John Hirsch Prize
The Canada Council for the Arts is committed to equity and inclusion, and welcomes applications from diverse Aboriginal, cultural and regional communities, including people with disabilities.
Nomination Deadline
1 October 2011
If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
Your completed nomination form and all required support material must be postmarked on or before the deadline date.
Please refer to the Nomination Guidelines for detailed information.
Description of the Prize
The John Hirsch Prize was created in 1995 to recognize new and developing theatre directors who have demonstrated great potential for future excellence and exciting artistic vision. Two $6,000 prizes are awarded every two years, one for each of the Anglophone and Francophone theatre communities.
On his death in 1989, the distinguished theatre director John Hirsch left a bequest to the Canada Council for the Arts to assist and encourage Canadian directors. The John Hirsch Prize is a tribute to the extraordinary contribution Mr. Hirsch made to theatre in Canada, most notably as founder of the Manitoba Theatre Centre, head of television drama for the CBC and artistic director of the Stratford Festival
Eligibility
Nominees
Nominees must have no more than 10 years of experience as a professional theatre director. They must also be Canadian citizens or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. They do not need to be living in Canada.
They must also meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist, which is an artist who:
- has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in teaching establishments)
- is recognized as such by his or her peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition)
- is committed to devoting as much time as possible to artistic activity, if financially feasible
- has a history of public presentation.
Nominators
Nominators must also be Canadian and be members of the Canadian professional theatre community.
Amount of the Prize
Two prizes of $6,000 may be awarded in 2011-12.
Further Information
Janet Riedel Pigott,
Program Officer
Endowments and Prizes Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 4116
TTY: 1-866-565-5559
Fax: 613-566-4430
August 2011