Julie Eng awarded the The Magic Circle’s 2024 John Nevil Maskelyne Award

Congratulations Julie!  Well deserved!

 

From the October 6th Facebook post by Julie Eng:

I am deeply, deeply honoured to be The Magic Circle’s 2024 John Nevil Maskelyne Award recipient for contributions to magic literature. Thank you to Magic Circle President Marvin Berglas and to the officers of the Magic Circle for this incredible acknowledgment and recognition—I am filled with profound joy and gratitude.

Magic has always been part of my life. My father, Tony Eng, involved me in his magic career when I was very young. I trailed after him throughout my childhood; and as I grew into magic, he naturally became my teacher, my mentor. I’ve always been surrounded and inspired by this magnificent art. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine such a diverse and exciting career in magic—one that has spanned performance to production and, indeed, to publishing.
 To join the ranks of past recipients, including so many of my dear friends—I am truly and completely overwhelmed! 

This award isn’t a personal achievement; it’s a testament to the collaborative spirit of our magical community. I’d also like to thank Magicana and its board of directors, and my friend and colleague David Ben for their support over all these years.

Specifically, with regards to The Rich Cabinet Collection, I would like to thank the wonderful Dawes family for inviting me into the inner sanctum of Dane Hill— I offer especial thanks to Adrian Dawes, who was a true and devoted collaborator in the Rich Cabinet journey with me!

Most of all, I want to take this moment to recognize and thank our beloved Eddie. From the moment we started this journey together to build a nine-volume set, which is now The Rich Cabinet Collection, he steered us to this final moment with his strong and steady resolve, in his very special warm and gentle way. I will always be forever grateful for his kindness, his friendship, his guiding light.

Now, as I move into my new role as executive director of Genii Enterprises, I am so excited to continue the work in sharing this art we love so very much in creative and dynamic ways!

Thank you so much to the Magic Circle for this incredible honour!

 

 

 

Julie Eng, Executive Director of Genii

Congratulations Julie!  Looking forward to seeing what you have up your sleeve!

 

From the July 20th Facebook post by Julie Eng:

Friends: Some exciting news to share!

After twenty years of working with Magicana, I will be leaving my role as executive director at the end of July. It’s been an incredible tenure: I’ve met so many fascinating characters; I’ve worked with devoted and passionate people; I’ve been privileged to be part of extraordinary projects. I am also very proud of the body of work that has become part of Magicana’s legacy. It has been an honour to work with such a visionary and unique charity driven by the mandate of elevating our art—and a charity that has been led by an exceptional board of directors and artistic director David Ben. We were a lean team, but we got things done!

But I’m not going far! I’m staying firmly within the magic world, joining Genii Enterprises as its new executive director! The owners of Genii—Randy and Kristy Pitchford—have set forth a new and exciting vision to expand the Genii universe, and it will be my job to steer Genii  to that new direction. There are so many new and exciting areas opening up, and I’ll be sharing more and more as we move toward 2025.

So, for now, that is what’s happening. It’s a lot. But it is so exciting to see this organic development unfold! Lots more to share! Soon!

Details about changes at Magicana can be found on the Sharing Wonder blog:
https://www.magicana.com/news/blog/remembering-future

 

 

From the July 20th post "Remembering the Future" by David Ben at Magicana:

I’ll start with a big one: On July 31, Julie Eng will be moving on from Magicana to take on a new role as the Executive Director of Genii. Given Randy and Kristy Pitchford’s vision and philanthropic nature, and Julie’s indefatigable energy and creative flair, I predict that wonders will never cease. Everyone involved with Magicana, and I in particular, are very proud of Julie. She has been part of Magicana since 2004; we are delighted to see her take on this new and exciting role as she continues her journey in magic.

Although I do not know exactly what they have up their sleeves, I do know one or two things. The primary one from our perspective is that Magicana will be migrating, among other things, its online content—including The Screening Room and all the current online exhibitions—to Genii!  This will take some time, and Magicana’s site will remain as is until the migration is completed. All of the resources that you have come to love and explore will remain available not just in the present, but also in the future. 

Read more.

 

David Ben at the Genii 75th birthday bash!

The website for Genii's 75th Anniversary Birthday Bash, October 4 - 6 of this year, lists our very own David Ben on the performers list!