The Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, today announced four new appointments and three re-appointments to the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (NLAC).

Minister Jackman said the selection of NLAC board members is designed to include representation from various artistic disciplines, as well as from various regions throughout the province.

Newly-appointed NLAC board members are: Lloyd Pretty of Stephenville, visual art; Derek Norman of St. John�s, film; Barry Nichols of St. John�s, theatre; and, Calla Lachance of St. John�s, dance. Re-appointed to the board are: Carmelita McGrath of St. John�s, literary arts; Kim Wiseman of Gander, music; and, Mary Walsh of St. John�s, theatre. Continuing members are: Randall Maggs of Corner Brook, literary arts; Tom Gordon of St. John�s, music; Barbara Wood of Labrador, visual arts; and, Eleanor Dawson and Brent Meade (Provincial Government representatives).

"The new members are valuable additions to the expertise already represented on the board," Minister Jackman said. "The NLAC and its board members are vital to furthering the Provincial Government�s commitment to strengthening the cultural industries of Newfoundland and Labrador."

The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council was established in January 1980. Its mandate is to foster and promote creation and enjoyment of the arts for the benefit of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and is the key vehicle by which the Provincial Government supports the creative processes.

In its cultural strategy, Creative Newfoundland and Labrador: The Blueprint for Development and Investment in Culture (2006), the Provincial Government committed to more than doubling funding to the NLAC by 2008, bringing the total annual budget to $1.8 million.

In 2007-08, the NLAC provided $1,141,362 in grants to 278 artists and arts organizations (compared to $797,241 to 257 artists in 2006-07). Over the past two years, the NLAC has also provided $320,892 to schools throughout Newfoundland and Labrador through ArtsSmarts and the Visiting Artists Program.

Media contact:

Heather May
Director of Communications
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation
709-729-0928, 697-5061
heathermay@gov.nl.ca

Barry Nichols of St. John's has been involved in theatre in Newfoundland and Labrador for more than 20 years as a production manager, tour manager, stage manager and performance artist. Mr. Nichols has worked with a number of companies including: Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland; Neighbourhood Dance Works; Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company; Rising Tide Theatre; Stephenville Theatre Festival; Theatre Newfoundland Labrador; and, Wonderbolt Circus. Mr. Nichols is originally from Nicholsville, Deer Lake, and is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design and holds a bachelor of commerce from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Lloyd Pretty is a visual artist currently working and living in Stephenville. Throughout the course of his career, Mr. Pretty has had many successful shows and his work can be found on display in hundreds of private collections. Galleries all over Canada carry his original work and limited Geclee edition prints, which he produces in his own studio.  Mr. Pretty was recognized by the Canadian Society of Marine Artists as one of Canada's top marine artists and, as a result, he now holds a membership with the society.  His work is currently on display at their gallery in Picton, Ontario. Mr. Pretty is part owner of Greetings from Newfoundland, a company which distributes work for artists.

Derek Norman is a St. John's filmmaker currently holding the position of co-ordinator at the Digital Research Centre at Memorial University. Mr. Norman is one of the founding members of the Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Cooperative (NIFCO), as well as the Producers Association of Newfoundland. For the past 20 years, he has taught the Basic Filmmaking course at NIFCO. Mr. Norman has won numerous awards for film directing, editing and cinematography.

Mary Walsh has established herself as a prominent national figure in the performing arts scene. A multi-award winner for her work on the CBC program This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Ms. Walsh is one of the founding members of Codco. As a writer, actor and director, she has been honoured with many accolades and awards, and is a member of the Order of Canada. Her feature film credits include: Random Passage; Behind the Red Door, The Divine Ryans; New Waterford Girl; The Extraordinary Visitor; Violet; Mambo Italiano; and, Young Triffie's Been Made Away With. She is the past host of CBC�s literary talk show series Mary Walsh: Open Book, and was co-writer, producer and actor in the CBC comedy Hatching, Matching & Dispatching.

Carmelita McGrath, a writer and editor, is a winner of the 2000 Writers� Alliance/

Bennington Gate Newfoundland Book Award and was short-listed for the 2000 Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award for her book, Stranger Things Have Happened. Ms. McGrath is an inaugural winner of the Atlantic Poetry Prize and a recipient of eight Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Awards. She has been published in more than 20 Canadian and American magazines and journals, and has been featured on several CBC Radio programs.

Kim Wiseman is from Gander and holds a bachelor of music in vocal performance from Memorial University and a Masters of Music from the University of Ottawa. For the past 14 years, she has owned and operated her own private performing arts studio in Gander. Ms. Wiseman has worked with the Milepost Dinner Theatre, lending her talents as artist coordinator and director. She has adjudicated provincial music and drama festivals, and is co-owner and operator of Centre Stage Productions. Ms. Wiseman�s latest endeavour is The Entertainment Factory, an event planning company based in Gander, which she also co-owns and operates.
 

2008 04 17                                                     9:30 a.m.