{"id":16678,"date":"2015-10-19T08:23:18","date_gmt":"2015-10-19T12:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=16678"},"modified":"2015-10-19T08:23:18","modified_gmt":"2015-10-19T12:23:18","slug":"montreal-designer-anick-la-bissonniere-receives-2015-siminovitch-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=16678","title":{"rendered":"Montreal Designer Anick La Bissonni\u00e8re receives 2015 Siminovitch Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anick La Bissonni\u00e8re\u00a0has been awarded Canada\u2019s most prestigious theatre award \u2013\u00a0The Siminovitch Prize<\/a>. This year marks the 15th\u00a0anniversary of the\u00a0award, which was celebrated at a gala this past weekend\u00a0at Toronto\u2019s\u00a0Hart House Theatre. As a part of the $100,000 prize, La Bissonni\u00e8re receives $75,000 and\u00a0Maril\u00e8ne Bastien, whom she has chosen as her prot\u00e9g\u00e9e, receives $25,000.<\/p>\n

La Bissonni\u00e8re was one of four talented designers on this year\u2019s shortlist. For the first time, The Siminovitch Prize has added an additional $15,000 in prize money to award $5,000 to each of the three other finalists:\u00a0Bretta Gerecke,\u00a0Trevor Schwellnus\u00a0and Nancy Tobin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn awarding the 2015 Siminovitch Prize to Anick La Bissonni\u00e8re, the jury recognized her extraordinary talent to create epic, eye-popping environments that manage to remain intimate, subtle and totally actor-friendly,\u201d<\/em> said Jury Chair\u00a0Bob White. \u201cThis ability to imagine complete, original worlds for the plays she designs and to empower actors to lay bare the human soul, marks Anick La Bissonni\u00e8re as a rare and precious theatrical artist.\u201d<\/em> He added, \u201cClean lines, a dynamic use of negative space and a flair for the bold gesture make La Bissonni\u00e8re\u2019s work unique and ground-breaking.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

La Bissonni\u00e8re studied architecture in Switzerland and Montreal before landing her first professional set design job in 1993. Since that time, La Bissonni\u00e8re has collaborated with dozens of talented Canadian directors including Andr\u00e9 Brassard, Gilles Maheu, Matthew Jocelyn and her ongoing collaborator, Siminovitch Laureate Brigitte Haentjens. Her set designs have been produced all over the world on such renowned stages as the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Ch\u00e2telet in Paris, the Festival d\u2019Avignon, New York\u2019s Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. She has created award-winning work for theatre, dance, film, urban events, circuses, museums and site-specific installations. Since 2010, she has been actively sharing her knowledge in design with students at Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al. La Bissonni\u00e8re was previously a Siminovitch Prize finalist in 2006, 2009 and 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter three nominations, I think I had unconsciously resolved that my fourth time would end the same way,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0said La Bissonni\u00e8re.\u00a0\u201cTo be one of the nominees again felt extraordinary. It meant that over the years my whole career has been acknowledged by the Siminovitch jury. To be the recipient is an incredible honour, and an extraordinary gift which offers the possibility of freedom.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Maril\u00e8ne Bastien was chosen by La Bissonni\u00e8re as her prot\u00e9g\u00e9e. A multi-talented set, costume and prop designer, Bastien has created sets and costumes for many prominent productions including theatre, circus and dance. Bastien has been part of the creative team of the festival Montr\u00e9al Compl\u00e8tement Cirque, designing costumes for its 40 acrobats and dancers. In the summer of 2015 she created costumes for\u00a0‘Le monde est fou,’ a Cirque du Soleil production directed by Jean-Guy Legault.<\/p>\n

Describing her reaction to hearing that she was chosen as La Bissonni\u00e8re\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9e, Bastien said.\u00a0\u201cIt is such a surprise and the emotion is so strong that my heart is pounding and words fail me. I admire Anick greatly. This unexpected acknowledgement sweeps me off my feet and fills me with overwhelming feelings; I am moved, proud and honoured.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRBC is pleased to support The\u00a0Siminovitch Prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Prize as part of the RBC Emerging Artist Project,\u201d<\/em> said\u00a0Rebecca Mooney, Vice President and Head, Brand and Marketing, RBC Wealth Management. \u201cWe believe in the power of mentorship to foster the development of the next generation of artists and are pleased to congratulate Maril\u00e8ne Bastien as this year\u2019s recipient.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

“Each year, since its inception in 2001, The\u00a0Siminovitch\u00a0Prize\u00a0has turned the spotlight on exceptional Canadian theatre artists.\u00a0 The award has stimulated and enabled winners to push the boundaries of their craft, illuminated their work nationally and internationally and has served as a springboard for the advancement of their careers,\u201d<\/em> said\u00a0Dr. Kathy\u00a0Siminovitch, Board Chair.\u00a0\u201cThis\u00a0Prize, and its\u00a0prot\u00e9g\u00e9\u00a0component, allows us to reflect on the importance of theatre to our country\u2019s cultural life, the need of its artists for support, recognition and opportunities for risk-taking and the incredible value of\u00a0mentorship.\u00a0We are delighted to support Canadian theatre artists with the help of our Presenting Sponsor RBC Wealth Management and partners University of Toronto, Hart House Theatre and the Friends of the Siminovitch Prize.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

For more information on The Siminovitch Prize, visit\u00a0siminovitchprize.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anick La Bissonni\u00e8re\u00a0has been awarded Canada\u2019s most prestigious theatre award \u2013\u00a0The Siminovitch Prize. This year marks the 15th\u00a0anniversary of the\u00a0award, which was celebrated at a […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[206,1907,3356],"tags":[2471,3524,3523],"class_list":["post-16678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canada","category-news","category-theatre","tag-2471","tag-anick-la-bissonniere","tag-siminovitch-prize"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/f06e486a-898f-4b1f-83b5-569cea061208.jpg?fit=200%2C216&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-4l0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15492,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=15492","url_meta":{"origin":16678,"position":0},"title":"Prism Prize returns with new Top 20 + grand prize doubling to $10,000","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"October 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Prism Prize returns for the fourth consecutive year to announce the Grand Prize for Best Canadian Music Video of the Year will be doubled to $10,000. 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