Feature ~ Blog

Part 1 of 3

Excerpt from David Lavoie's Speech to the Canadian Public Arts Funders, Ottawa - November 2007

I am addressing you today as the Executive Director of the Théâtre de la Pire Espèce, Théâtre du Grand Jour, Cartes Premieres and the Festival du Jamais Lu. I am also speaking to you today as a representative of a generation of artists.

Our common ground that unites us today is our commitment that we bring to emerging artists and our shared passion for the arts. The goal of my speech today is to share my perspective on the context in which the new generation of artists are evolving, and to demonstrate how this new generation is promoting the arts. And, my secret agenda is to compel you to have more faith, more trust in this new generation of artists.

Is it possible to have a dialogue with the government?

My work load is overwhelming. Occasionally, I wear myself out and I look to the artists who employ me for a solution. However, they have no solutions to offer me. So, I invited them to contact the councils, in order to demand that the government provide them the necessary means to accomplish their projects. Unfortunately, these artists did not feel able or welcome to do so. In the end, I took the initiative and set out to contact the government myself.

Act one. May 25.

I write a letter to the program directors of the Councils and Ministries with whom I have som contact with. Here is an excerpt below:

“Last year, while working full-time for the Theatre de la Pire espece, the Festival du Jamais Lu, the Theatre du Grand Jour and Cartes Premieres, I earned a total salary of less than 12,000$. I am still working for these same projects and my financial situation does not look any more promising this year.”

“I am bringing my situation to your attention, because I believe that it illustrates the inability of young and emerging companies to grow within the arts scene. It appears to me that the arts community is saturated by members of previous generations and the vitality of the new generation of emerging artists is being put to the test.”

I never received a response in writing, but a few recipients contacted me directly to express their understanding and incapacity to react to my needs within the immediate future.

Act Two. June 2005.

My work is exhausting me once more and I am noticing the powerlessness of the Councils to obtain any significant budget increases. The promotion and development of the Arts in society is a huge undertaking, but I decide take a first step, a naïve and heartfelt first one, by creating a colouring book for the future.

This colouring book starts with a letter signed by twenty young theatre companies illustrating the impact that funding shortages are having on artists from all the disciplines. The opening letter says the following:

“Our emerging companies have no place in the arts milieu. Those who have come before us are still lacking funds. We have neither the necessary resources required to organize ourselves, nor the resources required to allow our activities to evolve. Listen to us now, before the only thing that will be presented on the stage will be filled with bitterness and irony.”

I sent this notebook to 40 provincial and federal ministers, and to several media outlets. One article was printed.  And I received three letters: one from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Quebec offering to meet with me; and two letters signed by the federal and provincial ministers of finance, highlighting their investments in the arts and referring me to the Ministers of Culture. Surprisingly, there was no response from the Ministers of Culture.

Act Three. Summer 2006.

I sent an e-mail to my contacts at the Councils and at the Ministries. Once again I informed them about my state of exhaustion. I inform them about the number of grant applications I submitted over the past year: more than 60. The 2006-2007 season takes me to a new peak of stress, a case which the CALQ was very aware of.

So I in reaction to CALQ’s inability to react, I send a fraudulent press releas on the Council’s letterhead. The press release was entitled “ Rotating strike at the CALQ: Demonstration in support of Quebec’s artists”.

In the press release, I announced that the Council’s employees would be taking rotating strike days in order to show their support for the artists who are asking for budget increases. The prank was a huge success. Over one weekend, I received 25 letters of support. Here are two excerpts:

“Bravo for your courage, which is so essential at this time. This gesture of support for the artistic community clearly demonstrates the gravity of the current situation. Your support is exemplary since few artists have this kind of lobbying power.”

“Good evening strikers. It’s too good to be true! With this gesture, you are demonstrating that the employees of the CALQ are not civil servants who don’t care about the people for whom they work, as we sometimes hear in the artistic community. I’m touched! Maybe we, as artists, could take action in different ways other than by trying to mobilize public opinion through the media.”

On Monday morning, the CALQ sent out a (real) press release refuting the strike. And, on Friday, I sent a letter to the CALQ, to explain my actions. I wrote:

“What was the meaning behind my prank? I invite the management and the Board of Directors of the Conseil des arts et des letters du Quebec to bring the artistic community’s demands to the attention to those who really hold the power and to the government. It is my belief that it is your responsibility since artists associations will never have the same power to be heard by the government as you do.”

The theater director of the CALQ invited me to lunch, to make sure that I wasn’t on the verge of committing suicide. He assured me that the CALQ wouldn’t hold it against me.

Act Five.

I am still thinking about it what to do next…I could start a hunger strike or show up at the CALQ office naked, to demonstrate our lack of resources. If you have any other ideas, please let me know.

Honestly, I would like to support the councils. But, following the example the artists of my generation I must ask: How can I be a member of an organization or support an organization that excludes me?

Despite it all, I consider the structures of the councils to be exemplary, allowing artists-at the head of these organizations to participate in the governance. However, I would advocate for a separation of the roles of the President and Director General in order to allow for a constructive between the two functions.

Following all of these experiences, the answer to my original question would be yes. Yes, it is possible to have a dialogue with the government. But it doesn’t produce any results.