1. Rebecca Cann Receives Laura Sabia Award
St. Catharines, ON - Niagara Artists’ Centre — Rebecca Cann, the City of St. Catharines Cultural Planning Supervisor 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. Cann’s remarkable dedication to the development of local arts and culture is evident in the success of many programmes implemented by the City of St. Catharines and her extraordinary efforts as a volunteer.
In 2000, Cann arrived in St. Catharines from Toronto with a wealth of experience as a theatre professional and arts administrator. Since that time, the City has implemented several incredibly successful arts initiatives. Most notably, Cann was the lead City staffer in the development of the St. Catharines Cultural Investment Programme, a municipal resource that supports local arts organizations and individual artists.
Beyond her exemplary achievements as a professional, Cann also serves on numerous committees and has volunteered her formidable skills as a theatre director to successful fundraising productions such as the Vagina Monologues in benefit of Gillian’s Place. Cann also actively searches out and attends art events across all disciplines in Niagara whether it is a Niagara Symphony concert, a high school drama production, an exhibition at the Niagara Artists’ Centre, the CRAM gallery, or the Rodman Hall Art Centre.
“NAC’s very pleased to present this year’s award to Rebecca. It’s no coincidence that since Rebecca’s arrival in St. Catharines we’ve seen an invigorated and growing arts scene,” says NAC board director Deanna Jones.
Every year a NAC artist is commissioned to make an art work that is given as the Laura Sabia Award. This year’s award of a lino-block print was created by last year’s recipient of the award, artist and teacher Carolyn Wren. The award was presented to Cann at the Women in Music concert at the Black Sea Hall on Sunday 2 March.
Past Recipients of the Laura Sabia Award also include: Alice Crawley, Laura Thomas, Dorene Inglis, Elizabeth Chitty, Beth Bartley, Liz Palmieri, Joan Nicks, Sofia Vuorinen, and Betsy Tauro.