Emerging Artist (Selected by Berni Stapleton)

Nicole Leona Smith is a writer, theatre creator, director, and producer, who splits her time between  her homes in Cambridge, Ontario and St. John’s, Newfoundland. Her work as a playwright has been  supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Shaw Festival, Green  Light Arts, and Canadian Stage. She is co-Artistic Director of the Grand Falls-Windsor Theatre  Project, in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, and founding Artistic Producer of Sonderlust, a theatre collective dedicated to the creation of original work and the staging of women's stories. As  someone whose mentors have shaped her every approach, Nicole is devoted to making and holding space for new creators of all ages, and her work is most often collaborative. She wants to tell and  platform stories that aim to reach beyond an echo chamber. To be recognized in this way by  Bernardine Stapleton and the Siminovitch Foundation is an honour.