Collection search - Files of Hamilton Southam and Donald MacSween [textual record, cartographic material, architectural drawing]

Record information – Brief
1
Files of Hamilton Southam and Donald MacSween [textual record, cartographic material, architectural drawing]

Hierarchical level:

Sub-series

Date:

1963-1982.

Reference:

R854-31-3-E, RG149-A-1, RG149M 945001, RG149M 934015

Type of material:

Textual material, Architectural and technical drawings, Maps and cartographic material

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

135300

Context of this record:

Show detail Hide detail

National Arts Centre Corporation fonds

Office of the Director General

Files of Hamilton Southam and Donald MacSween
Link to this record

Add to My Research

Link to this record

This link identifies the web page describing this particular record. Unlike the temporary link in your browser, this link will allow you to access, and reference, this page in the future. To link to this descriptive record, copy and paste the URL where ever needed (wiki, blog, document).

Sign in

Sign in to start saving records using My Research

Sign in
Record information – Details
Sub-series includes:

782 lower level description(s)
View lower level description(s)

Date(s):

1963-1982.

Bilingual equivalent:

Click here

Place of creation:

No place, unknown, or undetermined

Extent:

23.0 m of textual records
7 maps 5 blueline prints, pencil on tracing paper, marker on tracing paper 81 x 107 cm or smaller.
2 architectural drawings blueline prints 53 x 107 cm-60 x 92 cm.

Language of material:

English

Accession:

Show detail Hide detail

Records of the Coordinator and Director General, Hamilton Southam [textual record]

Scope and content:

Show detail Hide detail

Sub-series consists of the files of Hamilton Southam, both as Coordinator of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and as Director General of the National Arts Centre, 1964-1977. The sub-series also contains the files of Donald MacSween as Director General of the National Arts Centre during the period 1977-1980; this is so because MacSween continued to use the file classification system originally put in place by Southam until 1980. The files reflect the daily activities in the office of the Director General, and touch on almost every aspect of the operation of the National Arts Centre, including the opening of the National Arts Centre itself, programming, administrative matters, and the minutes of meetings held by the National Arts Centre Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee, and the Operations Committee. Consult the linked accession for details on unprocessed records in this sub-series.
Additional name(s):

Show detail Hide detail

Southam, G. Hamilton, 1916-2008

Donald MacSween
Biography/Administrative history:

Show detail Hide detail

Southam, G. Hamilton, 1916-2008 : Gordon Hamilton Southam was born in Ottawa in 1916, son of the newspaper publisher Wilson Mills Southam. He was educated at the University of Toronto, graduating with an honours B.A. in 1939, and studied briefly at Oxford before joining the Royal Artillery in December 1939. He transferred to the Canadian Army in the fall of 1940 and served in Italy and northwest Europe during World War II. After working briefly as a journalist with the London Times and the Ottawa Citizen, he joined the Department of External Affairs in 1948. He was Chargé d'Affaires in Warsaw 1959-1960 and Canada's first Ambassador to Poland 1960-1962.

Hamilton Southam returned to Ottawa in 1962, becoming Head of External Affairs' Information Division. In 1963 he helped to found the National Capital Arts Alliance, a group of private citizens interested in establishing a centre for the performing arts in Ottawa. The federal government became involved, and in 1964 Hamilton Southam was appointed a full-time co-ordinator for the planning of a National Centre for the Performing Arts, reporting directly to the Secretary of State. The National Arts Centre opened in 1967, with Hamilton Southam as its first Director General. Its mandate was "to develop the performing arts in the National Capital region, and to assist the Canada Council in the development of the performing arts elsewhere in Canada". Hamilton Southam retired as Director General of the National Arts Centre in 1977.

Throughout his career, Hamilton Southam has been involved in various capacities with cultural institutions in Canada. He was the first president of the National Gallery Association 1957 and chairman of the organizing committee for the UNESCO Festival and Seminar on Films on Art in Ottawa 1963. He was on the Board of Governors of the National Theatre School 1978-1988 and the Canadian Opera Company 1979-1981. He was appointed chairman of the Canadian Mediterranean Institute in 1988, a trustee of the Archaeological Institute of America 1982-1988, chairman of the building committee for the Rideau Canal Museum 1984, chairman of the Official Residences Council, and co-chairman of the federal government's Task Force on Military History Museums 1990.

Mr. Southam, himself a veteran, organized in 1992 the Canadian Battle of Normandy Foundation / La fondation canadienne de la bataille de Normandie. The name changed around 2003 for The Canadian Battlefields Foundation /La fondation canadienne des champs de bataille.

Hamilton Southam is an Officer of the Order of Canada and has received the Medal of Culture Merit of Poland, as well as honorary degrees from Trent, Carleton, Ottawa and King's College universities. He received the Canadian Conference of the Arts Diplôme d'honneur in 1981. In 1988 he was installed as Chancellor of the University of King's College.

Finding aid:

Show detail Hide detail

(Electronic) FA 149-6 consists of volume number, file number, file part, title and outside dates. The finding aid can be found by accessing the lower level descriptions attached to this record. 149-6 (90: Open)

Additional information:

Show detail Hide detail

Source of title:

Title is based on the contents of the sub-series.

Accruals:

No further accruals are expected.

Related material:

Researchers may also wish to consult the G. Hamilton Southam fonds (MIKAN 106679, MG31-D230).

Source:

Government

Related control no.:

Show detail Hide detail

119-000013-X
121-000015-6
1991-92/014 GAD
1993-94/015 GAD
RG149
RG149-A-1

Former archival reference no.:

Show detail Hide detail

RG149-A-1
RG149M 945001
RG149M 934015
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

Show detail Hide detail

Textual records

[Consultation32 Restricted by law]

Volume [RG149] 1--115

[Consultation 32 Restricted by law]

Architectural: technical drawings

[Consultation90 Open]

Cartographic material

[Consultation90 Open]

Terms of use:

Show detail Hide detail

Copyright belongs to the Crown. Credit Library and Archives Canada.

You can order materials in advance to be ready for you when you visit. You will need a user card to do this.

Cannot visit us on site? You can purchase a copy to be sent to you. Some restrictions may apply.

Report a problem on this page

Date modified:: 2024-07-24