LT.-GOVERNOR HERMÉNÉGILDE CHIASSON, ARTIST EXTRAORDINAIRE

Herménégilde Chiasson, the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, is one
of Canada’s most accomplished cultural icons. A celebrated playwright,
poet, director, curator, researcher, and journalist, His Honour will
give a reading and talk at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery on
Tuesday, June 23, at 7:00 p.m. A reception will follow. His reading is
sponsored by the Art Gallery and the UPEI English Department. Admission
is free.
Born in St-Simon, New Brunswick, Dr. Chiasson was educated at
the Université de Moncton, Mount Allison University, the State
University of New York, and the University of Paris (Sorbonne). At the
time of his appointment as Lieutenant-Governor, he was, and remains, a
professor of the history of Art and Cinema at the Université de Moncton.
Dr. Chiasson’s prodigious contributions to Acadian, New
Brunswick, and Canadian culture are profoundly influential, especially
in the realms of theatre, literature, and the visual arts. He has
written over twenty plays and directed many others, authored numerous
books and countless articles, and participated in over one hundred
exhibitions.
His Honour worked for Radio-Canada from 1968 to 1985. He was
director of Galerie d’art de l’Université de Moncton,  founding
president of Editions Perce-Neige, president of Galerie Sans Nom, a
founding member of the Aberdeen Co-operative Cultural Centre, and the
Imago print workshop, founding president of Productions du Phare-Est,
and president of the Association acadienne des artistes profesionnels et
professionelles du Nouveau-Brunswick.
His awards include the Governor General’s Award for Poetry, the
prix France-Acadie, the prestigious Chevalier de l’Ordre français des
Arts et Lettres, l’Ordre des francophones d’Amérique, the Grand Prix de
la francophonie canadienne, the Prix quinquennal Antonine-Maillet-Acadie
Vie.
Dr. Chiasson’s presentation is an opportunity to hear and meet
one of Canada’s great artists and citizens, and one of our region’s
distinguished treasures.