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News Release

January 04, 2006

U of G Represented at Guelph Lecture on Being Canadian

A University of Guelph administrator, a faculty member and an esteemed graduate will take part in the Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. at the River Run Centre. The annual lecture, which aims to inspire community conversation on what it means to be Canadian and Canada’s role in the world, will feature critically acclaimed film director Atom Egoyan and award-winning actor Arsinée Khanjian, and musical guests the Nathan Coles Outfit and Ambre McLean.

The event will begin with an introduction by president Alastair Summerlee and will be emceed by fine art professor Robert Enright. It will also feature a reading by U of G graduate Jane Urquhart, one of the most widely read and discussed novelists in Canada.

“This event provides a unique opportunity for people with different perspectives and experiences to come together to exchange ideas and work to evoke change,” said Summerlee. “It’s all about community-building on different scales and bettering our own contributions, and I’m absolutely honoured to have been asked to take part.”

Urquhart, who earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from U of G in 1971 and an honorary doctorate of letters in 1999, is the author of several award-winning novels. She has also written books of poetry, a collection of short stories and numerous articles and reviews. In 1992, her novel The Whirlpool was the first Canadian book to win France’s Best Foreign Book Award. Her third novel, Away, remained on the Globe and Mail National Bestseller list for 132 weeks and won the 1994 Trillium Award.

Enright was named a U of G research professor in art criticism in 2004. He is a renowned cultural journalist and hailed as one of Canada’s most eloquent and prolific thinkers on contemporary culture. He is editor-at-large of BorderCrossings magazine, has spent 25 years as an art critic for CBC, regularly contributes to the Globe and Mail and international art magazines Art News, Modern Painters and Art Review, and has conducted interviews and reviewed works in the theatre, dance, film and performance art worlds. Enright was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2005 for his contributions in communications.

Egoyan has produced a body of work in film, television and theatre, winning numerous prizes at international film festivals, including the Grand Prix and International Critics Awards from the Cannes Film Festival. In 1998, he was nominated for two Academy Awards for his film The Sweet Hereafter in the categories of best director and best adapted screenplay. His latest film, Where the Truth Lies, was released in 2005.

Khanjian most recently appeared in the title role of the romantic comedy Sabah. She won a Gemini Award in 1999 for her work in the TV series Foolish Heart and a Genie Award in 2003 for her role in Egoyan’s Ararat. She is also an activist, a community-minded volunteer and an experienced administrator and board member of not-for-profit arts-related organizations.

The event is organized by the Eramosa Institute, a local charitable organization. Tickets are $20 general and $15 for students and are available by contacting the River Run Centre box office at (519) 763-3000.

Purchase tickets online