Toronto – June 15, 2009 – Toronto based costume designer, Charlotte Dean is the 2009 recipient of the $15,000 Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design. The award is given annually to professional Canadian costume designers in Ontario in mid-career to further enrich their careers through research and travel.
Ms Dean‘s work has appeared in theatres across Canada, including the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Shaw Festival, Soulpepper Theatre Company, Necessary Angel Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, The Grand Theatre, Blyth Festival, Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, The Charlottetown Festival, the Citadel Theatre, Opera Hamilton, Theatre Calgary, the Manitoba Theatre Centre, and the Banff Centre. Ms Dean is a recipient of five Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding Design. She holds an Honours BFA from York University, and is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.
Most recently Ms Dean designed the costumes for the Canadian Stage Company’s production of ìDoubtî, and this past year, her designs appeared in ìMoliereî at the Tarragon Theatre, ìAn Ideal Husbandî at Theatre Calgary, ìA Little Night Musicî at the Shaw Festival, and ìLove’s Labour’s Lostî and ìThere Reigns Loveî at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
The Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design was established through a generous gift under the will of the late Dr. Virginia S. Cooper of Toronto. The award is given “For the Love of Creation”. Dr. Cooper served as a director of the Tarragon Theatre, and was a charter woman member of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto and active in its activities. She had a keen interest in the performing arts, particularly in costume design, and was working on a book titled “Pins and Needles”, which featured some of the dresses that her mother, Myrtle Cooper, designed and made for her.
The Ontario Arts Foundation manages the endowment that funds the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award. The Ontario Arts Council administered the selection process. A jury consisting of Patricia Flood, designer, Michael Gianfrancesco, designer and last year’s award recipient, Sue LePage, designer, Guy Mignault, artistic director, and Cameron Porteous, designer, selected Ms Dean as the winner from a field of nominated costume designers from across Ontario. The jury recognized Ms Dean as ìa consummate costume designer whose consistent body of creative work demonstrates her dedication and commitment to Canadian theatre.î
The Ontario Arts Foundation holds over 270 endowments established by individuals, private foundations, corporations and arts organizations in support of the arts.
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For information, please contact:
Janet Stubbs
Executive Director, Ontario Arts Foundation
Tel: (416) 969-7413 jstubbs@arts.on.ca