The Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation announces a major gift to
Concordia University and the Université du Québec à Montréal in support of
post-graduation fellowships in Contemporary Art

MONTREAL , Dec. 3 /CNW Telbec/ - Concordia University and the Université du Québec à Montréal are pleased to announce today a major gift from the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation to support fellowships in the visual arts at both the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia and the Faculté des arts at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

The Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art, to be inaugurated in Spring 2010, will support fine arts graduates at an important transitional time in their careers. A generous two-year fellowship will be awarded annually to a recent graduate holding an MFA, PhD or graduate certificate from each university.

Stephen Bronfman said, "The Bronfman family has had a long history of support for Canadian artists from donations to acquisition funds at major museums, the creation of The Saidye Bronfman Award in Fine Craft, and the purchase of works by emerging and established Canadian artists for their corporate and private collections. This latest effort will provide creation and research grants to new artists thus helping them to develop their talents in the crucial early years of their careers."

UQAM Rector Claude Corbo said, "This major donation which confirms the involvement of the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation in the support for arts, celebrates the creativity and the place of art in our culture and more broadly in our society. UQAM and Concordia are the two most important faculties of art in Canada . These fellowships will encourage their most promising graduates by facilitating their insertion on the professional scene."

Concordia President and Vice-Chancellor Judith Woodsworth said, "This very substantial contribution is a strong affirmation of the value that Claudine and Stephen Bronfman place on the visual arts and on their Foundation's support of youth and young adults. This generous gift reaffirms the extent to which Concordia's Faculty of Fine Arts, along with UQAM, anchor and enrich the Quebec and Canadian contemporary art scene."

For further information: Lucy Niro, Director, Communications, Advancement and Alumni Relations, Concordia University, [phone], ext. 4977, Cell: [phone], [email protected]; Huguette Lucas, Press relations consultant, Division des relations avec la presse et événements spéciaux, Service des communications, UQAM, [phone], ext. 6832, [email protected]