Setting the stage for creative talent

For more than 40 years, labour and delivery nurse Erin Hogg was a mainstay of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, helping to deliver babies until her retirement in 2003. She now continues her legacy of public service in her beloved hometown through support of Concordia.

Hogg says she was first struck by the dynamism of the university’s Faculty of Fine Arts when she became a member of the Fine Arts Advisory Committee.

“I was drawn in, as it was evident that the talent of students from many different countries was encouraged.”

Now, as president of Emaral Investments, Hogg, along with her daughters Martha and Alice, BFA 92, annually supports various faculty programs. And when former faculty dean Catherine Wild retired six years ago, they established the annual Wild Talks Lecture Series in her honour.

Currently a professor in the printmaking stream of Concordia’s Department of Studio Arts, Wild says Hogg has been “one of several people who have been consistently generous to the faculty. I got to know Erin in particular because she came to almost all our events and her intellectual curiosity and genuine interest in others stood out.”

The Wild Talks Lecture Series hosted a landmark event with the late filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée in November 2021. Past headliners include James Tupper, BFA 92, star of Big Little Lies, which was directed by Vallée and won eight Emmy Awards and four Golden Globes, as well as Tony Award winner Christine Jones, BFA 89, scenic designer for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which played on Broadway and in London.

“I’m particularly interested in liaising universities with the public,” says Hogg. “The Jean-Marc Vallée event was important. I like to see the public interested in what’s going on at universities, and realize that institutions of higher learning — like Concordia — are a wonderful resource.

“I hope the Wild Talks Lecture Series will inspire others to donate and support Concordia, because in the end, you get back more than you give.”