Elaine Lafond, Analyst in Cultural Industry

Elaine Lafond has been involved professionally in the cultural world for thirty-two years. Graduated from HEC Montreal in Cultural Management as well as from Concordia University in Music, she has worked as producer and director in many cultural organisms. In all, she directed more than hundreds of artistic productions: festivals, concerts, albums, etc.

In 1984, she founded her own production company specialized in music concert, album production and artist management. Since, she has managed the career of many Canadian musicians, nationally and internationally. Elaine also acted as executive producer in dozen of albums and videos which earned her ten nominations at the Juno and Felix Awards. She was awarded three times the Felix for Jazz Album of the Year, and once the Opus Award for Best Jazz Concert of the Year. Her functions have led her to collaborate regularly with provincial and national governments organizations: diverse arts councils, Factor, Canadian Heritage, External Affairs, etc.

These last years, her never-ending interest in arts has extended to another field: cultural consultancy. She then started a fruitful collaboration with ArtExpert as a researcher and analyst. Her association with this very creative consultant firm has led her lately to participate in the Diagnostic du réseau municipal de diffusion Accès culture (ArtExpert 2009). She has participated in numerous studies and developed extensive knowledge in topics such as copyright acts and regulations, cultural policies and cultural diversity.