2014 Allain Fellowship Jury

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SHMF is proud to announce the members of the jury for the 2014 Marie Hélène Allain Fellowship.

The board of directors wishes to acknowledge with gratitude the contribution of Thaddeus Holownia, Louise Poulin and Tom Smart to this professional jury process.

Thaddeus Holownia, Head of Department of Fine Arts at Mount Allison University, is an internationally celebrated photographer, a revered educator and mentor and an active community leader. He is a Fulbright Scholar, a four-time recipient of the Mount Allison Paul Paré Award for Excellence and was awarded the Paul Paré Medal in 1998 and in 2006 for excellence in teaching, research/creative activity and community service. Holownia has been awarded the Strathbutler in recognition of his artistic excellence and contributions to the arts community of New Brunswick. He established the Sackville Film Society and Anchorage Press.

Holownia’s work has been shown in numerous national and international solo and group exhibitions. Photographic prints and bookworks by Thaddeus Holownia are in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, (Ottawa), Yale University (New Haven), the Canadian Centre for Architecture (Montreal), the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston Texas), the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (Ottawa), and many other corporate, public and private collections.

A deeply committed arts advocate, Holownia brings decades of experience to the evaluation of creative process and artistic exploration.

Over a 15-year career as a consultant, Louise Poulin founding partner and CEO of ArtExpert, has made a specialty of strategic cultural analysis, research and feasibility studies in arts and culture. Over the past few years, she has demonstrated her expertise in managing large projects with multiple consultants and has undertaken numerous studies and projects for government departments and private institutions. Louise is the president of the Cultural Mentorship (Mentorat culturel) and serves as a board member of the HEC Montréal University Arts and Management Program. She is a founding member of the Arts Consultants Canada/Consultants canadiens en arts. She served as a board member for the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

Prior to founding ArtExpert, Louise Poulin accumulated 20 years of experience in arts and culture management and as Executive Director. She directed major cultural events throughout Canada and brings a wide experience of best practices and opportunities for artists as well as an informed appreciation for the diversity of Canadian cultural life.

Tom Smart has three decades of experience working in the field of Canadian and American art. He has served as Executive Director and CEO of the McMichael Canadian Collection; Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh; Acting Director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; and curator of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. His experience as a gallery director and curator involves intense examination of the creative process and a deep appreciation for artistic genres and modalities. He is the author of numerous books on Canadian art, including Alex Colville: Return, The Art of Mary Pratt: The Substance of Light. The Art of Fred Ross: A Timeless Humanism and most recently Dan Steeves: The Memory of Pain. He publishes widely in contemporary newspapers, journals and magazines and takes a particular interest in art from the Atlantic region.

Passionate about art and the creative process, his work reflects a deep commitment to art education and to describing the unique visual languages that artists use to express their creative visions.