Grit, vision, passion. This is what drives our digital creators, and an entire industry in constant turmoil. These have undeniably reached a level of technical excellence — but what really deserves attention is the excellence and audacity that our creators show in their intentions. And the relevance of the questions they raise.
If they got there, it’s because others have paved the way. The digital creativity industry will gather on May 31 at Espace St-Denis for the NUMIX awards gala, an annual event rewarding the excellence of digital content in Quebec, in addition to having an international component. A tribute prize will be awarded to Monique Simard, whose contribution to the development of the various sectors that make up the Quebec digital creativity industry is exceptional.
Monique Simard is one of those who paved the way. During her successive stints at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and then at the Cultural Business Development Corporation (SODEC), she was one of the first to offer these cultural institutions a digital shift. She chose to fight against inertia and jump with both feet into a territory that was then unknown to her. We want to salute his grit, his vision and his passion.
This year’s winning artists are the worthy heirs. The projects they offered us over the past year present a strong contemporary discourse. A cuvée that can be summed up in this judicious blend of affirmation and mastery — of authenticity and openness to others. Creations that bring us back to the territory of emotions, empathy and reflection while bearing witness to the society in which we find ourselves and the debates that shape it on a daily basis.
The audacity in question here is not technological.
Audacity is a word.
Digital technologies have blended into the range of means of artistic expression available to creators to give life to their reading of the world, this world which is also ours. Today’s tools allow artists and creative artisans to return to true self-expression. They carry, even create, a diversity, a cultural identity that has the marvelous ability to spread beyond all borders.
Digital creators offer us new territories in which to come together and opportunities to transform ourselves. They are pioneers, awakeners of conscience and preventers from going in circles. By accepting to open up, to anchor ourselves in emotion and to expose ourselves to other cultures as well as other points of view, we all give ourselves a great opportunity to grow as beings. human.
Only audacity and authenticity can open all these breaches.
Dare to take over
One cannot think of the future of digital creativity without thinking about the most recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI): generative AI. She set the fire. We have seen a new continent appear, increasing the pressure on creators, who, in addition to competing with the world, must now do so with machines that have digested billions of creations. It is an acceleration of the emergence of the economy of creators opened by platforms based on the generation of content.
Turn or skid? We don’t know yet, let’s just say this. AI is a tool, like all technologies, that you will have to learn to use in a relevant way.
But let’s avoid confusion when it comes to digital creativity, and let’s have confidence. All of this of course raises important questions, particularly with regard to intellectual property and issues related to deep-cheating (deepfake), but generative AI (still) requires human intervention to learn and create. It is the alliance between the expression generated by AI and the unique imprint of the artist that opens up new perspectives.
When you can get the best or the worst, let’s bet on the best.
Boldness is hope.
We must continue to train the next generation of digital creators, welcome them into our industry and pave the way for new voices. We have to participate so that a generation of creators can use these tools as a contemporary way of expression.
Like others before us. Monique, for example, not to name her. Audacity has no age. Boldness today means making room. Audacity is transgenerational.