Sunday 28 October 2012

What I am working on now (let me know if you would like to attend)

Logo black and white
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg
invites you to attend the media preview for:  

PAINTING CANADA: TOM THOMSON  
AND THE GROUP OF SEVEN
Tom Thomson - The Jack Pine 
Tom Thomson, The Jack Pine, 1916-1917, Oil on canvas, 127.9 x 139.8 cm,
National  Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Photo © NGC
 
MEDIA PREVIEW
Thursday, November 1
1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
McMichael Canadian Art Collection  
 
 Preview the exhibition that caught the imagination
of art lovers 
in England and across Europe
Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group Of Seven 
November 3, 2012 to January 6, 2013
After a tremendous tour in Europe, Painting Canada comes to the McMichael, the only Canadian venue for this exhibition. The exhibition features a rare assembly of works of Tom Thomson and the Group and, whenever possible, includes both sketch and canvas by each artist--some familiar to audiences, from public institutions across Canada, but also a large number of works never seen in public, coming from private lenders. 
WHO:
Ian Dejardin, Dulwich Picture Gallery Director, Curator, Author 
Katerina Atanassova, McMichael Chief Curator 
Dr. Victoria Dickenson, McMichael Executive Director and CEO  
WHAT:
Tour the exhibition with our curators. 
Light refreshments will be served.
Tour the gallery grounds with an educator to visit the Tom Thomson
shack from 1914, and the Artists' Cemetery where six members 
of the Group of Seven are buried.   
WHERE:
The gallery is located at 10365 Islington Avenue, L0J 1C0, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in the village of Kleinburg, City of Vaughan. 
  
HOW:
RSVP by email to Stephen@stephenweir.com  

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Michelle Kortinen
905-893-1121 ext. 2210
  
Stephen Weir
416-489-5868
416-801-3101
For more information about Painting Canada:
Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, visit 
www.mcmichael.com
Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group Of Seven
Organized by the National Gallery of Canada and Dulwich Picture Gallery, in collaboration with the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, and the Groninger Museum, the Netherlands. With the generous support of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and other lenders.   

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Reunited - Charles Taylor Prize 2012 nominated authors to speak in Edmonton on Thursday!


CHARLES TAYLOR PRIZE FINALISTS CHARLOTTE GILL, JJ LEE, MADELINE SONIK AND ANDREW WESTOLL APPEAR AT LITFEST’S CHARLES TAYLOR PRIZE BASH TOMORROW NIGHT

The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation salute Litfest – Edmonton’s International Literary Festival for their emphasis on the genre of literary non-fiction.
Reunited! For the second year in a row, this year’s prize finalists are the event headliners – See presentations by Charlotte Gill, JJ Lee, Madeline Sonik, and the 2012 prize winner, Andrew Westoll. Wade Davis is out of the country but sends greetings.
Also to be revealed during tomorrow night’s Charles Taylor Prize Bash: The names of the three jurors for the 2013 prize will be announced tomorrow at Litfest, followed online via CNW. The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation chose to again announce its forthcoming prize jury at Litfest, in support of this popular Edmonton-based International Literary Festival which concerns itself primarily with works of non-fiction.
Media Contact: The authors, trustees, and jurors are available for interviews. Please contact Stephen Weir & Associates for more information:
·       Stephen Weir: 416-489-5868 cell: 416-801-3101 sweir5492@rogers.com
·       Linda Crane : 905-257-6033 cell: 416-727-0112 cranepr@cogeco.ca
About the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction:
The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation established The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction to commemorate the life and work of the late Charles Taylor, one of Canada’s foremost essayists and a prominent member of the Canadian literary community. Charles Taylor was a foreign correspondent with The Globe and Mail and the author of four books: Radical Tories; Reporter in Red China, Six Journeys: A Canadian Pattern, and Snow Job. The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction is awarded annually to the author whose book best combines an excellent command of the English language, an elegance of style, quality of thought, and subtlety of perception. The prize consists of $25,000 for the winning author and $2,000 for each of the runners up. All of the shortlisted titles receive extensive national publicity and marketing support.
The prize longlist will be announced via press release on December 4th; the shortlist will be revealed at a press conference on January 9th, and the winner will be named at a gala luncheon and awards ceremony at the King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto on Monday, March 4, 2013.
The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation are Michael Bradley (Toronto), JudithMappin (Montreal), David Staines (Ottawa), and Noreen Taylor (Toronto).
·       For more information please visit: www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca
·       Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/taylorprize

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Unsuccessful PR Efforts

TALES FROM THE BLUE BIN:  TWO REALLY BAD PROMOTIONAL IDEAS
Saying something loudly doesn't make it true. Doubly so when it is the printed word doing the yelling.
I was given a card (pictured top) to keep so that I wouldn't forget the show I had just paid to see. Since then the card has been pinned to my corkboard wall. It has been up there for a while.  It has taken a couple of Starbuck splashes over that time.
I took it down when I realized the card's message hadn't worked. I can't tell you what show I was given this at. An art show? A play? A dance performance? Hmm. Probably something at Harbourfront. Won't ever know now, it has been moved into my blue bin.
Two years ago I was on assignment in the Yucatan. Cave Diving. One of the caves came to the surface near the beach community at Tulum. We stripped out of our wetsuits and drove to the coast to enjoy the sun, the open space and the blue sea (all the opposite of what we had been scuba diving through). Walking the beach I took this picture of a bench in the white sand.
The chair's signature -- The Only Chair You Will Remember For the Rest of Your Life -- is a lie. Today I was warehousing photos onto a backup hard drive (my digital blue bin) when I looked at the picture once again. Had to check my notes to see where I had taken the picture ... I had forgotten the chair, the beach and even the country I was in, when I took the photo.
In the world of PR there is a lot of borrowing. Here are two ideas that you don’t want to sneak out of my wastebasket.
 

Crowdsourcing and Health Care - Tweet Topic Today!

 The Crowd Sourcing Conversation Continues Today ....
 
Following yesterday's standing-room-only "WHAT CROWDSOURCING CAN DO FOR HEALTH INNOVATION" presentation at the Sony Theatre with crowdsourcing pioneers Jeff Howe and Rahad Harfoush, there will be an on-line discussion about the topic this afternoon.(October 17).
 
Saint Elizabeth Home Care, the organizers of yesterday's seminar are staging the Twitter discussion beginning at 1:00 pm ET today.  They are the guest host for this week's Health Care Social Media Canada tweet chat #hcsmca. #hcsmca is a regular chat event involving an established community of people who crowdsource healthcare solutions every week.
 

Friday 12 October 2012

For My Media Friends and Associates Who Cover Crowd Sourcing

MEDIA / BLOGGER ADVISORY
WHAT CROWDSOURCING CAN DO FOR HEALTH INNOVATION
Saint Elizabeth Health Care hosts symposium featuring
Crowdsourcing pioneers Jeff Howe and Rahaf Harfoush
Mark your calendar for Tuesday, October 16
Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm    Reception follows
                 
Crowdsourcing for Health Innovation

Crowd Sourcing Expert Rahaf Harfoush

This important ground-breaking event, hosted by health care innovator Saint Elizabeth, brings together senior leaders and influencers inside and outside health care, including business, government, entrepreneurs and citizens with the aim of creating a groundswell of citizen participation for health innovation and – ultimately – better health care experiences.    Learn how crowdsourcing is enabling momentous change; how politicians, business and citizens are mobilizing groups en masse, and how the new digital dialogue can be used to stimulate more rapid health innovation.
When:                     Tuesday, October 16
                                 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Where:                     Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front Street East, Toronto
Why:                        Interviews available with:
                                    Shirlee Sharkey
President &CEO, Saint Elizabeth
                             Jeff Howe, Author, Professor and Journalist
Credited with the term "crowdsourcing", author of the bestselling book of the same name which has been translated into 11 languages. 
                              Rahaf Harfoush,  Digital Innovation and Foresight Strategist
Jeff Howe
Involved in the Obama presidential campaign; author of Yes We Did: An Insider's Look at How Social Media Built the Obama Brand; Board member of Taking IT Global
About Saint Elizabeth

Saint Elizabeth has been a trusted name in Canadian health care for more than a century and is a leader in responding to client, family and system needs. An award-winning not-for-profit and charitable organization, Saint Elizabeth is known for its track record of social innovation and breakthrough clinical practices. Our team of more than 6,500 nurses, rehab therapists, personal support workers and crisis intervention staff deliver nearly five million health care visits annually. Today Saint Elizabeth is operating as a social enterprise – part service provider, part capacity builder, part funder and part co-creator – working closely with an alliance of partners to make the world a better place, well beyond health carehttp://www.saintelizabeth.com/
Issued by/for further information:
Stephen Weir & Associates
Stephen Weir      Office: 416-489-5868     Mobile: 416-801-3101   Email: stephen@stephenweir.com
Linda Crane          Office: 905-257-6033      Mobile: 416-727-0112   Email: cranepr@cogeco.ca