May 6, 2009 (Calgary, Alberta) - The Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) is pleased to announce that Meg Van Rosendaal will be awarded the 2009 Board of Governors' Alumni Award of Excellence at the 2009 ACAD convocation ceremony on May 14th, 2009. This award is given annually to an alumnus or alumna of ACAD who has made a significant contribution to the arts community and has demonstrated excellence in their field of practice. The Board of Governors of ACAD is especially pleased to recognize Ms. Van Rosendaal with this award, and to honour the important contributions she has made to the arts in Calgary. Ms. Van Rosendaal has a great appreciation for the arts, and a passion for supporting the growth of the arts and design in our community.
Meg Van Rosendaal graduated from ACAD in 1989 as a Painting student, and has been contributing to the Calgary arts community since the time of her graduation. Meg was first a volunteer coordinator of ArtWalk, a one-day event started in the 1980s by a group of Calgary gallery owners. Along with Anne McKenzie, her partner in the Arts Consulting firm McKenzie Van Rosendaal, Meg was a founder of The Visual Arts Week Society, and the annual ten-day ArtWeek, which is now the ArtCity festival.
Hired as Outreach Programmer for the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts in 1999, Meg initiated the citywide RealLiveArts website and assembled a consortium of arts organizations, property owners and businesses to form the Olympic Plaza Cultural District. As the Cultural District momentum grew, she became the General Manager of the District, and produced year-round outdoor programming, such as the four-day Alberta Centennial celebration, Brilliant City, Winter Parties in the Plaza, Asian Night Markets, Movies in the Plaza and the popular year-round First Thursdays event series. The award-winning Cultural District Manifesto & Idea Bank, developed through a community-wide process, is one of her lasting legacies, shaping an exciting long-term vision for a well-loved urban destination in our downtown. Ms. Van Rosendaal connects Calgarians with the arts in new and engaging ways, and strongly believes in the arts as a vital factor in making Calgary a great and creative city for the world.
ACAD is pleased to honour the important work done by Ms. Van Rosendaal and to celebrate her achievements as one of our alumni of excellence. The 2009 ACAD convocation ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 14th at 2:00 PM in the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
ACAD is a leading centre for education and research, and a catalyst for creative inquiry and cultural development. We engage the world and create possibilities.
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For more information or to arrange an interview:
AnneMarie Dorland
Director of Communications
t. 403.284.7656
c. 403.472.2322
e. AnneMarie.Dorland@acad.ca
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