Artists with short careers, such as dancers, circus performers, some musicians and actors, can no longer rely on specialized assistance to move on to a new profession. Confluence, the only organization in Quebec dedicated to the “professional requalification” of performing artists, is closing its doors due to lack of funding from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).
Since its birth in 2021, Confluence has helped around a hundred performing artists in their reorientation. Nearly half were emerging artists, looking for a complementary career that would avoid them being too exposed to poverty.
A dozen others were over 55, and “were looking to consider transforming their careers with dignity,” as Parise Mongrain, founder and former director of Confluence, explains.
Paco Ziel, for example, has benefited from Confluence’s services. He arrived from Mexico City at the age of 18 to study at the École supérieure de ballet du Québec, and almost immediately after his training he joined RUBBERBAND as an apprentice, the Quebec dance company that probably tours the most in the United States.
Aged 33, he has just danced for the last time with the troupe. He turned to Confluence a few years ago, he explains in an interview with Dutybecause he needed to add strings to his bow.
“I didn’t live in poverty,” he says in his very calm, Spanish-accented English. “I had just enough. But I couldn’t save.”
Confluence’s help allowed him to name his ambitions and give himself the means to achieve them. Could he have made this journey on his own? No way ” he retorts.
“Confluence doesn’t offer money that you pocket. I had a lot of coaching, follow-ups, reflections. I had to explain my dreams, my desires, so that they knew how to help me.”
“They then guided me to the exact management course at Concordia that I needed, and to specialized training with La Machinerie des arts.”
The financial situation is extremely precarious, and the CA had to make the decision to close. We are devastated. We have already sent out the termination notices.
His new knowledge in accounting and administration allowed Mr. Ziel to launch his own multidisciplinary artistic production organization, Vias, which was still very young.
Her fresh skills will also allow her, if necessary, to bounce back more easily in the job market. “I still have a lot of dance in me. I still want to dance for others. And I needed to solidify my life.”
Broken promises and policies
“We did not receive the operating grant from the CALQ,” explains Christine St-Pierre, chair of the Confluence board of directors (CA) and Liberal Minister of Culture from 2007 to 2012. “The financial situation is extremely precarious, and the CA had to make the decision to close. We are devastated.” The termination notices have already been sent to the interim director, a contract worker, and to the two part-time employees, who are salaried.
Vice-president Laurence Orillard adds: “We launched Confluence driven by the enthusiasm shown to us by the CALQ, the Ministry of Culture and the Montreal Arts Council.”
At the time, the Quebec branch of the Centre de ressources et transition pour danseurs, which had been operating since 1985, was going dormant. Confluence wanted to take over. “We opened it up to other performing artists at the specific request of politicians,” says M.me Orillard, who kept telling us that we were very, very relevant.”
Especially since the organization responded exactly to an objective of the 2018 action plan of the Ministry of Culture and Communications (MCC), and another of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Solidarity (MTESS).
This is, in the action plan of the policy Culture everywhereof the objective of “improving the socio-economic conditions of professional artists”. And, specifically, of measure 16: “implementation of support services to facilitate the career transition of artists in the performing arts (dance, circus, theater and music) ».
If the MCC funded the pilot projects, the MTESS never reacted, according to Parise Mongrain. “We were only able to do pilot programs. In light of their results, I see that our programs would have performed very well, if the operating funding had followed.”
Laurence Orillard adds: “We were promised a lot of things. And then, we got nothing, nothing. It’s a very bad surprise.”
The president of the board, Christine St-Pierre, is also angry at the inconsistency posed by the refusal of funding.
And the 12 artists who are currently benefiting from a Confluence program? “We made them promises, we will see it through with the remaining money,” clarifies the vice-president of the organization.
Thirty other artists were on the waiting list. They will have to think about their career transition on their own, and without a grant to help them if studies are necessary.
“I come from a country, Mexico, that doesn’t have the resources to support its artists,” says dancer Paco Ziel. “That’s why I left. And I see what’s happening here now, with the abandonment of funding for the arts, which is endangering the very small nets that help and support the community, the environment… and I’m… speechless,” he concludes.