L
Lindy Sisson's 35-year career in arts and culture spans all artistic disciplines with extensive experience in dance, theatre, world music, contemporary circus, performing arts for young audiences and BC Film. Lindy is recognized by her peers as a strong advocate for arts and culture in all aspects of life and as a dynamic and collaborative partner.
Lindy has a wide-ranging base of experience and knowledge in the field, demonstrating significant joy-based leadership, recognized business excellence in management, grant writing, strategic planning, policy, board and personnel development plus award-winning artistic programming and effective community engagement.
Her management style is team-based and she is known for empowering and developing staff capabilities and encouraging excellence in employee performance and communication, along with successful grant applications, fundraising and sponsorship development. A passionate and dedicated arts professional, she is an adept problem solver who has consistently demonstrated her ability to make difficult decisions in challenging and changing situations. A big picture thinker who knows how to bring the artistic vision and ideas of her organizations and others (artists, staff or community) to life!
Before joining Nanaimo’s Port Theatre for as Interim General Manager in 2017, Lindy was the Executive and Artistic Director of the ACT Arts Centre in Maple Ridge for eight years and Artistic Director for nine, where she was known for excellence in multidisciplinary performance programming and developing community engagement initiatives with youth, First Nations, Cultural and Community organizations and garnered provincial and national presenting awards.
She was Executive and Artistic Director of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival for ten years developing strong community connections, international tours and commissioning new work, plus promoting the importance of arts and culture to our youth, in schools and society. She has also held management, touring and artistic positions in Vancouver with The ARC (Tri-City) Arts Council, Playwrights Theatre Centre, and Judith Marcuse Dance Company, and in Edmonton for the University of Alberta Student’s Union Theatre and Performance Lounge, and was the Director of Festivals and Theatre for Young Audiences at the Citadel Theatre where she produced the International Children’s Festival and the Teen Festival of the Arts and was director of the Theatre School.
EDUCATION:
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
BACHELOR OF ARTS: THEATRE, ANTHROPOLOGY 1978 - 1981
CULTURAL ADMINISTRATION 1984
GRANT MACEWAN COLLEGE: PERFORMING ARTS DANCE PROGRAM
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, 1981 – 1982