Money has no smell ? Hmm. In Rouyn-Noranda, the income from the Horne Foundry smells of sulfuric acid, antimony, manganese, mercury, arsenic, selenium, zinc, lead, nickel and many other elements. periodic table.
All of these contaminants have been released into the surrounding air for decades: 212 tonnes of metals in 2021 according to data from Environment Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory. The smelter is owned by multinational Glencore, which operates in 43 countries, which reported $19 billion in first-quarter profit this year, and $203 billion in gross revenue in 2021.
This mountain of money also smells of sulfur even in these cultural fallouts. The sponsorships granted by the company to artistic and festive organizations in the region were the subject of severe and exceptional criticism in an open letter published in The duty a few days ago. The list of Abitibi signatories includes environmental activists and artists, including Richard Desjardins, the unhappy conscience of this corner of the world developed by extractive capitalism.
“With all that we have learned in recent months, the various partnerships between cultural organizations and the giant […] seem illegitimate to us, says the text. The chronic underfunding of culture pushes festivals to condone the greenwashing methods of ecocidal multinationals […]. »
Hence the request addressed to “all the cultural organizations that constitute the beating heart of Rouyn-Noranda to put an end to their collaboration with the Horne Foundry”. Five of these organizations are identified by name: the Ginguette chez Edmund (for Ed Horne, founder of the foundry), the Festival of World Guitars in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the Festival du Cinéma International in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the Festival de Musique Emerging and Osisko in light.
The fault of the system
The decision is taken at Osisko in light: there is no question of giving up the sponsorship of Glencore. “We are very happy that the Foundry is involved in supporting culture,” says Frédéric Roy-Hall, general manager of the Corporation des Fêtes pour tout le monde, which oversees the event.
Mr. Roy-Hall repeats that citizens “have the right to give their opinion on sponsorships” and that he fully understands people’s concerns about industrial pollution. “We see ourselves as an apolitical organization, however, adds the director general. Our role is to be a transmitter of culture. Our role is not to get involved in the social debate. »
For Mr. Roy-Hall, the criticism is on the wrong target. “The Quebec model for funding cultural organizations requires that any major event attract sponsors,” summarizes the administrator. Without sponsorships, we would not have grants. […] In fact, the open letter published in The duty therefore addresses the festival funding system. »
The Quebec model for funding cultural organizations requires that any major event attract sponsors. Without sponsorships, we would not have grants. […] In fact, the open letter published in Le Devoir is therefore aimed at the festival funding system.
La Guinguette declined to comment on the situation, and the three other festivals involved in the attack did not respond to interview requests from the To have to. Mr. Roy-Hall claims to have had discussions with his counterparts and affirms that, for the moment, the unanimous desire is to keep the contributions of the controversial company.
Sponsorships and community
Private contributions in donations or sponsorships can reach more than 25% of the financing of a cultural organization, but vary greatly depending on the budget and the field of activity; festivals and music attract many more than theater or dance. Statistics Canada has documented the steady increase in private contributions to the performing arts across the country, until the pandemic crisis cut off that momentum offset by rising public sector contributions over the past two years.
Some versions of Osisko in the spotlight have attracted up to 90 private sector partners. There are around sixty left in 2022. Year after year, patrons and donors provide between 10 and 12% of the festival’s income.
“The bigger and more prestigious your organization, the more sponsors want to partner with you,” sums up François Colbert, holder of the Carmelle and Rémi-Marcoux Chair in Arts Management at HEC Montréal. The smaller or more marginal organizations are, the less public they attract and the less attractive they are to companies. »
Professor Colbert sees two main reasons for corporate sponsorship. First, reach its customers. Second, to support a better reputation, to pass for a good citizen in the community.
Glencore respects the scheme. “For the Foundry, artistic and cultural vitality is essential to a community. It is in this spirit that we are investing in several initiatives so that the citizens of Rouyn-Noranda, to which the vast majority of our employees belong, can benefit from a varied cultural and artistic offer,” wrote theTo have to Cindy Caouette, the company’s superintendent of communications and community relations.
In 2021, 83 projects from different sectors received financial assistance, for a total of $485,730, or approximately $6,000 per organization, according to the latest annual report. Tax deductions (from 16% to 29% depending on the level of government) reduce the actual costs.
Subversion Grant
The open letter from critics of Glencore patronage speaks of “investment in image”. It exists and it has been seen. Does the du Maurier Arts Council ring a bell?
Several museums around the world (Serpentine and Tate in London, Louvre, Guggenheim, etc.) recently cut ties with the Sackler family, which controlled Purdue Pharma, the company partly responsible for the recent opioid crisis. The grand prize of the Venice Film Festival has just been awarded to the documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed by the American Laura Poitras on the photographer Nan Goldin, who has taken the lead in a fight against this cultural whitewashing of reputation.
The open letter calling for the cessation of sponsorships in Rouyn-Noranda also evokes “the fear of criticizing the company for fear of jeopardizing the finances of subsidized organizations”. Arts and culture (including the five contested events) received $119,165 last year. That’s roughly the equivalent of a Glencore miner’s annual salary.
Advisors are not the payers, the saying goes. However, at this relatively low level of contribution, can payers control artistic productions? “During the public finance crisis in the 1980s, the Ministry of Culture began to push cultural companies to seek private funds, explains Professor François Colbert. The very strong resistance came from the fear of having their artistic line dictated. It never happened. »
Contemporary cultural policies seem to rely instead on the subsidy of subversion. I love Hydrothe acclaimed documentary show by Christine Beaulieu recalling the impacts of the construction of dams or pylons on the environment, is revived this fall at Duceppe, a theater sponsored by Hydro-Québec…