A new large cultural space of the Phi Foundation for Contemporary Art is under development in Old Montreal. Financial support for the project provided by Quebec and Ottawa, exceeding $26.6 million on a construction budget estimated at more than $47 million, will be announced Friday in Montreal. The entire complex focused on digital and immersive is budgeted at more than 80 million.
An international architecture competition that is already very advanced will determine the winning firm in mid-July. The new place of creation and dissemination, called Phi Contemporain, will be added to the Phi Center that has existed in the historic district for a decade.
The duty also learned that it was for the moment the only cultural real estate project in Montreal financed by the Assistance Program for the Development of Cultural Infrastructures (PADIC). The calls for tenders were launched in September 2020. The Quebec component has an envelope of 100 million paid in equal shares by Quebec and Ottawa.
The seven other projects selected so far in this bilateral framework are all in the regions and all in CAQ constituencies, five of which are represented by ministers. Trois-Rivières, the first city supported, will receive $20 million to modernize the Salle J.-Antonio-Thompson, according to a $36 million plan. Beloeil will get 10.9 million for its cultural space Aurèle-Dubois. The five other cultural infrastructures supported are libraries to be built or renovated in Prévost, Mont-Laurier, L’Ancienne-Lorette, Saint-André-Avellin and Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges.
The Ministry of Culture and Communications (MCC) ensures that the appearances of favor given to the cities of the CAQ constituencies prove to be “the fruit of chance”. Étienne Lévesque, head of infrastructure at the MCC office, asks the observers to be patient and wait for the end of the PADIC before concluding. He adds that the Phi Contemporain project is a favorite of Minister Nathalie Roy.
About a third of the hundred million dollars remains to be distributed. Projects are being analyzed at the MCC, which remains “responsible for the implementation” of the program.
“Yes, indeed, some could draw these conclusions [d’apparence de favoritisme], but when I see all the applications submitted and the list of projects selected, under analysis or refused, I observe all the scenarios, says Mr. Lévesque. That is to say that projects refused were in CAQ counties, projects under analysis are in CAQ counties, and others have been recommended. On its face, there has been no planning to recommend projects in a CAQ county. It may seem naive, but it is indeed the fruit of chance and the fruit of the applications filed. »
The department’s communications director, Maxime Roy, goes further by citing the program’s selection criteria relating to relevance (cultural impact, sustainable development, etc.) and feasibility.
Exception case
Infrastructure Canada, which launched PADIC, never increases subsidies, even during subsequent deficits. The ministry therefore made the decision when the program was launched to only subsidize projects supported by municipalities or First Nations or Inuit governments that have enough resources to absorb any cost overruns.
“The minister was asked for increases before and during the pandemic,” said Mr. Lévesque. Needless to say, in addition, there has been an outsized cost inflation that surprises everyone. It hits hard. »
Normally, in Quebec, the PADIC excludes proposals made by a non-profit organization (NPO), while British Columbia accepts them. An exception was granted to the Phi project because the NPO in question is supported by the patron Phoebe Greenberg, a businesswoman with large financial means who launched DHC/ART in 2007 and who has supported this foundation for contemporary art since .
The Phi pole was created in 2012 and already occupies two distribution spaces in Old Montreal. In addition, Phi Contemporain will not ask for operating aid and will finance its future activities on its own.
In contrast, the desire to relocate the École supérieure de ballet du Québec to the Saint-Denis church, in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, could not qualify for the PADIC precisely because it was by an NPO. Moreover, requalifying monumental religious heritage costs a fortune, and inevitably comes with surprises leading to cost overruns.
“I find it insulting that the minister excludes NPOs from the program, like the ballet school, because they have no money,” said Quebec Solidaire MNA Ruba Ghazal, who represents Mercier in the Assembly. national, district where this educational institution and the church are located. “This program should not be run like a bank, but to serve culture. »
The member also decides on the current favor for projects in the CAQ zone. “If the École Supérieure de Ballet was not in a united county, but caquiste, would it have made an exception? M asksme Ghazal. The minister should have criteria for promoting our culture rather than electoral objectives. »
The ballet school bears the name “du Québec”, but does not have a status equivalent to theater and music conservatories. It therefore does not report directly to the MCC, even if it is subsidized for certain activities.
Home stretch
Phi Contemporain’s Old Montreal site will be reconfigured following an international architectural competition already underway, which will come to an end this summer. The media broadcast center will occupy a new space of nearly 7,000 square meters that includes four historic buildings and unoccupied land. The lot to be transformed is located at the intersection of rue Bonsecours and rue Saint-Paul Est.
The contest is coming to its final stage. The committee received 65 applications from 14 countries in the fall of 2021. Of the eleven selected by the jury of artists, architects and university professors, five firms from London, Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin ( associated with another from Montreal) and Brussels passed the second stage, which was completed two weeks ago.
Two candidates will progress to the penultimate stage. The winner will be announced on July 15.
The Phi Foundation declined to grant us an interview for the writing of this article, preferring to reserve its statements for Friday’s press conference with the governments.