The Mayor of Montréal, Gérald Tremblay, is pleased and proud to announce the creation of the Design Montréal Phyllis Lambert Grant, destined for young design professionals, and to launch the initial call for applications. In awarding this grant, the City seeks to acknowledge and promote the talents of emerging Montréal designers and foster their professional recognition. A $10,000 award will go to the grant recipient, and will fund a professional development project. The winner will also benefit from a promotional campaign aimed at raising his or her profile both in the design milieu and among the general public.

"I am proud to support and promote the flourishing of our young designers," Mayor Tremblay said. "Our hope is that, through its support for a professional development project, this grant will function as an important lever in advancing a career in design for the winner and promote integration of emerging designers in the professional field. UNESCO recently acknowledged our city’s huge creative potential in design and the strong concentration of talent here by naming Montréal a UNESCO City of Design. By promoting exchanges between designers from here and abroad, as well as the development of international networks and markets, the City of Montréal is not only supporting the next generation of design professionals, but also helping to stimulate and strengthen the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, making it more vital and tangible."

The Design Montréal Phyllis Lambert Grant recognizes the talent of a designer or design collective with 10 or fewer years of professional practice, and having demonstrated exceptional quality in studies and work as well as marked interest in the city. The grant must be used for a professional development project; e.g., a study trip, a work internship or participation in a design competition, workshop, symposium or any other activity relevant to the advancement of a nascent design career. The development activity must take place in one of the cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Tribute to Phyllis Lambert
In naming the new grant in honour of Phyllis Lambert, the City of Montréal pays tribute to a great Montrealer who has been a staunch defender of emerging designers. The grant underscores her remarkable contribution to the international reputation of Montréal and to the quality of life of its citizens, as well as the decisive influence she has had on the quality of urban planning, architecture, heritage and design in the city.

Application procedure
Interested applicants must submit their dossiers no later than 3 p.m., March 10, 2008, at the following address:

Bourse Phyllis-Lambert Design Montréal
Ville de Montréal
Design Montréal
303, rue Notre-Dame Est, 6e étage
Montréal (Québec)  H2Y 3Y8

The application form and eligibility criteria are available on the website of Design Montréal, designmontreal.com. A jury made up of representatives recognized by the design community will evaluate each eligible application on the basis of its quality and the interest of the proposed project. The announcement of the winner will be made in June.

Founding Director & Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montréal, Mrs. Phyllis Lambert is recognized internationally for her contribution in advancing contemporary architecture and for her concern for the social issues of urban conservation and the role of architecture in the public realm.


Source  
Renée Sauriol
'Attachée de presse' to the Mayor of Montréal
t: +1 514 872-4894

Information 
Stéphanie Jecrois
Design Montréal
t: +1 514 872-5388

Isabelle Huiban
Centre Canadien d’Architecture
t: + 1 514 939-7001, ext. 2607