Art uplifts the soul and generates happiness. The excellence, commitment and vision of our artists stimulate the leaders of society. Volunteering to support those artists is a way to open up possibilities and encourage them to develop fully.”

-—Florence Junca Adenot

Mathieu Léger and Thibaut Duverneix |
FLORENCE JUNCA ADENOT
Mathieu Léger has been working in Montreal for 10 years as a designer and art director for ad campaigns, videos, web projects, interactive installations, and immersive experiences. His work has won several awards (IDFA DocLab, Webby,
NUMIX, Boomerang) over the past decade and has been exhibited around the world. Mathieu has been an associate designer at the Gentilhomme studio since 2017.

Video and interactive content designer Thibaut Duverneix has won numerous international awards. His impressive career directing and supervising films, shows, and interactive installations includes projects with Madonna, Elton John, Ubisoft, Mattel, Cirque du Soleil, Place des Arts, Microsoft, and the NFB. In 2013, he founded his own studio, Gentilhomme.

Florence Junca Adenot

2018 Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts

In a prolific career spanning over 45 years, Florence Junca Adenot has held leadership roles in arts and culture, university administration, public transit, and heritage preservation. A passionate arts supporter actively involved in her community, she has volunteered with numerous arts organizations and coordinated several heritage, urban revival, and cultural projects.
 
A native of Bordeaux, France (where as a teenager she organized guided heritage walks), she was the founding chair of Agora de la danse, the first permanent venue in Quebec devoted to contemporary dance; the Centre Pierre-Péladeau creation and performance centre for music and dance; and the Corporation de développement urbain du Faubourg Saint-Laurent, which laid the groundwork for the Quartier des spectacles, Montréal’s downtown culture and entertainment district.
 
Ms. Junca Adenot has spearheaded several major heritage projects, including the restoration of the historic village of Boucherville on Montréal’s south shore, as well as the Manoir Pierre-Boucher. She co-founded the Boucherville Heritage Society and chaired the board responsible for the municipality’s 350th anniversary celebrations in 2017. She has served as chair of numerous cultural organizations, including the Société du patrimoine architectural de Montréal, which coordinated the revitalization of Old Montréal; the Société de développement de Montréal; and the baroque music ensemble Les idées heureuses.
 
Since joining the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in 1971, she has held various senior management positions. As Vice-Rector of Communications, she oversaw the creation of the university’s art gallery; as Vice-Rector of Administration and Finance, she coordinated the construction of its downtown campus. She was also the founding president of the Agence métropolitaine de transport. She is currently an associate professor of urban planning and the director of UQAM’s Forum URBA.
 
“I believe it’s important not just to give artists greater visibility, but to emphasize the arts as an integral part of the city,” she says. “They beautify it, they enliven it, and they bring its citizens together. They are essential to a healthy, happy community.”
 
Florence Junca Adenot has received over 40 awards and honours, including the Prix Arts-Affaires for Personality of the Year, presented by the Conseil des arts de Montréal, and the Pierre‑Boucher Prize, the City of Boucherville’s highest honour.