On September 30, at a press conference, Minister Christian Dubé announced with joy the relaxation of health measures in cultural and sports circles, which included in particular the gradual return of full gauges in performance halls. This announcement was a big surprise for the cultural community, several key players of which had not been consulted.
Posted yesterday at 12:00 p.m.
Thus, barely a few weeks later, we learned that we were suddenly and without warning among the first sectors of activity to have to close their doors in the face of the rise in cases linked to the Omicron variant.
To date, we are still awaiting the data on which this habit of closing our establishments first when the situation deteriorates is based. We sincerely hope not to be the last to reopen when the health situation improves. This method is eroding the bond of trust with the audiences that we are trying to retain despite all the upheavals of the crisis.
We understand that being predictable in such a new and uncertain context is difficult, and that priority must be given to the health system and its workers, to whom we express our full solidarity.
But this fragility does not explain why we are left with so many questions.
Why is the management of theaters continuing to be done transversally as if there were no major differences between the realities of large amphitheatres and performance halls with smaller gauges?
Why are we often given 48 hours notice, sometimes less, to change our room plans, thus putting additional pressure on our teams already overstretched by the management of sanitary measures?
After two years, it is unrealistic to still speak of a temporary situation. Individuals are in a situation of exhaustion and the environment suffers great damage that goes as far as the exodus from the cultural environment to other sectors of activity and psychological distress.
A long-term vision
In this context, it is imperative that we have access to a long-term vision and a plan to end the crisis, we have already been talking about this for several months.
We have been called soon to work meetings with the Ministry of Culture and Communications to discuss the future. We are happy to take part in these meetings and we believe that this discussion should be the start of an ongoing dialogue and a more marked presence of Minister Nathalie Roy in the public space so that the community perceives that the challenges it faces faces are understood and defended.
From now on, we must unite our minds and our expertise in order to find solutions to the multiple challenges that await us in the medium term.
For example, with the numerous postponements that have followed one another, the programming calendars are overflowing until 2024, and this, without the prospect of a new confinement. What does this vision offer independent artists? To those who recently graduated? To those who have been waiting to play, to be played, to make known the fruit of their immense work for two years already? How will risk-taking and experimentation find their place in such circumstances? How will the sector dedicated to young audiences cope with this shock, he whose first partner, the school environment, is also undermined by these 22 months of pandemic?
Since the start of the pandemic, we have also repeated that the main measures in place do not take enough account of those whose careers do not always pass through more traditional venues.
What can we do for artists who receive little or no support? What happens to those whose income depends on commitments to schools, libraries, international tours or other organizations that are not supported by the dissemination aid measures?
The consequences of this new confinement are brutal. They will leave traces that deserve more than a few administrative clarifications. The dialogue must be transparent, enlightening and continuous.
We ask that the government’s silence around the situation of the performing arts end and that concrete actions be taken to ensure the long-term health of cultural life in Quebec.
*Co-signatories: Luc Boulanger, president of the Association québécoise desauteurspratiques; Cédric Delorme-Bouchard, President of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals; Danièle Drolet, President of the Association of Theater Specialists; Maude Gareau, president of the Association québécoise des marionnettistes; Françoise Henri, President of the Quebec Music Council; David Laferrière, president of RIDEAU; Étienne Legault, president of Voyages — Creative theater on tour; Hubert Lemire, president of the Association of theater companies; Marc-Antoine Malo, president of Associated Theaters (TA I.) inc. ; Ismaël Mouaraki and Stéphanie Therriault, co-presidents of La danse sur les routes du Québec; Éric Noël, President of the Center for Dramatic Authors; Nalo Soyini Bruce and Gabe Maharjan, co-presidents, Quebec Drama Federation; Joachim Tanguay, president of Théâtres Unis Enfance Jeunesse; Kathryn Westoll, Regional Representative, Professional Association of Canadian Theatre; Paul Caskey and Fannie Bellefeuille, co-presidents of the Regroupement québécois de la danse