Ross Leslie Memorial Award
Ross Leslie was a true lover of the arts and of Newfoundland. He first came here as the Production Manager for Republic of Doyle in 2010 and fell in love with everything we have to offer. Nature inside the city, excellent restaurants, and the vibrant arts community made for an excellent quality of life for him when he was here for work.
He had a company called ‘Trinculo Productions’. Trinculo is a character from Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. Ross, it turns out, had started his career as an actor and had travelled all over eastern Canada (including Labrador!) as a Tour Manager/Actor with Geordie Productions. Along came family and with its obligations, so he moved into film and quickly moved up the ranks to Production Manager/Line Producer. But he never lost his love of theatre or of performance.
In his time here, he was an avid theatregoer and supporter. If you check the programs of many shows over the years, you will see Trinculo Productions and/or Ross Leslie thanked.
But his love of the arts didn’t stop there. He was an avid art collector who attended openings regularly and filled his home with painting after painting.
His love of the arts and of this community didn’t even stop there! He also supported short films, album launches, comedy nights, and bought and read countless books by local artists. He did all this all with joy, generosity, and ease. Ross was an inspiration. His love of this community made us all appreciate it more, too. He was a foundation of this arts community, and we still feel the impact he left after his 8 years here.
To honour him and his contributions to so many, we have created the Ross Leslie Memorial Award, which will be selected by ArtsNL as part of the Arts Awards.
The award is meant to recognize those behind the scenes: a production professional (like designers, technicians, stage managers, crew, editors, producers, cinematographers, dramaturgs, curators) working in theatre, visual art or film/TV who demonstrates excellence and passion in their own practice and who has a view of the arts and community that is broad, inclusive, and supportive. The recipient will be someone who clearly supports the journeys and practices of others, who finds joy in others’ work and in other artistic disciplines, and who demonstrates the kind of generosity Ross modelled.
Donating to This Fund
The Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (CFNL) is a registered charity (BN: 853376531RR0001). You can donate by:
- credit card using the form below,
- sending a cheque to CFNL’s Office, or,
- E-transferring your donation to info@cfnl.ca – ensure you include the fund’s name, your name, and your address to receive a tax receipt.
Click here for a comprehensive list of donation types CFNL can accept.
For US Donors – CFNL can accept and provide tax receipts for US Donors through its membership in the Community Foundations of Canada. Contact us at info@cfnl.ca or (709)753-9899 to learn more. The form below is only for Canadian Tax Receipts.