Nick Hanson
Nick Hanson is an award-winning researcher, writer, educator, and speaker. With more than a dozen articles published in popular press and academic journals, Hanson's work has been noted in The Globe and Mail and Maclean's.
Nick’s research activity focuses on arts funding models, audience engagement, and arts education. Nick served as editor for Canadian Theatre Review’s special issue on “Funding,” featuring an interview with the Canada Council for the Arts, reflections on a progressive ticket distribution program, descriptions of funding access for organizations that support underserved communities, and analyses of municipal, provincial, and federal policies.
Recent research projects focus on attracting new audiences — especially of the Millennial generation — to performing arts events.
As an arts administrator for multiple organizations, Nick’s leadership was characterized by stabilization of financial positions, diversification of public and foundation funding, and an emphasis on audience engagement. Moreover, programming and operations affirmed a commitment to diversity, by hiring significantly higher numbers of artists that self-identified as women, First Nations, or from underrepresented demographic groups.
Nick is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Queen's University, where he was awarded the Convocation Gold Medal, Rod Robertson Prize in Dramatic Literature and Theatre History, Dean's Honour List with Distinction, Clarkson Essay Prize, and other academic, artistic, and teaching awards.
Outside of the arts, Nick cares deeply about projects — especially on the local level — that improve youth access to education and health care. In 2016-17, Nick contributed research to a Coroner’s Inquest that examined safety issues for firefighters.
Nick’s personal and professional journey has spanned residency in ten cities across four Canadian provinces, resulting in a multifaceted sense of Canadian identity. Nick lives in Toronto with his dynamic partner, whimsical children, and countless buckets of Lego. Each year, Nick attends more than a hundred arts activities, including visits to theatres, concerts, museums, and historic sites, as well as large-scale events and festivals.