Jacques Plante is the first architect to have been awarded the Career Grant by the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Qubec, "in recognition of [his] exceptional contribution to Quebec culture." The grant is offered every two years to practitioners of all artistic disciplines and is awarded to three winners, each of whom receives the sum of $60,000 in order to carry out a personal creative project.
Plante has explored the architecture of entertainment for over 10 years. He is the only Canadian architect to have designed and built not only repertory and experimental theatres, but also a concert hall, a cabaret, a cinema, a big top for the circus, as well as theatre and movie production studios.
In the course of his grant project, Plante intends to investigate the formal and spatial origins of the contemporary stage, and to develop an architectural and scenographic design based on Walter Gropius’s Total Theatre. As preparation for this work, Plante will visit some unusual theatrical locations, principally in Europe, and will collaborate on design projects and competitions with specialized firms in London and New York.