Annabelle Cloutier has 25 years of experience in the public and cultural sectors,Rémi thériault/Supplied
Annabelle Cloutier, a communications executive with 25 years of service in the public and cultural sectors, is the new president and chief executive of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
The bilingual 52-year-old was promoted from within. Since 2018, she has served at the country’s multidisciplinary home for the performing arts in the dual role of executive director of strategy and communications, and corporate secretary to the board of trustees.
“Annabelle lives and breathes the arts of the stage,” said outgoing president and CEO Christopher Deacon in a statement.
Cloutier’s five-year term is effective immediately. Deacon retired Dec. 3, after a long career that included seven years as the NAC head.
“I have spent 44 years booking halls, signing contracts, negotiating collective agreements, planning budgets,” Deacon told The Globe. “It was great. It was a service, and I loved every minute of it.”
Cloutier is a trained lawyer who studied piano and violin in her youth. From 2009 to 2018, she was director of communications and public affairs in the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, where she assisted in state visits, royal tours, national honours ceremonies and events abroad.
She served as spokesperson to three governors-general during her tenure at Rideau Hall.
In a statement, Cloutier said her priorities at the NAC would be to engage with Canadian artists and arts leaders, and to connect with national audiences.
“I believe deeply in the fundamental role of the arts in our society, in the voices of creators and artists to awaken in us a sense of pride and belonging to our Canadian cultures and perspective,” she said.
Originally from Richmond, Que., in the Eastern Townships, Cloutier is the second francophone to lead the NAC.
Earlier in her career, she worked in arts and culture advocacy at the Federation culturelle canadienne-francaise. She was the founding executive director of the Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada, where she focused on advocacy for the film and television industry.