Dr. Rosemary Drage Hale
Dr. Rosemary Drage Hale has been recognized by the women artists of Niagara as this year’s recipient of the Laura Sabia Award. The award is sponsored annually by the Niagara Artists Centre in commemoration of International Women’s Day. It recognizes a woman in the Niagara community who has made an outstanding commitment to the arts and furthered the careers of women artists.
Laura Thomas of the Niagara Symphony cited Hale’s, “extraordinary public leadership in the process of establishing a much needed, first-class performing arts centre here in Niagara,” along with, “her personal and ongoing support of the arts in our area including the Niagara Symphony, Chorus Niagara, Lyndesfarne Theatre, Suitcase in Point, and Theatre Beyond Words,” as reasons for the selection for the award.
NAC received several nominations this year but the selections committee felt that Hale’s tireless advocacy for the arts at Brock University and in the larger Niagara community made her this year’s stand-alone choice. In particular, Dr. Hale has played a pioneering role envisioning the move of Brock’s Performing Arts Centre and campus to the Marilyn I. Walker School for the Fine and Performing Arts in the St. Catharines downtown core.
In addition to duties as Dean of Humanities, and as a professor in Brock’s Department of History since 2000, Hale is a dedicated advocate for the arts, heritage, and cultural sectors in the Region.
She is President of the Bicentennial Legacy Council, a bi-national organization committed to organizing commemorations around the War of 1812. She also contributes to many arts and culture initiatives in the region, including co-chair of the Regional Cultural Committee and Board Director of the Niagara Symphony Orchestra.
During her tenure at Brock University, a number of new interdisciplinary initiatives have emerged in Dr. Hale’s faculty, such as the Medieval and Renaissance Studies and the program in Interactive Arts and Science dedicated to studies and training in interactive media.
Hale received her PhD from Harvard University in Comparative Study of Religion and Medieval Studies, and History of Christianity; a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard University Divinity School; an MA from Eastern Michigan University in Social Foundations; and a BA from Kent State University in English Language and Literature.
Every year a member of the Niagara Artists Centre is commissioned to make an artwork that is given as the Laura Sabia Award. This year’s award of a limited edition print entitled Trois Oeuf was created by St. Catharines artist Sandy Middleton. The award will be presented to Hale at the Women in Music concert at Club Roma on Sunday 7 March.
Past Recipients of the Laura Sabia Award also include: Marilyn I. Walker, Rebecca Cann, Alice Crawley, Laura Thomas, Carolyn Wren, Dorene Inglis, Elizabeth Chitty, Beth Bartley, Liz Palmieri, Joan Nicks, Sofia Vuorinen, and Betsy Tauro.