Press release
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and the
Conseil des arts de Montréal announce the winners of the
Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal 2006
Montreal, Thursday, November 30 Today, the honourary co-chairs of the Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal Isabelle Hudon, 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 2006 edition of the awards during the business luncheon Montreal: A cultural metropolis for the XXIst century. The winners of the Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal 2006 are Quebecor Inc. (large enterprise category), the Caisse populaire Desjardins du Mont-Royal (SME category), and Alvin Segal, president and CEO of Vêtements Peerless Clothing Inc. (Arts/Business Personality category). A citation of excellence was also presented to the Fasken Martineau law firm.
The nominations for this award are submitted by Montreal cultural and arts organizations wishing to thank members of the business community for their exceptional support. For example, Quebecor Inc. made a significant contribution to the Board of Montreal Museum Directors on Montreal Museums Day, to the Société pour l'avancement de la chanson d'expression française, and to the Théâtre du Rideau Vert. The Caisse populaire Desjardins du Mont-Royal was recognized for creating an alliance with OBORO's New Media lab. Alvin Segal, of Vêtements Peerless Clothing Inc. earned the award for Arts/Business Personality for his support of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts. And finally, the Fasken Martineau law firm received a citation of excellence for its active involvement in the arts community for many years and its exemplary contribution to Quartier Éphémère.
The jury for the Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal was made up of Normand Biron, culture commissioner in the City of Montreal's department of cultural development; Marie-Hélène Falcon, general and artistic director of the Festival TransAmériques; Weber Laurent, architect with the Lauvac Group; David Moss, consultant; and Martin Spalding, general manager of F1 Canada Grand Prix / Stock-Car Montréal / NASCAR Busch.
"The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, in association with the Conseil des arts de Montréal, is proud to highlight the close ties that are steadily being strengthened between two key sectors culture and business that help make Montreal an exceptional city, unique from every standpoint. Its cultural vitality, which is recognized far beyond our own borders, is the signature of our metropolis and a powerful engine of development in which we must invest more heavily, following the outstanding example set by the companies and entrepreneurs we are congratulating today," remarked Isabelle Hudon, president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
Louise Roy, chair of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, added, "There are extremely dedicated businesses and individuals whose actions make a significant difference in supporting and promoting the arts milieu. It is vital that we recognize this contribution through the awarding of the Prix Arts-Affaires and that these winners serve as an inspiration for the entire community. Business and the arts have much in common, and the collaboration of the Conseil des arts and the Board of Trade in relaunching these awards is surely an excellent way to demonstrate that fact."
About the Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal
The Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal is an initiative of the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, in association with Le Devoir, to recognize companies and individuals that supported Montreal arts and cultural organizations between April 1, 2005, and September 1, 2006. The work of art chosen to be presented to the winners of the Prix Arts-Affaires is a creation of 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 mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montreal and to provide individuals, merchants and 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 the largest private organization in Quebec dedicated to economic development.
A dynamic partner of Montreal 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. This year, the Conseil des arts de Montréal is celebrating fifty years of action contributing to the development of "Montreal, cultural metropolis."
NB: Photographs will be available upon request this afternoon.
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For information and photographs:
Sylvie Paquette
Coordinator, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4015
sylvie.paquette@ccmm.qc.ca
Christian O'Leary
Directeur des communications et du développement
Conseil des arts de Montréal
Tel.: 514 280-3991
christian.oleary@cum.qc.ca