The revival will be long and difficult for the Quebec cultural sector, believe several stakeholders.
Posted at 10:24 a.m.
Performance halls and cinemas will be able to reopen from Monday, but at 50% of their capacity or a maximum of 500 people. The vaccination passport will be compulsory.
Many believe that the government has treated the culture sector unfairly during the pandemic by quickly closing concert halls or cinemas when there is no evidence that they are the source of outbreaks.
According to the director general of Les Scènes de Musique Alternatives du Québec (SMAQ), Jon Weisz, the cultural sector will need three to five years before regaining financial strength, in particular due to the change in the behavior of spectators.
“The government reacted impulsively by deciding that theaters would be the first to close and the last to open. He presented no data to justify it,” he laments.
The announcement of the reopening of the halls brought hope and relief, but the new rules complicate the task of the managers. Resuming activities will be a particularly difficult task for some places.
The president of the Union des Artistes, Sophie Prégent, says that some venues will not be able to present plays or concerts because it will not be viable for her from a financial point of view, given the current rules.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The president of the Union of Artists, Sophie Prégent
These are rooms, institutions that will remain closed longer because they cannot operate at 50% capacity”.
Sophie Pregent
The artistic director of Espace Go, Ginette Noiseux, also mentions that certain restrictions, in particular physical distancing, prevent the production of certain types of pieces.
Mental Health
Stakeholders also point out that the constant closings and reopenings have caused a mental health crisis within the cultural sector.
” [Le gouvernement] played yo-yo for two years,” complains Luc Fortin, president of the Guild of Musicians of Quebec.
Some gave up their careers, some left. There have been depressions, even suicides.
Luc Fortin, president of the Guild of Musicians of Quebec
A study by eight organizations in March 2021 of more than 2,000 culture workers found that 43% of respondents reported symptoms of depression. Almost 12% had had suicidal thoughts. After the numerous closures, Mr. Fortin does not believe that the situation has improved in this regard.
Mme Noiseux says the hasty closings sent a message that theaters “are the most dangerous places” when they were very safe. Spectators wore face coverings and were seated a good distance apart. “This decision has created great misunderstanding, great distress. »
Mme Prégent opined in the same direction. She feels that the government has put the whole cultural sector under the same umbrella of “entertainment” with which it has associated bars and nightclubs. Yet culture is more fundamental to society. “We can’t put it in the same basket as karaoke or bars, places that are less controlled,” she says.
Mr. Weisz says artists need interaction with the audience. Unable to practice their art, many have “lost meaning and purpose to their lives”. Many musicians have left the stage to find more stable employment and will not return, he adds.
These stakeholders want the government to be more predictable and to present some kind of timetable for a return to normal for good.
They hope the government will find alternatives to shutdowns if the number of COVID-19 cases jumps again.
“We won’t be able to endure another closure,” says Mr. Fortin. It would be catastrophic. »