The National Arts Centre’s 2015-2016 Annual Report, entitled Groundbreaking, and which was tabled in Parliament earlier this month, highlights a historic year marked by two major investments in the NAC by the Government of Canada, as well unprecedented private sector support across Canada for to the Centre’s national fundraising campaign.   

The $110.5 million Architectural Rejuvenation Project, designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, will re-orient the NAC to the Nation’s Capital with a stunning new entrance on Elgin Street, and includes a transparent lobby and atrium that are fully accessible, as well as new spaces for education and performance. The NAC has remained open throughout the renovations, which are progressing very well. The grand re-opening will take place on Canada Day, 2017.

And the $114.9 million Production Renewal Project to refurbish the NAC’s performance halls and production facilities kicked off with a major renovation of Southam Hall in the summer of 2016.  The project included the addition of mid aisles and a cross aisle that greatly increase accessibility; new hardwood flooring that has improved sound; comfortable new seats; and some important production upgrades.

The National Arts Centre Foundation conducted its first ever capital campaign (“The Creation Campaign”) to raise $25 million from donors across the country. The National Creation Fund, which will open in November 2017, will provide venture capital to artists across the country who want to create bold new works in Music, Dance and Theatre.

“The 2015−2016 season was a truly historic year for the National Arts Centre,” said NAC President and CEO Peter Herrndorf. “We are extraordinarily grateful to the Government of Canada for their investment in the NAC, as well as to our remarkably generous donors who share our vision to invest in the creation process and new Canadian works. We also thank our patrons, who have soldiered on through a good deal of disruption this year. We look forward to welcoming all Canadians to the opening of the re-imagined NAC on Canada Day, 2017.”

In March 2016, the NAC announced its new Strategic Plan, which includes the establishment of a new Department of Indigenous Theatre; a game-changing emphasis on Canadian creation to help artists and arts organizations across Canada create ambitious new work for national and international audiences; extending the NAC’s Music Alive Program to Atlantic Canada; and a renewed commitment to Francophone artists, arts organizations and audiences.

There were many other milestones in 2015‒2016. Alexander Shelley enjoyed a highly successful first season as Music Director of the NAC Orchestra. His debut season included the critically acclaimed NAC commission Life Reflected, an immersive, multi-media symphonic experience. Comprised of four new works by Zosha Di Castri, John Estacio, Nicole Lizée and Jocelyn Morlock, and in collaboration with a variety of artists across many disciplines, Life Reflected told the story of four remarkable Canadian women – Alice Munro, Roberta Bondar, Amanda Todd and Rita Joe.

NAC Dance, led by Executive Producer Cathy Levy, co-produced the critically acclaimed new work Betroffenheit by Associate Dance Artist Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young, as well as the remarkable Out of Season by Associate Dance Artist Ame Henderson and Matija Ferlin.

Through The Collaborations, English Theatre, led by Artistic Director Jillian Keiley, invested in 20 new Canadian works from across the country, including Caught by Theatre Passe-Muraille and We Keep Coming Back by Self-Conscious Theatre (Toronto); Province by Talisman Theatre (Montreal) and Between Breaths by Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland (St. John’s);

French Theatre, led by Artistic Director Brigitte Haentjens, co-produced a number of astonishing new works, including 887 by Robert Lepage; Five Kings – l’histoire de notre chute with Théâtre PÀP, Le Théâtre de Fonds de Tiroirs and Trois Tristes Tigres; Mani Soleymanlou’s new trilogy Ils étaient quatre, Cinq à sept and Huit; and Jean Marc Dalpé’s Un vent se lève qui éparpille with Théâtre de la Vielle 17 and Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario.

And the fifth anniversary season of NAC Presents of more than 50 concerts included Corb Lund (Alberta), the Barenaked Ladies (Toronto), Jean Leloup (Montreal) and Hey Rosetta! (St. John's). The NAC said a fond farewell to the founding Executive Producer of NAC Presents, Simone Deneau and welcomed Heather Gibson, the former Executive Producer of the Halifax Jazz Festival as her replacement. The NAC is thankful to both of them for their artistic leadership of NAC Presents.

It was a busy year on the NAC stages, with 1,170 performances last season. Total box office revenue for all performances was $15,278,419. More than 880,000 Canadians came to the NAC for performances, events and commercial activities during the year. The NAC posted a $207,000 operating deficit on a budget of just over $71M for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The deficit was the result of extra costs and lost revenue caused by the NAC’s major construction project.

The National Arts Centre Foundation had another strong year, raising more than $12.4 million to support performance, creation and learning across Canada, an increase of 15 % over the previous year.

“Every day we are so thankful to National Arts Centre Foundation supporters for championing the performing arts in Canada, which are thriving across the country thanks to their generosity,” said NAC Foundation CEO Jayne Watson.

There were many more highlights, both at the NAC, and across Canada:

• In January, the NAC had a remarkable month of Indigenous storytelling. It included three performances of Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation, a major new work by Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet. The NAC Orchestra performed I Lost My Talk, a powerful NAC commission by Alberta composer John Estacio based on the renowned Mi’kmaw poet Rita Joe about her experiences at a residential school in Nova Scotia. Through The Rita Joe Song Project, Indigenous youth from five communities across Canada created original songs and professionally produced music videos inspired by Rita Joe’s poem I Lost My Talk, and a number of the youth performed their creations at the NAC Fourth Stage. English Theatre presented Jack Charles V. The Crown, the incredible story of the co-founder of Australia’s first Indigenous theatre, ILBIJERRI Theatre. And patrons took in 100 Years of Loss, a compelling exhibition about the terrible legacy of residential schools in Canada;
   
• The NAC Orchestra’s popular Roaring Twenties festival included five concerts conducted by Alexander Shelley, and included a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights with the Orchestra performing the score live;
   
• The English Theatre season opened with The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God by Djanet Sears, featured a cast of 22 performers and was co-produced with Montreal’s Centaur Theatre in association with Black Theatre Workshop;
   
• French Theatre continued its association with leading French artist Joël Pommerat, co-producing and presenting his latest show Ça Ira (1) Fin de Louis;
   
• In January, NAC Presents celebrated its fifth anniversary with an all-night party featuring A Tribe Called Red, Canada’s hottest Indigenous group, among many others. And in May, NAC Presents collaborated with the NAC Orchestra to present singer-songwriter Royal Wood with the Orchestra in Southam Hall;
   
• The  NAC Gala, presented by CIBC, raised $985,000 in support of the National Youth and Education Trust, which benefits performing arts education programs across Canada;
   
• NAC podcasts, which were downloaded about 1,700 times a day, reached more than 260,000 Canadians, and more than 2 million people globally;
   
• The NAC’s Music Alive Program in western Canada included visits by local and visiting artists to schools in four communities in Manitoba, and 40 communities in Saskatchewan and Alberta.  The Music Alive Program in Nunavut included school and community workshops, mentorship, community concerts, leadership training and musical instrument delivery in Iqaluit, Igloolik, Pangnirtung, Baker Lake, Rankin Inlet, Cape Dorset, Kugluktuk and Kimmirut;
   
• In April, English Theatre hosted The Summit on Disability Arts and Inclusion in Stratford, Ontario. With the support of many collaborating partners, the research and development initiative welcomed artists with disabilities and leaders on accessibility to discuss how theatre can be made more accessible for both artists and audiences;
   
• In June, NAC Dance co-produced the 27^th edition of the Canada Dance Festival, which brought together some of the country’s finest dancers from across the country, including Freya Björg Olafson, Frédérick Gravel, Tedd Robinson and Ballet BC, among many others.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre collaborates with artists and arts organizations across Canada to help create a national stage for the performing arts, and acts as a catalyst for performance, creation and learning across the country. A home for Canada’s most creative artists, the NAC strives to be artistically adventurous in each of its programming streams – the NAC Orchestra, English Theatre, French Theatre and Dance, as well as the Scene festivals and NAC Presents, which showcase established and emerging Canadian artists. The organization is at the forefront of youth and educational activities, offering artist training, programs for children and youth, and resources for teachers in communities across Canada. The NAC is also a pioneer in new media, using technology to teach students and young artists around the globe, by creating top-rated podcasts, and providing a wide range of NAC Orchestra concerts on demand. The NAC is the only bilingual, multidisciplinary performing arts centre in Canada, and one of the largest in the world.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Rosemary Thompson, Director, Communications and Public Affairs National Arts Centre 613 947-7000 x260 rthompson@nac-cna.ca