installation.
At the special event May 18, Raquel Look, mother of Nova victim Alexandre Look, shared the stage with former Toronto MP Kevin Vuong, to speak about her son’s life and tribute his bravery.
Alexandre, born and raised in Montreal, was 33 when he was killed at the Nova festival. His mother said that he and dozens of others were in a shelter when three grenades were thrown in. Look tossed back two, but the last one took his life. He is credited with saving eight others by keeping them hidden in the safe room. Prior to his death, Raquel and Alexandre had been speaking to each other during the ordeal, for an hour and a half. “Mom, I love you, but I have to go help people,” were his last words.
In his honor, Cote St. Luc dedicated a park-Alexandre Look Place-located between his former high school and the synagogue his family attends.
Dikla Mizrachi, mother of 22-year-old Ben, of Vancouver, spoke in a video of her late son’s joie de vivre, and showed viewers a bar and recreation area near his community, newly-built in this Nova festival victim’s honour.
Earlier in the day Nova survivor Ela Levgoren, now 25, moved to Canada when she was six years old, and attended school in the Hamilton area. She described her time as a lone soldier, and a lover of live music festivals. Just before 7am of Oct. 7, a “red alert” was called by Nova festival organizers; the music stopped, and while some attendees scrambled for shelter, others treated it as routine. She saw what she believed were fireworks – unusual for daylight – that turned out to be rocket fire from Gaza. She also described the confusion, chaos and horror of crowds who fled in a panic.
The evening also tributed other Canadian victims of the attack, Tiferet Lapidot (23), Shira Hana Georgy (22), Vivian Silver (74), Judih Weinstein Haggai (70).
The exhibit finishes with hope, describing various healing projects that have helped survivors who have faced significant psychological trauma in the months following the event. Many have struggled with PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and ongoing mental health challenges.
The final section, called “Return to the Light,” highlights community healing efforts, mental health support, and ongoing projects like ‘Nova Heaven’ at Burning Man. Interactive and reflective spaces are provided, including a salon area with a café, boutique, and a stage for presentations, as well as creative activities like painting stones or coloring sheets emblazoned with the message “We Will Dance Again.” A sanctuary space offers a calming environment with pillows, a gong, and sound healing sessions, giving visitors a chance to process their emotions before leaving.
Overall, The Nova Music Festival Exhibition in Toronto is a memorial, and a living, evolving space that honors the victims, supports the survivors, and invites visitors to bear witness, reflect, and participate in a collective journey of remembrance and healing.
The Nova Exhibition will be open until June 8.
