John Hobday Awards in Arts Management

Toyin Lafenwa Oladele (left) and Heather Lamoureux (right)

Photographer(s): Samuel Obadero, Motif Photography (left) and Que Frais (right)

Latest Winners

Toyin Lafenwa Oladele

Mentorship Award

Toyin Lafenwa Oladele is an award-winning artist, arts manager and leader with nearly two decades of curation and community engagement experience. She leverages art to create inclusive spaces, championing diversity, equity and social change through strategic partnerships. As a dedicated mentor and advocate, Toyin empowers diverse minority communities, immigrants and newcomers, fostering a sense of belonging and promoting social impact in the arts sector. Her work drives social change and creative expression. Toyin is an Executive MBA student at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business and has a bachelor’s degree in French Language and Literature from a university in Nigeria.

Toyin will be mentoring with Alex Sarian, the President and CEO of Arts Commons (Calgary, Alberta). The mentorship project will enhance Toyin’s leadership skills in community engagement, diverse cultural connections, artistic programming and education in order to build sustainable integration program structures for newcomer and immigrant arts professionals in Alberta.

Heather Lamoureux

Mentorship Award

Heather Lamoureux lives on Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories, where she is the Artistic Director for the Vines Art Society. Heather is committed to her responsibility to nurture artists, imagine and co-create creative projects and bring people together. Her work is shaped by her training in somatic therapy, involvement in land-based community projects, gardening, supporting resistance, sovereignty and water protection work, and many generous stories. In the past, she has worked for Raven Spirit Dance, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and the Firehall Arts Centre, and facilitated movement classes for elders and youth.

Heather will be mentoring with Julia Aoki, the Program Manager for the Vancity Office of Community Engagement at Simon Fraser University. The project will focus on leadership methodologies for cultivating and sustaining nurturing and healing work environments. They will delve into strategies for transitioning personal knowledge and philosophies into organizational practices that promote longevity and coherence.

The awards

The John Hobday Awards in Arts Management are granted to talented arts managers in professional arts organizations from Canada for professional development or mentoring purposes.

The Professional Development and Renewal Award is granted to an outstanding arts manager wishing to take part in a short term recognized program, seminar or workshop.
The Mentorship Award goes to an arts manager who is seeking to acquire different knowledge, experience and skills under the supervision of a mentor.

Eligibility

To be in the running for these awards, you must submit an application to the Canada Council for the Arts.

Background

These awards were established with a $1 million donation from the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation to the Canada Council for the Arts. John Hobday made an enormous contribution to improving the work quality and professionalism of arts managers from Canada by promoting professional development and continuous training and focusing on the profession's importance for the growth and viability of the arts.