GCTC Announces The Lorraine 'Fritzi' Yale Gallery at the new Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre

Media Release: Ottawa, Ontario - April 16, 2007

Over 85% of the funds needed to make the Irving Greenberg Centre a reality have been raised. With less than a year and $1.4 million to go, fundraising efforts for the new cultural centre continue at the Great Canadian Theatre Company. Leading a group of individuals committing dollars and support to GCTC is Janet Yale and TELUS.

GCTC is pleased to announce a $75,000 gift to the Making it Greater Capital Campaign by Janet Yale and TELUS in honour of Janet’s late mother, Lorraine 'Fritzi' Yale. This gift will establish The Lorraine Fritzy Yale Gallery in GCTC’s new Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre, which officially opens to the public in the fall of 2007.

The Lorraine 'Fritzi' Yale Gallery will display contemporary artworks by a range of local artists, solo or in groups on the mezzanine level. In an innovative artistic partnership, Cube Gallery owner, artist and impresario Don Monet will curate art exhibitions that will directly reflect GCTC’s mainstage theatre season.

Janet Yale is a member of GCTC’s Board of Directors and Co-Chair of the Theatre’s Making it Greater Capital Campaign.  She is also Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, with TELUS and a well-known community and business leader.

Janet’s mother, Lorraine ‘Fritzi’ Yale, was an artist with a passion for the arts, who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, furthered her arts education at the Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal and continued her creative work throughout her lifetime. 

“Our family is very proud of my mother’s work and her determination to live her dream of being a visual artist,” said Janet Yale. “She would be delighted that this new gallery named in her honour will support the important work of GCTC and provide ongoing opportunities to introduce GCTC audiences to works by new generations of Canadian visual artists.”

“In addition to her artwork,” says Mark Sutcliffe, chair of the GCTC’s board of directors, “Lorraine Yale clearly passed along her commitment to the arts and the importance of supporting Canadian artists to her family and to her daughter, Janet.  TELUS’s many contributions to the arts community, including the matching donation to support this new art gallery at GCTC, demonstrate that it shares these values and is a committed leader in corporate citizenship.  Through the Lorraine 'Fritzi' Yale Gallery, our theatre and city are the beneficiaries of this personal and corporate dedication to giving back to the community.”

TELUS supports many community initiatives in the national capital region, such as GCTC's Edgeucation Program. Sutcliffe says, “Since the TELUS Ottawa Community Board began supporting GCTC’s student matinees in September of 2005, it has helped bring hundreds of high school students into the theatre to see live performances and to interact with the artists. By encouraging accessibility and interaction, GCTC’s Edgeucation Program builds strong, life-long connections between young people and the arts community.”

For further information about the Making It Greater Campaign at the Great Canadian Theatre Company, call (613) 236-5192, extension 235.

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Photo of Lorraine and Janet Yale available upon request.

Media Contacts:

For GCTC,
Laurie Murphy
Communications Manager
Great Canadian Theatre Company
910 Gladstone Avenue
Ottawa, ON K1R 6Y4
236-5192 x 229
publicity@gctc.ca
www.gctc.ca

For TELUS,
Françoise Gagnon
Director, Public Affairs and Media Relations
(613) 597-8227
Francoise.gagnon@telus.com