Theatre Junction Names New Executive Director

Theatre Junction is thrilled to announce the appointment of Guy de Carteret to the team as the new Executive Director of the organization, commencing April 4, 2016.

After an extensive national and international search lead by founding artistic director Mark Lawes, Guy de Carteret has been named to lead Theatre Junction GRAND. "It was an extremely challenging search as we were looking for someone with a very specific skill set, professional experience, and a kind of 'personal calling' to take on the mission of reinventing cultural space for the 21st century," says Lawes. "I was not only interested in Guy's extensive national and international experience, but also his interest in social innovation, and the role of arts, culture and public space in building community."

With over 20 years of experience in the performing arts sector, de Carteret has worked with some of Canada's leading artists as a Producer, General Manager and Cultural Leader. The work he's produced has toured nationally and internationally to major festivals, including the World Stage Festival, Luminato Festival, Festival TransAmériques, Magnetic North, Melbourne International Festival, the Spoleto Festival and SpielArt Festival in Munich, among others.

From 1996 to 2012 de Carteret was the Producer and General Manager of Necessary Angel Theatre Company in Toronto, where he collaborated on the creation of the company's repertoire of work, conceived, developed and spearheaded an Associate Artist program that invited renowned international artists to create work with the company, and was the only producer to collaborate with four of the five director winners of the Siminovitch Prize.

"I first met Guy ten years ago when I presented a work of Necessary Angel in Calgary, and then in October last year, Guy came to Montreal to see my work at Théâtre Aux Écuries and we began a long conversation about the importance of creating a new wave of Canadian theatre and cultural institution, one that would serve the needs of the artist and the public, creating a dynamic interaction and conversation between the two," added Lawes.

Twice awarded with the Lieutenant Governor's award for the Arts, de Carteret continues to be engaged in culture building. He recently received a fellowship to conduct research on social change and public engagement through the Metcalf Foundation with his new project INCITE, an immersive and interactive environment devised for experiment, exchange and transformation, which is currently being developed with the collaboration of The Peter Loughheed Leadership Institute at The Banff Centre.

"As one of the premiere performing art venues in Canada, Theatre Junction GRAND has the capacity to be a space where artists and audience enlarge their cultural, political and philosophical references; a space where we can come together and share ideas, where we can explore new directions and have totally new conversations; a space which builds meaning and community," said Guy de Carteret.

"I am excited to be part of a new vision that will see Theatre Junction forge a new and enlarged role and identity in an effort to create a rich and dynamic arena to explore our contemporary world and become a vital component in the life of our city and beyond."

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