The judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal which forces La Tulipe to stop making noise and which results in its imminent closure leaves us with dismay.
This news outrages and worries us for several reasons.
Firstly because La Tulipe is a historic performance hall, a flagship of Montreal and Quebec culture since its opening in 1913 under the name Dominion Theater. This room housed the famous Variétés theater from 1966 to 2000. Since 2000, La Tulipe has welcomed important local and international artists by offering a privileged experience to spectators with a room-stage relationship which encourages proximity with a gauge of ‘around 500 people seated.
Then, because La Tulipe is a performance hall easily accessible to everyone. We often wonder about the problem of access to culture for the general population. Here is a room in the heart of the city, accessible on foot, in front of which you can spontaneously stop and enter. We need these democratic and urban places of culture as much as those which are isolated and out of the way.
Then, by placing individuality above the collective, the Quebec Court of Appeal seems to demonstrate indifference to our reality as cultural workers. We refuse to see cultural heritage places disappear over legal technicalities.
We hope that the city of Montreal will have the courage to correct its mistake.
We have hope that this giant of our cultural history will not disappear silently.
We hope that our voices, which join those that have resonated in La Tulipe for over a hundred years, will be heard.
We hope to keep a strong urban culture.
We hope that the discontent of a handful of individuals will not decide the fate of a collective jewel.
*Co-signed this letter: Mathieu Gosselin, actor and playwright; Klo Pelgag; Louise Latraverse; Guy A. Lepage; Pirate Heart; Luc De Larochellière; Louis-Jean Cormier; Isabelle Boulay; Ingrid St-Pierre; Robert Charlebois; Emmanuel Bilodeau; Michel Rivard; Fred Pellerin; Daniel Bélanger; Patrick Watson; Myriam Gendron; Richard Séguin; Salomé Leclerc; Stéphanie Boulay; Émile Proulx-Cloutier; Ariane Moffatt; Christian Bégin; Simon Angell (Thus Owl); Gab Package; Alex McMahon; Fred Fortin; Olivier Langevin (Galaxy); Matt Holubowski; Bibi Club; Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette; Pierre-Yves Roy-Desmarais; Louise Forestier; Cornelius; Marie-Pierre Arthur; Pierre Lapointe; Vincent Vallières; Marie-Annick Lépine (Les Cowboys Fringants); Jean-François Pauzé (Les Cowboys Fringants); Jérôme Dupras (Les Cowboys Fringants); Stéphane Lafleur (With no helmet); The Vulgar Machines; Thierry Larose; François Lafontaine (Karkwa); Adib Alkhalidey; Sophie Cadieux; Simon Proulx (The Three Accords); Arnaud Soly; André Ménard, founder of the FIJM; David Goudreault; Guy Bélanger; Antoine Goulet, sound engineer; Antoine Corriveau; Ariane Roy; François Bellefeuille; Amylie; Viviane Audet; Pierre-Luc Brillant; Robin-Joël Cool; Marc-Étienne Mongrain, photographer; Lou-Adriane Cassidy; Alfa Rococo; Misc (Jérôme Beaulieu); Jerome 50; Natasha Kanapé Fontaine; François Léveillée; Patrice Michaud; François Laporte, technician at La Tulipe; Jean-François Provençal; Julien Corriveau; Valencia; Marie-Claudel; Eric Goulet; Gus van Go (Me Mom and Morgentaler); Léane Labrèche-Dor; Yves P. Pelletier; Damien Robitaille; Mélissa Lavergne; Jason Bajada; Praises; Kanen; Valaire; Milk&Bone; Lysander; Voivod; Pierre Kwenders; Jeannot Bournival; The Color; Jordan Robson-Cramer (Sunset Rubdown); Francis Leclerc; Violett Pi; Pierre Huet (Beau Dommage); Maude Audet; Pierre Fortin (Galaxy); Claude Meunier; Joss Tellier; Jean-Sébastien Chouinard; Philippe Brault; Pierre Girard, sound engineer; Louis Bélanger; Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire); Stéphane Lapointe (filmmaker); Comment Debord, Alexandra Stréliski; Martin Matte; Peter Flynn; Étienne Coppée.