Jean Giguère

Ms. Giguère is a firm believer in the power of the arts to uplift the spirit of the community and that volunteering is a fundamental building block of a just society. She has compiled a three-decade record of volunteer support for the arts notably with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) and the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (RMTC), Culture Days and Winnipeg Theatre Awards. Her experience with the RWB led to her appointment to the board of Q Dance. Ms. Giguère was appointed to the Board of the Canadian Museum of History in 2014 and was recently reappointed for a third term.

Ms. Giguère was a member of the Canadian Arts Summit Steering Committee for ten years and chaired the Montreal Summit. She was an original member of the Culture Days National Steering and Fund Development Committees. Subsequently, she founded Culture Days Manitoba and Nuit Blanche Winnipeg.

She has also served on the board of the United Way and is a founder of the Guardian Angel Break Cancer Benefit. Her service as chair realized the establishment of the Breast Cancer of Hope as well as a mobile mammography unit and the Manitoba Breast Cancer Advisory Council. She has also worked as an instructor and Board Chair for the Manitoba Therapeutic riding program for children with disabilities.

In 2011, Ms. Giguère was honoured with the first-ever “Making a Difference Award” by the Winnipeg Arts Council. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Media for her contribution to the artistic life in Canada and is the recipient of the Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn Award for volunteerism in the Performing Arts. In 2014, Ms. Giguère was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada.