Arts community rallies to call for increased support for Quebec culture

La Securite plays Pop Montreal on Sept. 30, 2023. (Daniel J. Rowe/CTV News)

Do you have to be poor to be an artist?

With a united voice, 17 organizations working in the cultural sector are saying "no."

The organizations, united under the umbrella of the Front commun pour les arts (Common Front for the Arts) dedicated to the long-term survival of Quebec culture, are calling on the Legault government to stop cutting the budgets allocated to various cultural activities.

Under the slogan "Our culture deserves better than to be cut," the groups are launching a public campaign calling for increased investment in the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).

They are criticizing the cuts imposed on CALQ, pointing out that its budget has been shrinking steadily in recent years.

The budget was cut from $185 million in 2022-2023 to $172 million in 2023-2024, and is set to be further reduced to $160 million in 2024-2025.

The 17 organizations bring together players in the fields of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, writing, and several other sectors.

They add that beyond CALQ, specific grant programs are also being tightened.

Quebec, however, could say that amounts granted have increased by four per cent in six years. However, inflation has reached 22 per cent for the same period, which represents a net loss for the cultural community.

According to the sector, between 2022 and the autumn of 2024, the average support offered to organizations supported for specific programming fell by 35 per cent.

They note that in 2024, for the multi-year grants program alone, the total sum of grant applications submitted to the CALQ by cultural organizations amounted to $151 million, whereas the CALQ had only $94 million available. In their view, "this is the first time that the gap between the requests made to them and the financial capacity to respond to them has been so wide."

They are therefore calling for CALQ's permanent funding to be increased to $200 million as of the next financial year, and for these funds to be made permanent and indexed. They are also asking the Legault government to go beyond the rhetoric of defending Quebec culture and make it a real priority with a long-term vision.

Artists, they point out, are not immune to inflation, while production and dissemination costs are also rising steadily, and even more so in the regions.

If funding for the cultural sector is not increased, many artistic projects will be suspended or scaled back, cultural infrastructures will deteriorate, support for up-and-coming artists and access to and diversity of shows will be reduced, especially in the regions, and Quebec culture will have less influence abroad.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 2, 2024.