Press release
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and the Conseil des arts de Montréal unveil
the winners of the 2008 Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal
Montréal, December 2, 2008 Roger Plamondon, acting president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, and Louise Roy, chair of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, announced the winners of the 2008 Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal during a cocktail party at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts tonight. The 2008 winners of these awards, created to acknowledge companies and business people who actively support culture and the arts, are the Société de transport de Montréal (Large enterprise category), Vasco Design International (SME category), and Peter McAuslan, president of the McAuslan Brewery (Arts/Business Personality).
The Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal reward companies and business people who play an active role in the artistic and cultural development of the metropolis by supporting cultural organizations. Candidates are nominated by artistic and cultural organizations wishing to take this unique opportunity to thank their sponsors and highlight their invaluable contributions.
Once again this year, the quality of the nominations received and the exceptional involvement of the business people nominated prove one thing: the artists and cultural organizations are not the only ones to benefit from these partnerships. Business people also have much to gain by supporting culture and the artistic development of the metropolis. It's a two-way relationship that greatly benefits both parties. We can only congratulate the companies that are already involved in this way and encourage others to join them in whatever capacity they can, declared Roger Plamondon, acting president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
The Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal enable us to spotlight the quality and vitality of alliances forged between businesses and artistic organizations. The enthusiastic participation in this year's competition clearly shows the importance of these ties between the two communities. We are all winners when relationships between business and the arts flourish in this way. These alliances will be all the more important during the tough times that lie ahead. The arts will rely on the involvement of business people, but the business community will also depend on the creative energies of artists. Partnering with dreams, innovation, and imagination is always a guarantee of success, declared Louise Roy, chair of the Conseil des arts de Montréal.
For the first time this year, all three winners were each nominated twice. The 2008 winner in the Large enterprise category was the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), which, through its expertise and financial support, contributed to the success of Montréal Museums Day and the Montréal Museums Pass, two initiatives of the Board of Montréal Museum Directors. The STM also received the enthusiastic support of artist Rose-Marie E. Goulet, creator of Point de fuite (Vanishing point), a public work of art presented in a Montréal metro car.
The winner in the SME category was Vasco Design International, whose president, Vasco Ceccon, chairs the organizing committee for the fundraising campaign of Le Groupe de la Veillée and the board of directors of Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal [bjm_danse].
Finally, the winner in the Arts/Business Personality category was Peter McAuslan, president of the McAuslan Brewery. McAuslan supports the St. Ambroise Fringe Festival, Montréal both as product sponsor and as contributor to the festival's advertising campaign. McAuslan's candidacy was also supported by the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, which benefits from the financial support of Mr. McAuslan, who has also served on the festival's board of directors for five years.
The jury for the Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal was composed of Nathalie Courville, director general, Marketing and Communication, of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB); Lorena Corradi, director general, co-artistic director, and vice-president of the Arsenal à musique; Roshi Chadha, patron of the arts; Marc Pache, director general of Théâtre Bouches Décousues; and Maurice Forget, partner at Fasken Martineau.
In 2007, the award winners were the SSQ Financial Group, sponsored by TOHU (Large enterprise category), TP1 Internet 360, sponsored by the Pont Bridge theatre (SME category), and Florence Junca-Adenot, UQAM professor, sponsored by Agora de la danse (Arts/Business Personality category).
About the Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal
The Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal are an initiative of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and the Conseil des arts de Montréal, in collaboration with daily newspaper Le Devoir, that aims to reward businesses and individuals who have shown their support for Montréal arts and cultural organizations. The award presentation night for the 2008 Prix Arts-Affaires was sponsored by Quebecor, in collaboration with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The work of art presented to Prix Arts-Affaires winners is created by Rita, a multidisciplinary design collective composed of Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard, Karine Corbeil, and Francis Rollin.
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has some 7,000 members. Its primary mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and local businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.
A dynamic partner of Montréal artistic creation, the Conseil des arts de Montréal supports and recognizes excellence in professional artistic creation, production, and distribution through financial support, advice, and cooperative and development actions. For over 50 years, the Conseil des arts de Montréal has contributed through its actions to the development of "Montréal, cultural metropolis."
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Information:
Sylvie Paquette
Coordinator, Media Relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Phone: 514 871-4000, extension 4015
sylvie.paquette@ccmm.qc.ca
Christian O'Leary
Director of Communications and Development
Conseil des arts de Montréal
Phone: 514 280-3991
coleary.p@ville.montreal.qc.ca