History of the Awards

Just Announced: Nominations are now open for the 2020 Cultural Leaders Legacy Artist Awards Established by the Rozsa Foundation and Calgary 2012, we are proud to present together with Calgary Arts Development the Rozsa Foundation Emerging Arts Administrator Award. The Rozsa Foundation Emerging Arts Administrator Award is a $5,000 cash award intended to recognize and encourage the role of professional arts managers and administrators who are dedicating their careers to promoti

It is with great pleasure, the Rozsa Foundation announces the shortlist nominees for the 16th Annual Rozsa Awards celebrating Excellence in Arts Management and Board Leadership. Selected this year by the Rozsa Awards Jury out of several exemplary nominations from across the province, these candidates are distinct in their transformational leadership, moving their organizations forward through innovation and outstanding executive management. Recognizing Excellence in Arts Mana

Just Announced: Nominations are now open for the 2019 Cultural Leaders Legacy Artist Awards Established by the Rozsa Foundation and Calgary 2012, we are proud to present together with Calgary Arts Development the Rozsa Foundation Emerging Arts Administrator Award. The Rozsa Foundation Emerging Arts Administrator Award is a $5,000 cash award intended to recognize and encourage the role of professional arts managers and administrators who are dedicating their careers to promoti

The Rozsa Foundation is pleased to announce Shelley Youngblut, CEO and Creative Ringleader of Wordfest, as the recipient of the 2018 Rozsa Award for Excellence in Arts Management. Shelley Youngblut connects smart, funny people with life-changing ideas as the CEO and Creative Ringleader of Wordfest. In partnership with the Calgary Public Library, she is transforming Alberta’s oldest library in Central Memorial Park into a vibrant arts and culture hub. Youngblut has breathed ne

The Rozsa Foundation is pleased to announce our shortlist for the 15th Annual Rozsa Award. Congratulations to JP Thibodeau, Artistic Producer of Storybook Theatre, Keri Mitchell, Executive Director of Theatre Alberta, and Shelley Youngblut, CEO and Creative Ring Leader of Wordfest. Selected by the Rozsa Award Jury out of several exemplary nominations from across the province, these candidates are distinct in their transformational leadership, moving their organizations forwar

Time flies when you’re having fun! Last week marked the one year anniversary of my first day as Executive Director at the Rozsa Foundation. For me, it’s been a year of learning about the past and planning for the future. At the start of this month, the Board of the Rozsa Foundation passed a new three-year strategic plan, which will see the Foundation expand in new directions, while staying firmly rooted to the legacies of Drs. Ted and Lola Rozsa and the Rozsa Family’s wish to

SSS Members enjoy a recent Secret Sounds event at the Masters Gallery, featuring The Torchettes The Calgary Folk Music Festival’s donor outreach program, Secret Sounds Society, was born as an Action Learning Project (ALP) during my time as a student in the third cohort of the Rozsa Arts Management Program (RAMP). Secret Sounds is a membership-based social club; members are told the dates and times of the four events in the season, but we keep the location and the concept of e

Introducing Wilma Slenders, facilitator of the Rozsa Executive Arts Leadership (REAL) program. Our first year of the program was such a great success that we are launching it again this January. In 2017, the Rozsa Foundation started a brand new Arts Leadership program in conjunction with Transcend Management Advisors. The REAL (Rozsa Executive Arts Leadership) program was designed in collaboration with senior arts leaders to address challenges and topics that are facing the a

Following her time with the Rozsa Arts Management Program (RAMP), Barbara Thorson presented her Action Learning Project at the University of Calgary on March 14, 2017. My Action Learning Project started out as a proposal to create a Policy and Procedure Manual for Cowtown Opera. However, immediate concerns for lack of space in my home and garage (where Cowtown Opera had resided for the past six years), led me to begin the search for a new location. The challenge would be to

The Rozsa Foundation is pleased to announce David Chantler, Producing Director of Trickster Theatre, as the recipient of the 2017 Rozsa Award for Excellence in Arts Management. ​ At the helm for Trickster’s 37 years in operation, David’s astute and creative approach has constantly kept Trickster programming current and relevant. ​ Chantler established Trickster’s School Residency program in 1989. Keenly aware of the value of arts-based learning since the beginning, Chantler h

The Rozsa Foundation is pleased to welcome our newest staff member, Derek Stevenson. Derek joins us as Arts Leadership Manager, and will be keeping our arts leadership programs running robustly while our Arts Leadership Director, Geraldine Ysselstein, takes time to welcome her own new addition during her maternity leave. Originally from Lethbridge, AB, Derek began his career in the arts as a performer, appearing in over twenty-five theatre productions across Southern Alberta.

Greetings! My name is Simon Mallett, and I’m delighted to be the new Executive Director at the Rozsa Foundation. I’ve come to the Foundation from Downstage, a theatre company I founded back in 2004, for which I’ve been the Artistic Director for the past 13 years. I’m an artist – a theatre director specifically – by trade, but my experience has given me a deep appreciation and understanding of the many complex elements that exist throughout the provincial arts landscape. I’m j

The Lebel Mansion, built in 1910, is an historic building located in Pincher Creek and is operated by the Allied Arts Council of Pincher Creek since 1987. The Mansion is the main cultural and artistic venue for southern Alberta. The building stands 3 stories high, and notions of universal access were not included in the design at that time of construction. In 2007 efforts were made to obtain funding to render the building accessible for everyone, including the installation of

Contributed by Val Duncan, Artistic Producer of Theatre Encounter, following the presentation of her RAMP Action Learning Project. [April 10, 2017] My Action Learning Project started as an audience development initiative. The artistic directors at Theatre Encounter had known for years that their work aligned more closely with contemporary visual arts than with traditional theatre, but, the company just couldn’t seem to integrate people interested in contemporary art into th

The Rozsa Arts Management Program (RAMP) in 2015-2016 offered me the opportunity to connect with other arts administrators, raise common issues, and allow for new ideas to emerge. While others in my cohort focused on a challenge in their organization for their Action Learning Project (ALP), I focused on the non-profit arts sector as a whole. “Emerging Themes in the Arts” Theme #1: LEADERSHIP For over 10 years there has been research and discussion about the baby boomer genera