Simon Brault Appointed as Director of Canada Council for the Arts

Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages Shelly Glover today announced the appointment of Simon Brault as director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts for a term of five years effective June 26, 2014.

Brault was first appointed to the Canada Council as vice-chair in 2004 and was reappointed in 2009 for a second five-year term, which ended March 31, 2014. 

He comes to the role following 32 years at the National Theatre School of Canada, 17 of which were spent as general director and CEO. Brault is the author of Le Facteur C – l’avenir passe par la culture, published in English as No Culture, No Future.

A leader in the Montréal arts community, Brault founded Journées de la culture, an undertaking first held in 1997 to democratize the arts and culture across Québec. He is also a founding member of Culture Montréal and has been its elected Chair since it began in 2002.

In recognition of his many accomplishments, Brault was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, fellow of the CGA, Officier de l’Ordre national du Québec, and received the 2009 Keith Kelly Award for Cultural Leadership, awarded by the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

“I am honoured to announce that Mr. Brault has agreed to serve as Director of the Canada Council for the Arts," Minister Glover said in a statement. "With his outstanding work and many contributions during his 10 years as Vice-Chair of the Canada Council, he successfully championed the Council’s focus on public engagement in the arts. His leadership in the Canadian and international arts community is highly valuable to the Council.”

“Simon has been a tireless champion of public engagement in the arts," said Joseph L. Rotman, Chair of the Canada Council. "We believe this is vital to the sustainability of the Canadian arts sector. The Canada Council will benefit from the vision of such a forward-looking and credible individual. Simon’s intellect and creativity will help set a strong course for the Canada Council’s future.”

As director and CEO, Brault will be responsible for the Council’s day-to-day operations and its budget of over $191 million. He replaces Robert Sirman, who has served as director and CEO since June 2006.