Hundreds of artists gathered Thursday afternoon in front of the Montreal offices of the Minister of Culture to reiterate the extent of their dissatisfaction with the underfunding of their community.
Rallying cries, signs with powerful messages, tears as well… Emotion was in the voices and faces of the artists gathered on rue De Bleury, between rue Sainte-Catherine and boulevard De Maisonneuve, where the artists’ main interlocutor lives. . The Minister of Culture, Mathieu Lacombe, did not take to the streets to interact with the demonstrators as he did a few weeks ago, when the Grande Mobilization des artistes du Québec (GMAQ) launched a first call for protest.
For the second time in a month, on Thursday, artists gathered in their hundreds, reiterating the same demands as in mid-April, the very ones that have driven them for even longer. Despite Quebec’s announcement on Tuesday of a $15 million increase in the budget of the Conseil des arts et des lettres (CALQ), intended more specifically to help organizations, the GMAQ does not consider that its requests have been heard. The group estimates instead that an increase of at least 100 million is necessary to reach a minimum livable threshold for artists.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Artists gathered in downtown Montreal to demonstrate against the underfunding of their community.
All forms of art, from music to dance, theater, visual arts, cinema and literature, were represented. A rather rare moment, as noted by some speakers on stage, which marks the importance of the current movement.
A group of young people stood in front of the still empty stage at the start of the rally. Asked by The Pressthese young students (including one graduating) from the National Theater School expressed a real fear of not being able to practice their profession.
“It’s a little scary to be at school,” says Aimée Lambert-Béland. We want to do this job, which is as valid as any job. It’s discouraging and aberrant to have a government that gives so little importance to culture. We will leave school without really knowing if we will be able to earn our living in this profession for which we are studying. We just want to be able to do what we love in better conditions. »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The author Louis Clermont
I think that when we studied there, we didn’t expect to be paid like doctors. But we need a minimum. Culture is as important as areas like health or education.
Louis Clermont, young author
For Aimé Tuyishimé, recently graduated from the Theater School, “the environment is a bit desperate and doesn’t have much to offer us”. “The little structure that supported young people is collapsing,” he says, citing the example of the Quat’Sous troupe which cannot support graduates this year as it usually does for first productions. “Many people here are here to defend culture above all, but we also feel a lot of support for the next generation. »
” Change job “
They were from all fields, but also of all ages, on Thursday. A group of young students, in tutu, accompanied the dancer, choreographer and artistic director of the École supérieure de ballet Anik Bissonnette. “They are future dancers,” she says. They want to keep their dreams alive. It takes 10 years of training. But if the dance no longer exists, there will be nothing left for them, even for those who become future audience members. They need to continue. We must encourage these young people. We ask for the dance world that our young people can dream of. »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The artistic director of the École supérieure de ballet, Anik Bissonnette
A people is recognized by its artists throughout the world. It is absolutely necessary to support them.
Anik Bissonnette, artistic director of the École supérieure de ballet
The CALQ budget, on which creators from all walks of life rely to allow works to be created, distributed, promoted and sustained, is at the heart of the demonstrators’ demands. On Thursday, it was possible to understand the real repercussions of what artists consider to be underfunding of the arts.
Without adequate financial support, “we consider changing careers or we don’t have the life we want to lead,” believes Marie-Claude Plante, administrator of the Regroupement des artistes en arts nationaux. “What is unfortunate is that we are going to crumble the socio-cultural fabric. There are immediate consequences, but also long term. »
“The working and living conditions of artists must be improved,” she adds. More support and reform were expected. We need to be more daring, dare to change processes, include real iterative projects that will be able to change the situation. There is a big difference between what happens in tall structures and on the ground. »
Cries of the heart
The festive music that enlivened the street was replaced after half an hour by a series of speeches, on a stage installed directly in front of the Ministry of Culture building.
The actor and director Mani Soleymanlou, the actresses Violette Chauveau, Macha Limonchik and Anne-Marie Cadieux recited together, just before the march, a text written for the occasion by the author Rébecca Déraspe, asking for real recognition of the value of artists. In the crowd, tears flowed as they listened to the poignant words of the one who could not be there for the occasion.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The actress Anne-Marie Cadieux in the crowd
“We may find that 15 million is a nice sum, but it’s a little ridiculous too,” recalled one of the members of the GMAQ on the microphone, recalling that Culture represents 1% of Quebec’s budget, to the boos of the crowd. “We are asking for 85 million more. »
“Culture cannot flourish if we cannot pay the rent,” read one sign. “Art counting for nothing,” said another. “Attention to our artists, it may be yours…”, said a large sign inspired by road signs.
Sara A. Tremblay, visual artist, took advantage of the opportunity to launch a heartfelt cry to the media, which according to her “invisibilizes” her profession by not giving her enough space, in the newspapers, to radio or television. “It is urgent to realize that culture is not a permanent achievement and that, no, culture will not always remain,” she said on the microphone.
Valérie Lefebvre-Faucher, writer and director of the magazine Freedom, launched a call to no longer tolerate the “contempt” of the government. “We are here together to put words to injustice, to take care of all of us and to demand our share of joy. »
Émilie Fortin, trumpeter and artistic director, began her speech by saying that “being constantly on the verge of burn-out is a lifestyle”. She also recalled that organizations that are not NPOs will not benefit from the 15 million bonus that Minister Mathieu Lacombe has just announced. When asked if she still works in music, she says, she feels that the answer is increasingly negative, while the government is weakening the safety net for artists like her.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Artists gathered in downtown Montreal to demonstrate against the underfunding of their community.
Rosalie Beauchamp, general director of the Monastère, represented the circus arts on stage. In a highly emotional speech, she recalled that shows are canceled due to lack of funding and that artists leave the sector, not for lack of passion, but for professional exhaustion.
Choreographer Mélanie Demers was sorry to see the dance world “sick”. “We are exhausted from having to fight to dance,” she said into the microphone. We must remember that dance has power in society. It’s easier to control a population that doesn’t want to dance. »
Visibly moved, exhausted, but united, the artists then marched through downtown Montreal to make their desire for survival even better heard.