After nine months without a director, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa has appointed John Cripton to the position. Cripton, an Ottawa native, is a promoter and producer, best known for organizing international tours for the Kirov Ballet, and the Chinese Red Army Chorus.
Cripton plans on bringing more commercially viable programming to the centre in the light of government funding cuts, which are slated to decrease by thirty percent by 1999. Currently half of the funding for the thirty-three million dollar programme comes from federal government grant.
-- By Andrea Hodges
