Joan Chalmers

Margaret Joan Chalmers, (May 30, 1928 – December 2, 2016) was a Canadian philanthropist and supporter of the arts. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she and her parents, Floyd and Jean Chalmers, founded the annual Chalmers Awards in 1972, which donates $25,000 CAD to artists in dance, theatre, crafts, film, the visual arts and music. She was involved with the travelling exhibit, Survivors in Search of a Voice: The Art of Courage, which as a collaboration among 24 prominent Canadian women artists and over 100 breast cancer survivors. While celebrating her 70th birthday in 1998, she announced that she would provide 20 arts groups with a total of $1 million in funding.Chalmers was the partner of former singer-songwriter Barbra Amesbury. She died on December 2, 2016 in Toronto, from injuries suffered in a fall.