Olivier Arteau, co-general director and artistic director of Trident in Quebec, is the French-speaking recipient of the John Hirsch Prize, awarded every two years by the Canada Council for the Arts.
“I would like to share this recognition with all the artists who have agreed, in recent years, to delve into my universe, enrich it and reinvent it. A director is nothing without the countless creative minds who surround him,” declared Olivier Arteau in a press release.
The John Hirsch Awards recognize the merit and artistic potential of emerging directors in the country. Montreal artist Sophie Gee, who notably created Good Good (Théâtre Aux Écuries), won the prize among English speakers.
This award has been awarded since 1995 in tribute to John Hirsch, eminent director, founder of the Manitoba Theater Center and former artistic director of the Stratford Festival. The latter left a donation to the Canada Council for the Arts upon his death in 1989, in order to encourage Canadian directors.