 Minister's Advisory Council for Arts and Culture On July 27 The Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Culture, for the Province of Ontario announced the creation of the Minister's Advisory Council for Arts and Culture at a reception held at the Distillery Historic District. The purpose of the new council is to create a direct link between the cultural community and the Minister's office. The formation of the advisory group gives a strong signal that the Minister recognizes the expertise within the cultural community and intends to create policies and programs that address its needs. The thirteen people who have been appointed do indeed represent a wealth of experience from various sectors - and include some high profile names and people of influence. The immediate question for visual and media artists and the artist-run centre community is who on the council will represent our interests? The text of the Minister's press release appears below along with a background document with more information on the council and its members. |
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ARTS AND CULTURE COUNCIL TO BUILD STRONG COMMUNITIES Minister's Advisory Council Recognizes Role and Contribution of Ontario's Artists TORONTO -- The Ontario government is involving artists in building strong and vibrant cultural communities by establishing a Minister's Advisory Council for Arts and Culture, Minister of Culture Madeleine Meilleur announced today. "Our government is committed to creating an open forum for discussion and to listening to the culture community," said Meilleur. "The advisory council will give us an opportunity to hear the views and seek advice from the arts and cultural community." The council will focus on building and sustaining strong and vibrant culture communities specifically through the arts, cultural industries, heritage and library sectors. The council will recognize the importance of Ontario's artists and help create a new respect for their social and economic contribution. The council is composed of 13 members who represent the culture community throughout Ontario and reflect a range of backgrounds and interests. "I look forward to working with the minister and the council members to help build and sustain strong and vibrant culture communities across Ontario," said Dr. Jim Fleck, council chairman. "This council will allow the Ontario government to make Ontario's artists part of building strong and liveable communities," said Meilleur. "Ultimately, this means a higher quality of life for the people of Ontario." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ MINISTER'S ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR ARTS AND CULTURE The Ontario government has established the Minister's Advisory Council for Arts and Culture to advise the Minister of Culture on strategies to help promote and enhance Ontario's culture sector. Mandate The Council's mandate is to advise the Minister of Culture on policies and programs that support strong and vibrant cultural communities through the arts, cultural industries, heritage and libraries sectors, as well as create an open forum for discussion with the culture community. The Minister of Culture will set the priorities in consultation with the council chair. The council will have the powers of an advisory agency. Council members will report to the minister through the council chair. Composition of the council The council will be composed of up to 15 members, including the chair, all appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. The council will be comprised of individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to the culture community in Ontario. The council membership will represent a range of sectors in the culture community, a range of regions in the province, and a range of backgrounds and interests. The following are the first members of the Minister's Advisory Council for Arts and Culture: Dr. Jim Fleck, Chair of the Minister's Advisory Council for Arts and Culture (Toronto) Dr. Jim Fleck is Chairman of the Council for Business and the Arts in Canada, President of the Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation, Chairman of the Art Gallery of Ontario's Building Committee overseeing the Frank Gehry renovations and extension, and past Chairman of the Board and President of the Art Gallery of Ontario. He was founding president of The Power Plant, Contemporary Art at Harbourfront, and director, treasurer and vice-President of The National Ballet of Canada. He was the 2003 winner of the Edmund C. Bovey Award for Leadership Support of the Arts, a national award to recognize individual members of the business community who have contributed leadership, time, money and expertise to benefit the arts. Dr. Fleck was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1997. Martin Bragg, Artistic Producer, The Canadian Stage Company (Toronto) Martin Bragg has been Artistic Producer of The Canadian Stage Company (CanStage) since 1997 when the Board of Directors combined the positions of Artistic Director and Managing Director, the position Mr. Bragg had held since joining the company in 1992. He has worked in every capacity of theatre, from acting and directing to building sets and producing original Canadian productions. Mr.Bragg has produced over 80 productions at CanStage. Robert Dickson, Poet, editor, performer and professor at Laurentian University (Sudbury) Robert Dickson is an award-winning writer, and professor of French studies and translation at Laurentian University in Sudbury. He is the winner of the 2002 Governor-General's Literary Prize for his book of poetry, Humains paysages en temps de paix relative. He is also a regular performer and a past board member of Le Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario, and has recited his poetry at festivals across Canada. In 2004, he translated Tomson Highway's Kiss of the Fur Queen. Paulette Gagnon, President, Fédération culturelle canadienne-français (Ottawa) Paulette Gagnon is the spokesperson for the national umbrella organization dedicated to the cultural development of French Canadians. Prior to her current position as head of development for Ottawa's Théâtre Action, she was in charge of French theatre projects at the National Arts Centre and Executive Director of La Nouvelle Scène in Ottawa. In 1996-1997, Gagnon was responsible for the Franco-Ontarian office of the Ontario Arts Council. Before that, she held senior management positions with Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario in Sudbury. Allan Gotlieb, Honourary Chairman of the Ontario Heritage Foundation (Toronto) Allan Gotlieb was Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 1981 to 1989, Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs (1977-81) and Chairman of the Canada Council (1989-94). He is a Companion of the Order of Canada. Gotlieb is Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and was also William Lyon MacKenzie King visiting professor at Harvard University and Claude Bissel professor at the University of Toronto. He is an honourary doctor of law from the University of Toronto and various other universities. Gotlieb is currently a Senior Advisor at Stikeman Elliott in Toronto, and serves as Chairman of Sotheby's Canada and the Donner Canadian Foundation. Piers Handling, Co-Director of the Toronto International Film Festival (Toronto) Piers Handling joined the Toronto International Film Festival as a programmer in 1982, becoming Programming Director five years later, Deputy Director in 1990, Artistic Director in 1993, and Festival Director and CEO in 1994. Mr.Handling has attended or worked at 23 of the past 25 festivals. In his 22 years at the festival, Handling has organized numerous programs including major retrospectives of Canadian, Latin American, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Hungarian cinema, and co-founded Perspective Canada. Prior to the film festival, h e worked at the Canadian Film Institute (CFI) for a decade, reaching the position of Deputy Director. After leaving the CFI, he taught Canadian Cinema at Carleton University in Ottawa and Queen's University in Kingston. Drew Hayden-Taylor, Playwright and Script Writer (Toronto) Drew Hayden-Taylor's worked as Playwright-In-Residence for Native Earth Performing Arts in the late 1980s and served as Native Earth's Artistic Director from 1984-1991. Since then, he has won numerous awards including the Chalmers Canadian Play Award for Best Play for Young Audience for his All Dreamers Rock/ E ducation is our Right , and the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for Best Drama for The Bootlegger Blues. His play O nly Drunks and Children Tell the Truth won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 1996. He has written, directed, or worked on numerous film and video documentaries about Native issues and written scripts for many television shows including Street Legal and North of Sixty. Tim Jones, Executive Director, Toronto Artscape Inc. (Toronto) Tim Jones has worked as a management consultant, developer, grants officer, theatre and festival producer, capacity building specialist, activist, CEO, and board president. As Executive Director of Artscape since 1998, Jones has explored the relationship between creativity and place and been a champion of arts-driven revitalization through projects such as The Distillery Historic District, Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts, and the Creative Places + Spaces Conference. Jones was also Program Officer in the theatre division of the Canada Council for the Arts and General Manager of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto. Avon Macfarlane, Fundraiser, University of Toronto (Toronto) Avon Macfarlane is in charge of major gifts at the University of Toronto's Division of University Advancement. Prior to her work at the university, Macfarlane worked as a development officer and project coordinator at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre. She has been a judge of the Prism Award, a national children's writing competition; Board Member, Campus Cooperative Community Daycare; Chair, Programming Committee of Artsweek; and Volunte er Coordinator of the Toronto Arts Awards. Dr. Ross H. Paul, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Windsor (Windsor) Dr. Ross H. Paul has been President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Windsor since 1998, after serving nearly seven years as President of Laurentian University in Sudbury. Paul was a founding member of the Edmonton Summerfest Board, which created the Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival. A former President of Montreal's Island City Singers, he was co-composer of Festival Folk Mass recorded on Laurentian Records and performed throughout Quebec and Ontario. Paul has also been a National Governor of the Shaw Theatre Festival since 2002. Gina M. Remy, Director of Legal and Business Affairs, Corus Entertainment Inc. (Toronto) Gina M. Remy was recently promoted to Director of Legal and Business Affairs for Corus Entertainment Inc. in Toronto, after several years as Manager of Legal and Regulatory Affairs. Remy is responsible for the legal affairs of YTV Productions Inc. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors, ReelWorld Film Festival; was co-organizer of the 2003 Salome Bey Tribute Committee; former member of the Board of Directors, Black Film and Video Network; and co-organizer of the 2003 Primary Abstractions Art Exhibition. Dr. Peter C. Simon, President, The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) Dr. Peter C. Simon has served as President of The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) since 1991. Under his guidance, the RCM has re-fashioned its mission to "develop human potential through leadership in music and arts education." He was awarded the Governor General's Medal for the 125 th Anniversary of Confederation in 1992, and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. Simon was creator, director, actor and pianist for musical revues at the Fringe Nord Theatre Festival in Sudbury, as well as author, composer, director and actor in other musical revues in Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Melbourne, Australia. He was also a founding board member of the Edmonton Summer Arts Festival. Veronica Tennant, Television producer and former Prima Ballerina (Toronto) As Prima Ballerina with the National Ballet of Canada for 25 years, Veronica Tennant won hearts and accolades as a dancer of extraordinary versatility and dramatic power. She has danced on stages across North America, Europe and Japan with the greatest male dancers of our time, including Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Lauded as a Canadian icon and role-model, Tennant is now an established and award-winning television director, producer and writer. She has choreographed and served as an associate director for Tarragon Theatre, Canadian Stage and The Stratford Festival. Tennant is Canada's National Ambassador for UNICEF, which accorded her the 1999 Danny Kaye Award, and was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2001. The first dancer to be appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1975, she was elevated this year to Companion of The Order of Canada, the country's highest honour. Most recently, Tennant was the 2004 recipient of the Canada Council's Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts. Ministry Contacts Guy Lepage Minister's Office, 416-325-1689 Gary Wheeler Communications Branch, 416-325-8391 Ministry of Culture http://www.culture.gov.on.ca +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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