I reassure you right away, this is not a column on the increase in COVID cases, nor on the barrier gestures which should now be part of our lifestyle. Rather, I want to talk here about the importance of being a vector, the one who transmits the virus to others. Obviously, not just any virus. The one I’m thinking of is neither dangerous for the respiratory system nor fatal.
On the other hand, it can cause strong emotions, laughter, tears and, in the most severe cases, it can force real reflections on the meaning of life.
This virus is culture, the main vectors of which are artists. For contagion to be effective and lasting, the “pathogen” must be inoculated as early as possible. Indeed, the younger the host, the more easily the virus will invade its body and leave marks throughout its life.
But let’s drop the viral metaphor for a moment and talk seriously about the importance of access to culture for Quebec children and adolescents.
Of course, multiple digital platforms allow young people to have access to a plethora of cultural content. Equipped with a simple smartphone, they can discover new global musical trends, from K-pop to Charlotte Cardin. They also have the possibility of listening to films, series, and even recordings of shows. Despite this gargantuan offer, they remain at the mercy of algorithms, SEO and the hottest hashtag. And I’m not even talking about the lack of “discoverability” of Quebec cultural content on the Web.
It takes a lot of luck for a curious child to discover silent cinema, Inuit throat singing, or chamber music. This is not enough to train the critical outlook of a young person or to provide them with all the good that art can do for the body and the mind, especially with regard to the performing arts.
I remember very well this Margie Gillis show at the Théâtre de Verdure in Montreal. I was seven or eight years old, I didn’t understand much, but I was blown away by this woman’s body in movement. I found her powerful and free.
Later there was Needles and opium by Robert Lepage, performed by Marc Labrèche. I was in secondary school, I knew a little about Jean Cocteau, but not about Miles Davis, and even less about the scenographic and dramaturgical genius of Robert Lepage. However, when I returned in the evening, to my little boarder’s room, I saw fragments of the show again and I thought about the notion of dependence which was at the heart of this theatrical solo.
Although I can’t prove it beyond a doubt, if I had seen these shows on television (it was the only screen available at the time), I don’t think it would have had as much of an impact on me. I don’t believe they would have had the same effect on my conscience and my soul.
By offering live arts shows to young people, it is not a question of training the artists of tomorrow, it is a question of opening the horizons of future adults.
But, Quebec is vast, and if young people who live near major centers have access to a magnificent cultural offering, those living in more distant regions are much less served.
If I write this column, it is because for more than twenty years I have traveled to schools and regions to meet young audiences. I have just returned from a tour on the North Shore where we presented shows for the general public and school matinees. We performed a show created by the Théâtre de la LNI which offers a revisit of filmmakers and their works.
Thus, young people from Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles were able to witness the creation of a live improvised film in the style of Tim Burton, André Melançon or Xavier Dolan. It was actually during the performance of Dolan’s work that I heard a pre-teen say: “This is the best thing I’ve seen in my life!” “. Certainly, this show is, in all humility, good, but what this young person experienced was the feeling of having witnessed “in real life” something unique. It’s impressive to see artists giving their heart and soul, just a few meters from us. No TikTok video, even with billions of views, can compete with that.
I believe it is our duty as artists to reach out to young people. I know it’s not “glamorous” to sleep in a Confort Inn, on an industrial boulevard in Baie-Comeau or Alma, between a Tim Hortons and a tank dealership, but glory is not always dressed rhinestones on a red carpet. Giving children a taste for art is noble and powerful.
Obviously, traveling across Quebec with a dance troupe, a theater set or musical instruments requires infrastructure, money and a certain political will. To date, I find that the offer remains far too thin. I cross my fingers and hope that performing arts shows become mandatory in school programs, from primary to the end of secondary school and throughout the territory.
If Quebec art and culture are tools for social cohesion and personal well-being, let’s not let our young people become immunized with algorithms designed by Web giants, let’s give them the virus of culture “face-to-face”. Let’s be contagious!
Salomé Corbo is an actress, improviser, author and citizen as best she can.