We cannot emphasize enough the importance of exposing our children from an early age to the world of culture, for their personal development or to arouse new passions and vocations. In this area, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) plays an essential role by supporting and accompanying youth artists of all persuasions in their creative explorations.
Beyond financial aid that facilitates research and creation, it is a form of recognition that is offered to those who are called upon to forge the cultural identity of future generations, and whose work is not not always valued at fair value. Four artists testify to the importance that CALQ grants have had in their efforts, from the creation of their work to its dissemination.
SOPHIE CASSON
Helen’s Birds
Imagined by Canadian author Sara Cassidy, the story ofHelen’s Birds presented Sophie Casson with a new challenge: to tell, without any text, the mourning of a young girl struggling with the sudden loss of her old neighbor and friend. “I had to do some scripting work, which I had never done before,” explains the Montreal illustrator who received a grant in 2017.
“With this help, I was able to take the time to do some exploratory work and refine my illustration technique,” continues Sophie Casson. In children’s books, advances from publishers rarely cover the time needed to make a book. » After a year of work, Helen’s Birds was published in 2019 by Groundwood Books before being selected for the Canadian selection of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).
This international organization, which facilitates children’s access to literature around the world, praised the “warm and textured tones” which “express with emotion this story of friendship and loss” put into images by Sophie Casson. Following this prestigious selection, copies ofHelen’s Birds were sent to Italy to fill the shelves of the library for migrant children on the island of Lampedusa.
“Silent books are a valuable tool for children who do not read well or who speak other languages,” says Sophie Casson, who regularly leads workshops in schools to reveal to the youngest the underside of her work. “It’s important that children can see that artists exist and work in a concrete universe to which they have access,” she says.
Since the release ofHelen’s Birdsthe illustrator put her talents at the service of another author, Heather Camlot, to tell the Dreyfus affair to children in The Prisoner and The Writer. Aimed at ages 7 to 12, the book will be released in French by Isatis in 2023, on the occasion of the 125e anniversary of the publication of I accuse…! by Zola. A beautiful project for which Sophie Casson received a new grant.
“This financial contribution allows artists to go further in the exploration of their plastic language, but also to obtain recognition in the world of professional arts,” says the UQAM graphic design graduate. This is important, especially in children’s literature, which can sometimes be seen as a minor art. »
CHRISTINE DALLAIRE-DUPONT
A ticket to nowhere
With her thought-provoking minimalist dialogues and her expressive drawings evoking the world of manga, Christine Dallaire-Dupont, alias Nunumi, has successfully entered the world of children’s comics. Published in 2019 by Cold Front, A ticket to nowhere received a very warm public and critical reception. The story of this journey into the unknown of a young girl and her spirit of companionship garnered a nomination for the 2020 Aurora-Boréal Prize, in the Best Comics category.
It was in animation that Nunumi got her hands on several productions, working in particular as a storyboard artist (storyboard). In search of more creative freedom, the Montrealer turned to comics. The scholarship, which she won in 2018 to develop A ticket to nowhere, helped her build an artistic identity. “It gave me wings,” she says. With this help, I had a year of autonomy to do my pages and my research. »
Once published, his work traveled well, from comic book festivals in Montreal and Quebec to Tokyo. “The CALQ grant allowed me to budget for a trip to Japan and set up the Itai Doshin collective, bringing together Japanese and Quebec artists,” says Nunumi. The festivals have also been an opportunity for the cartoonist to meet her young audience to have an instructive feedback on her story, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
“One of the characters only expresses himself through scribbles; you have to imagine what he answers. And I found that young audiences gave an interpretation that was often closer to my original intention than older readers,” confides the author, whose comics have continued on their merry way.
In 2021, Télé-Québec introduced A ticket to nowhere on his literature kits for the 2e and 3e primary cycles. “Comic strips are a great gateway to facilitating the desire to read,” says Nunumi, who is now working on the production of his first animated feature film, Katak, the brave belugaexpected in theaters sometime in 2023.
SYLVIE GOSSELIN
Stories of wings and ladders
Actress or visual artist? Don’t ask him to choose. Since the early 2000s, Sylvie Gosselin has combined her two passions in children’s shows that give her plenty of time to develop her love for DIY. There have been The sewer in 2004, then Arbor Tales in 2013, in which she paid tribute to the columnist of The surprise boxMadeleine Arbour, who gave her a taste for “making things out of next to nothing”.
For Stories of wings and ladders, created in 2018, Sylvie Gosselin became interested in another universe, that of the German painter Paul Klee. “I wanted to talk to the children about this artist who found inspiration in his son’s drawings and who wanted to paint the invisible,” explains the graduate of the Montreal Conservatory of Dramatic Arts and bachelor’s degree from UQAM in visual arts.
With the support of the Council, which awarded her two research and creation grants in 2015 and 2017, Sylvie Gosselin was able to set up a playful course inviting children to walk between installations, with a bib inspired by Paul Klee’s puppets. “I work a lot in recycling and assembling old objects, which doesn’t cost me much in terms of equipment,” she points out. But the scholarships allow me to earn an income and to allocate a fee to my collaborators. »
His greatest pride is to have managed to run well Stories of wings and ladders, despite the pandemic which thwarted his initial plans. The actress was able to play her show at the Festival de Casteliers and in several cultural centers in Montreal. Involved for 20 years in the A Montreal School for All project, which supports schools in disadvantaged areas, Sylvie Gosselin also went to meet her young audience.
“I work a lot with children. They come to see my work, but I also go to their territory, to the schools. I noticed that they were often intimidated by the art at first. But they can learn a real lesson in confidence and self-esteem from an artistic experience”, explains the actress who is currently preparing a new show built around a “paper theater” inspired by a recent trip to Japan. .
CLAUDE SAMSON
Always do like the grown-ups
No need to introduce Les Petites Tounes, which have been making our children dance to catchy tunes for more than two decades now. With his three colleagues, Claude Samson is preparing to go on tour all over Quebec, to accompany the release of the joyful band’s eighth album, Always do like the grown-upsexpected in early 2023.
The multi-instrumentalist and singer of Les Petites Tounes was able to finance the pre-production of this new show thanks to a grant won as part of a partnership between the CALQ and the City of Laval in collaboration with Culture Laval. “We could have set it up without a subsidy, but it would have taken us a lot longer and it would have been more complicated,” he underlines.
Beyond the financial means, this institutional support brings a certain credit to young musicians, whose work is not always recognized at its fair value. “We try to break down the prejudices we may have about children’s music. If we put aside the lyrics, it’s still music, and music has no age”, insists Claude Samson, known to be also the guitarist of Vilain Pingouin.
From the beginning, he had the idea of doing “something other than just music for children”, with his former colleague from CPE, Carlos Vergara.
“We are a rock group, he insists. We make a lot of nods to the music of the greats, from the Beatles to AC/DC. It can affect parents, and it can also be a gateway for the youngest. Especially today, when children listen to their parents’ music much more than in my day.
Growing support
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