Hundreds of artists and artisans, mostly from performing arts professions, demonstrated Thursday in front of the Montreal offices of the Minister of Culture, rue De Bleury, to demand major refinancing from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) and express their fed up with the living conditions of cultural workers in the province.
If the organizers of the Great Mobilization of Quebec Artists invited participants to dress in black to mark the mourning of artistic projects that will not see the light of day, it was in a joyful and creative atmosphere that the event took place. In the cold and pouring rain, the compact crowd warmed up to the sound of slogans like “My kingdom for a subsidy”, “There will NOT always be culture”, “Artists are not free” and “Not future without culture.
“The worse things go, the more conditions and budgets decrease. The fees are not increasing, we have difficulty making ends meet,” lamented in an interview Jacinthe Racine, who holds the positions of lighting designer, stage manager and tour coordinator in the circus and dance sectors. and theater.
“We need governments to subsidize the arts councils more: they are the ones who are at the grassroots level and who can channel the funds to the artists,” continued the young woman.
The organizers of the event denounced in particular the reduction in funding for the CALQ, which provides funding for artistic research, creation, production and dissemination. The organization has a budget of $160.5 million for 2024-2025. Last financial year, before inflation, the sum allocated was 161.2 million.
“Today, we mourn the projects that will never be put forward,” mentioned Samuel Létourneau, circus artist affiliated with the company M.Trenka Productions, who recently saw his latest grant requests refused.
According to him, the post-pandemic has hit the performing arts very hard. “We were told to reinvent ourselves, but we already do it every day. It’s not just reinventing ourselves that we need, but putting in place a system that allows us to live instead of just survive. »
Several demonstrators also feared the effect of recent cuts on the accessibility of stage culture for the general public. “I see the impacts of underfunding, particularly in ticket prices. It’s made it very difficult to access,” lamented Anne-Catherine Lebeau, general director of the organization Écoscéno, which promotes the ecological transition in the performing arts. “Theaters, at the moment, have no choice in raising their prices, but it’s sad that it’s becoming so inaccessible. The arts and artists are essential. If there is no state support, it becomes inaccessible for part of the population. »
Several cultural organizations have signaled their support for the movement, including the Artists’ Union, whose president, Tania Kontoyanni, spoke at the demonstration.
“In this fierce context where inflation terribly limits the spending of Quebec households on cultural goods, we find it difficult to understand your choice not to increase the CALQ budget,” she said, addressing the Quebec minister. of Culture, Mathieu Lacombe. “Don’t abandon us now, don’t abandon Quebec culture at one of the most difficult times in its history. Coming out of this pandemic, we have fear in our stomachs, for our survival as workers, yes, but also for the survival of Quebec culture. »
The organizers of the mobilization plan to hold new demonstrations on May 16 and June 13.
A possible reinvestment?
Requested by The duty, the office of the Minister of Culture did not wish to react to the demands of the demonstrators. Last week, Minister Lacombe said he shared the concerns of artists and considered some reinvestment in the CALQ.
“I understand their disappointment, because I myself would have liked more [de financement] for the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec,” he said from Paris, where he was participating in the Book Festival. “I am looking, right now, at how we can, from the amounts we obtained in the budget, free up new amounts that we could reinvest in the CALQ. »
However, the minister did not comment on the means he envisaged to do this.
With Olivier Du Ruisseau
