This text is part of the special World Theater Day notebook
The Quebec arts community, including theater, is moving towards more sustainable modes of creation, scenography, production and distribution. With the support of granting organizations, several artists, companies and events are coming up with good ideas to reduce their carbon footprint.
Imagine a tour during which every trip is made by bike. Marguerite à bicyclette, a small circus company that stands out for its eco-responsible approach in the performing arts world, has achieved this feat. The artists move around and transport their equipment using bicycle trailers. They produce energy self-sufficient shows and use sets made from recycled materials as well as second-hand or recycled fabric costumes.
This initiative benefits from a support program for eco-responsible projects developed by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) and the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM). “There is a clear desire from the community to act,” notes Frédéric Côté, theater cultural advisor at CAM. Not all organizations are at the same level of transition, each one advances at its own pace and it’s beautiful to see. » Another example of this movement is the organization Écoscéno, supplying among others the Théâtre Duceppe, which recovers and reuses sets in a circular economy perspective.
Marguerite à bicyclette is accredited by Citizen Artists on Tour (ACT), an initiative of the Quebec Council for Eco-Responsible Events (CQEER) whose mission is to promote eco-responsible practices in the entertainment industry. The latter also supports performance halls as part of its Eco-Responsible Scene program. “This accreditation aims to recognize the efforts of places of cultural dissemination, including theaters,” explains Sophie-Laurence H. Lauzon, co-director of the Women in the Environment Network, initiated by the CQEER.
Document your footprint
The global carbon footprint of the art world is estimated to be around 70 million tonnes of CO2 per year, according to a report by the British NGO Julie’s Bicycle, published in 2021. More than a quarter of emissions are linked to buildings, shipments of works of art and business travel. The vast majority (74%) is caused by visitor travel to events. But these figures vary widely depending on countries, art forms and company sizes, among other things. To act in a targeted manner, it is necessary to precisely document and count the most polluting activities.
This is what the Creative Green tools allow, created by Julie’s Bicycle and adapted to Canadian and Quebec contexts, among others by the CQEER, with the support of the CALQ. On a voluntary basis, organizations enter their data on the specialized digital platform. “The cultural sector is far from being the number one polluter, but it is important for us to know where we are in comparable industries,” underlines Véronique Fontaine, director of planning and programs at CALQ.
The Festival TransAmériques (FTA) accounts for all carbon emissions generated by transport during the event, that is to say the mobility of the team, artists and guests, as well as that of the public. It has a concrete action plan and improves its practices every year, with the support of the Women in the Environment Network. The Carrefour international de théâtre has also adopted a sustainable development policy.
The CALQ has also integrated an eco-responsible criterion in the evaluation of applications submitted for its Mission Support program, to name just one. “We also asked organizations to commit over the next four years to documenting their carbon footprint,” explains Véronique Fontaine. Organizations will therefore have to register with the Creative Green platform and implement a sustainable development action plan.
This year, a whole new category of prizes has also been added to the CAM Vivats – Arts et Audace prizes, in collaboration with the CQEER, to reward artistic organizations that stand out in terms of eco-responsibility.
Step by step
The CALQ, the CAM and the CQEER do not wish to punish organizations which have not yet started thinking about the environmental issue, but rather support them step by step. “Taking care of eco-responsibility can represent an additional burden for the arts community which is experiencing challenges in terms of human and financial resources,” explains Sophie-Laurence H. Lauzon. We therefore encourage donors to support them more. »
Poor populations are particularly vulnerable to deviations from average climatic conditions. “Artists remain in a segment of society that is not favored from an economic point of view,” recalls Frédéric Côté. So, it is not always easy to transform these practices when you have few resources. »
Often, action depends on the magnitude of the consequences we face. “We are already seeing the effect of climate change,” adds Véronique Fontaine. Some festivals changed their event dates since it was unbearable to hold on in the hot weather. Necessarily, we must support the environment, we must not leave it to its own devices. »
New stories
While there should be no injunction to produce committed shows, it is a path taken by more and more creators. “We really like end-of-the-world stories, but they are not necessarily those that push us to action, to believe in a world in which we can play a transformative role,” adds Frédéric Côté. Currently, we are seeing more and more artistic projects that are interested in these meaningful subjects. »
The arts have this capacity to create new stories that carry emotions, which catalyze the socio-ecological transition. “As we have seen historically, it goes much less well when a researcher tells us that the climate crisis is here and is having impacts,” he believes. Whereas when we tell stories, integrated into dramatic works, we touch on a sensitive and sensitive aspect. »
Thus, the play Oil, by playwright François Archambault, directly evoked the climate emergency. Inspired by real characters and events, this work greatly disturbed, even upset, the public.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.