Visit 2012 – Montréal, cultural metropolis – boost of optimism to 2017
“Bombing of success” Montreal, “light in the stormy sky” current city: positive images were not lacking to describe the Montréal, cultural metropolis (MMC) mid-term meeting, which was held Monday at the Tohu.
100 Interventions in front of some 900 participants were allowed not to debate, but rather to expose recent, ongoing or upcoming Montreal cultural achievements. And to renew the commitment of the different actors (cultural, economic, social and political) to lead the city in 2017 at the deserved international cultural metropolis. Even the Minister of Heritage Canada James Moore spoke of a “model city for all Canada.
The first Minister Pauline Marois has topped the first session on cultural development in neighbourhoods – the local Montreal – in announcing a handful of million to make more room to “public art in urban landscape,” particularly in the latin quarter (2 million dollars by 2014) and to preserve the workshops of artists, including the Mile-End (5.6 million) in an overall budget of 18 millionshared with other partners.
She also took the rostrum to renew the three-year agreement for cultural development of $ 98 million with the city, of which 30 will be allocated for the construction or renovation of libraries. Nine additional million to adapt the acquisitions to new technologies.
“Our cultural life, is this what we have to build for ourselves”, she said.
These may not sound like much in the light of expected millions and those announced at the inaugural meeting of 2007, which marked the start of the Quartier des spectacles. But seen little environment with large commitments (minority Government, commission of inquiry into the construction industry, resignation of Mayor Tremblay who, moreover, MMC owes much, have recalled several players), Ms. Marois speech was greeted as a good omen.
“The signal that Ms. Marois has sent to the artists ‘ studios, it is capital,” said Simon Brault, president of MMC Steering Committee. It also welcomed the willingness of Quebec to maintain its support for the cultural infrastructure projects. Support as the Minister of Culture, Maka Kotto, had left dawn earlier promising to work to “achieve some priority projects as Le Vivier in the building of Saint-Sulpice, the maison de la danse in the Wilder and the search for a new location for home theater, without losing sight the Cinémathèque québécoise and the Museum of contemporary art”.
Dissenting voices
The beginning of the afternoon session focused on international radiation. Planned interventions have told the beautiful and good shots of the Metropolis: M for Montreal and Pop Montreal in terms of music at C2 Mtl, the meeting orchestrated by Sid Lee on creativity through multimedia creation Moment Factory and Geodezik leaders all spoke the uniqueness of the city.
This chorus of good wishes, favoured by the formula of brief interventions and burst, left little room for dissenting voices, even if a few warnings have also been launched, especially in spontaneous interventions from the room. Annie Roy, ATSA (terrorist Action socially acceptable), worried to see culture just animate the public space and distract the tourist at the risk of losing sight of the artist “sense”. Damian Nisenson, diversity of artistic Montreal, reported a “major constraint” in the pursuit of the objectives of MMC: the non-recognition of the achievements and skills of immigrant artists.
Several still unrealized projects have also highlighted the way that he remains to be done (House of heritage, place for the public young creation, etc.).
“It stop working in silos,” has also launched Emmanuelle Hébert, um, who stressed the Kafkaesque side of Montreal and its many districts who work in a vacuum, calling business people to invest also in the districts. It is by a review of new models of financing involving the private sector ended the day.
To 2017
Everyone seemed to agree to walk together until 2017, date the MMC action plan deadline, but also and especially the 375th anniversary of the city, some colors have been unveiled. In this context, Ms. Marois has endorsed three projects with an emphasis on history: the final phase of expansion of the Musée Pointe-à-Callière, project city memory, ziplines signed media and 4 d Art, with input from the playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, and a place devoted to Aboriginal cultures.
“2017 should be ambitious to show to the world where it is rendered in creativity” in Quebec, said Éric Fournier, of Moment Factory. «Go to Montréal pride», launched Jeannot Painchaud of the cirque Éloize and President in track, summarizing well the spirit that presided over the 2012 venue. Because it was first and foremost by whipping the well-deserved pride and morale of cultural actors to combat the ambient cynicism to institutionalized corruption unveiled in broad daylight time.