John Hobday Arts Management Awards announced

Mary-Louise Albert / Photo courtesy of the artist
Eva Cairns / Photo by David Ley

>> by Brittany Duggan
On January 24th, the Canada Council for the Arts announced Mary-Louise Albert and Eva Cairns as the 2011 recipients of the John Hobday Awards in Arts Management. The $10,000 awards celebrate established and mid-career arts managers, allowing each recipient to enhance their professional development. Albert, artistic managing director of the Norman Rothstein Theatre and Chutzpah! Festival in Vancouver, transitioned into arts management after an active career as a professional contemporary dancer; she will use this award to pursue a mentorship with Howard Jang, executive director of Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre Company. Albert and Jang will work together on a series of specific themes surrounding arts management. Cairns, managing producer for Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton, started her career in arts administration as a tour coordinator and will use this award to take three Leadership Development Programs at the Banff Centre. “In order to help arts organizations survive and thrive in an environment in constant flux, there need to be opportunities for arts managers to renew and enhance professional skills,” commented Stephen Bronfman, president of The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Foundation, in the Canada Council’s press release.