Marianne McKenna receives Canadian Stage’s 2025 Creative City Builders Award

L-R: Hugh Clark, Canadian Stage Board Chair; Monica Esteves, Canadian Stage Executive Director; Marianne McKenna; Brendan Healy, Canadian Stage Artistic Director   

Marianne McKenna, has been awarded Canadian Stage’s 2025 Creative City Builders Award. The honour was conferred in May at Canadian Stage’s annual Theatre Ball. She was recognized alongside Helen Burstyn and Jackie Maxwell, who were awarded  the Creative City Champion Award and h the Artistic Achievement Prize, respectively. 

Canadian Stage’s Creative City Builders Award recognizes and celebrates Toronto companies and leaders that have meaningfully contributed to our creative spaces and communities. The award is built on the premise that the arts and culture sectors play foundational roles in the vitality of our neighbourhoods and urban spaces.

“Marianne McKenna has shaped some of Canada’s most significant cultural institutions with visionary leadership and design excellence,” commented this year’s selection committee. “Her work with KPMB Architects has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to public life, creative collaboration, and the transformative power of design. From concert halls and theatres to campuses and cultural venues, McKenna has advanced architecture that brings people together and fosters vibrant communities.” 

“As a community, we are proud of the accomplishments of Canadian Stage,” said Marianne McKenna. “The arts of theatre and architecture are inexorably linked. They bring people together, and they create opportunities to build culture, foster community, and support creative collaboration. This award is a meaningful recognition of the power of design to shape vibrant, inclusive cities.”