OCOL - Arts and Culture in Official Language Minority Communities

Arts and Culture in Official Language Minority Communities

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To better understand the role of the arts and culture in official language minority communities (OLMCs), it is important to have some idea of the major factors that affect OLMCs and how the artistic component is evolving within these communities. The following provides a general overview of the situation.

A. THE ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL MILIEU IN FRANCOPHONE MINORITY COMMUNITIES

The situation in which Francophone artists and arts and culture service organizations find themselves is difficult to describe. Generalizations should be avoided because each region has its own character and presents its own challenges for artists and arts groups. In addition, there are considerable differences between one art form and another and one cultural industry and the next.

A number of arts and culture service organizations provide effective representation for Francophone minority artists and have begun to wield considerable influence, at both the national and the provincial levels. The Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF), the Table des organismes nationaux des arts et de la culture and the Table des organismes culturels have mobilized in a remarkably short period of time and have made impressive strides in bringing disparate groups together, inspiring them to work toward a common cause. They have given artists and organizations a chance to speak to the federal government. In addition to articulating the issues clearly, they have lent coherence to the dialogue and bolstered their arguments with hard data.

The FCCF has shown particularly strong leadership through its annual reports, commissioned research and periodic meetings with executives from government departments and agencies. It has also worked tirelessly to marshal the arguments and advance the interests of OLMC artists through horizontal mechanisms, such as the Multipartite Cooperation Agreement on Culture, the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie and coordinated initiatives with the seven national organizations and 13 provincial and territorial associations that support Francophone minority culture.

In spite of the positive effects of legislative amendments and attitudinal changes, recent consultations across the country revealed that Francophone minority communities are still feeling fragile, and this vulnerability affects the artistic community.⁵ Factors such as demographic decline (declining numbers in the Francophonie as a whole and in many communities), weak cultural infrastructure (lack of dedicated facilities for the arts) and the limited capacity of arts organizations (lack of human and financial resources and development opportunities) have a major impact on Francophone communities across Canada and on the artists that work in them.

B. THE ANGLOPHONE ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL COMMUNITY IN QUEBEC

The Anglophone artistic community in Quebec is not well known because an association to defend its interests was only recently formed. Anglophone artists in Quebec from all disciplines met for the first time in November 2004 for the Quebec Arts Summit. This historic meeting led to the creation of the English-Language Arts Network (ELAN), which brings together 800 Anglophone artists in Quebec. Surveys were conducted to learn about the needs of artists in various disciplines,⁶ but knowledge of this community remains limited. Systematic research has still not been conducted on the characteristics and needs of artists in other disciplines, nor specific issues faced by Anglophone artists in Quebec as a whole.

According to the people who were interviewed, a lack of knowledge about this community can also be explained by the fact that Anglophone artists in Quebec tend to find common cause with other artists, not with the linguistic minority to which they belong. Many of their struggles are those of all artists. Many of them are completely bilingual and interact with their Francophone colleagues. They are in Quebec because they want to be there and feel a sense of belonging to an arts scene that many consider to be the most dynamic in the country. Events intended for the general public in Montréal often showcase works by Anglophone artists from Quebec alongside those by Francophone artists. In addition, Anglophones are well represented in the cultural industries, where many play leading roles.

The Anglophone cultural communities have benefited from favourable circumstances, including increased financial support by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ). The Quebec government has shown that it is aware of the need to support this community and other cultural communities, despite the fact that artists who submit applications in English may be at a disadvantage when jury members are not bilingual. If the demographic weight of non-Francophones (Anglophones and allophones) is taken into account, CALQ grants them more funds proportionately than Francophones. Thus, Quebec is the province that has best demonstrated its commitment to culture in general, by granting more funding and adopting other support measures.

The community has also benefited from the coordinated lobbying of Francophone organizations and artists from the rest of Canada and the provisions of the Official Languages Act. These two factors led to the federal government’s creation of a set of measures, programs and positive incentives for OLMCs as well as increased federal funding. These contributions made it possible to create new organizations to represent artists, such as the Quebec Drama Federation, the Quebec Writers’ Federation and ELAN, mentioned above.

However, the situation in which Anglophone artists in Quebec find themselves has evolved considerably over the years, as a result of changing demographics. The Anglophone population of Quebec has been in decline since 1976, even though there was a slight increase in the population between 2001 and 2006.⁷ This population decline makes the situation even more difficult for artists in the regions. The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) refers to this as the “hollowing out of the population,” because middle-aged people tend to leave the province and the remaining population is aging. In addition to this decline, there is a growing gap between rich and poor and a higher unemployment rate than in the Francophone majority.⁸

The literature review speaks of the perception that the Anglophone population has diminished influence and will therefore have to adjust its strategy if it wants to maintain a vibrant, healthy community. Regional diversity also plays a role: Anglophone communities outside Montréal form a smaller critical mass and have fewer cultural amenities, which reduces their overall capacity. According to a study the Office of the Commissioner published in 2004:

“It is always difficult to predict the future, and this certainly holds true for Quebec’s English-speaking community. The demographic trends point to communities that are far more mixed, characterized by a growing multiethnic and multiracial community. In addition, there is a significant increase in the mix of English and French among the population. Institutionally, this has meant that schools as well as health and social services, while directing services at the English-speaking community, also must address pluralistic clienteles and reflect the dichotomy between Montréal and the rest of Quebec.⁹”

The challenges posed by developing and maintaining the vitality of English-speaking communities in Quebec are thus becoming more complex. According to the QCGN, the Action Plan for Official Languages has gone some way toward creating programs to build community capacity, but more remains to be done. The Action Plan did not, however, contain particular provisions for sustaining the arts and culture of the Anglophone community, as is the case for the Francophone communities.

Anglophone artists in Quebec sometimes find it difficult to attain the visibility that they deserve, within both Quebec and the rest of Canada. This is especially true for writers, whose works are often not included in events that showcase Quebec or Canadian literature. Moreover, due to the demographic decline in small Anglophone communities, the opportunities to present works by Anglophone playwrights are few.

In its 2005–2010 development plan,¹⁰ the QCGN identified some of the obstacles Anglophone artists in Quebec encounter:

The star system: Quebec Francophones and Canadians in general tend to embrace the star system, but it leaves little room for local artists;
Proportional funding: It remains to be seen whether the funding received by English-speaking Quebec artists, either from CALQ or the Canada Council for the Arts, is fair. Some claim that the Canada Council for the Arts underfunds Quebec artists (Francophone and Anglophone) because they have access to CALQ.¹¹ These organizations and others have the impression that CALQ or other organizations such as the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles underfund the Anglophone community compared with the Francophone community;¹²
Short-term vision: The funding system favours long-term projects, which creates difficulties for emerging artists;
Free trade: Artists are very worried that works of art may be considered simple commodities, like consumer products;
Increasing sense of isolation: Many Quebec Anglophone artists are spread out across the province, and as a result, many of them feel isolated and are not sufficiently in contact with the artistic community;
Lack of resources in the regions: There are often no facilities or human resources in remote areas. Many artists are not aware that sources of funding exist;
Lack of support in the education system: Schools should be places where children become familiar with the arts and develop a sense of their own cultural identity compared with other cultures. However, the education system does not completely fulfill its responsibilities in this area;
Absence of a collective voice for Anglophone artists:
Fortunately, the creation of ELAN in 2004 filled this need.

In response to these challenges, ELAN developed seven strategies, which are part of its 2005–2010 development plan:

Bring the English-language arts community together;
Conduct research to better understand the artistic community and become familiar with the best practices of Francophone organizations;
Facilitate dialogue on identity so it can be identified and celebrated;
Engage in lobbying activities in order to obtain support for artists;
Build links with education partners;
Promote the arts and culture in rural and remote regions;
Create links with the Francophone community.

In the summer of 2007, the Greater Montreal Community Development Initiative (made up of representatives from various Anglophone groups in metropolitan Montréal) published a report in which it described artistic and cultural objectives for Montréal’s Anglophone community.¹³ According to the report, “These communities’ cultural resources are exceedingly well positioned to project a contemporary image of being English in Montréal—as characterized by high levels of bilingualism, cultural and artistic diversity and integration in Quebec society.”¹⁴ The group recommended a series of measures to consolidate the unique place held by the Anglophone artists of Montréal in Canada’s artistic life. It called for the creation of a working group on cultural resources, which would be responsible for developing an action plan to promote Montréal’s Anglophone cultural resources at the national and international levels.

According to the sources that were consulted, Anglophone artists in Quebec increasingly view themselves as a community and are looking for ways to articulate a strategy to meet their common needs—not because they want to segregate themselves, but because they want to reinforce the bridges that have already been built, bring attention to their accomplishments and make themselves known in Quebec’s vibrant artistic community. ELAN’s program is ambitious, but essential for the vitality not only of the artistic community, but also of Quebec’s Anglophone community in general. In fact, the QCGN resolved in 2007 that it was through the development of the arts and culture that the Anglophone community would best be able to transcend its present malaise.

Notes

⁵ Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie, Canadian Francophonie: Issues, Challenges and Future Directions, October 2006. On-line version (http://www.scics.gc.ca/cinfo06/830898005_e.pdf) consulted January 8, 2007.

⁶ In 2003, Canadian Heritage commissioned a survey on the needs of film and television producers (see Kirwan Cox, Draft Survey of English-Speaking Producers in Quebec, September 2003). In 2007, ELAN conducted a survey of visual artists and published the results in the document Report on ELAN Visual Arts Survey.

⁷ Statistics Canada, The Evolving Linguistic Portrait, 2006 Census, Department of Industry, Ottawa, December 2007.

⁸ Quebec Community Groups Network, Taking Stock: A Mid-Term Review of the Government of Canada’s Official Languages Action Plan in Quebec, July 2005. On-line version consulted January 8, 2007.

⁹ Jack Jedwab, Going Forward: The Evolution of Quebec’s English-Speaking Community, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, November 2004. On-line version (http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/SF31-71-2004E.pdf) consulted January 8, 2007.

¹⁰ Quebec Community Groups Network, Community Development Plan for the English-Speaking Communities of Quebec 2005–2010, 2005.

¹¹ Ibid, p.36.

¹² Kirwan Cox, Draft Survey of English-Speaking Producers in Quebec, September 2003.

¹³ Greater Montreal Community Development Initiative, Building upon Change and Diversity within the English-speaking Communities of the Greater Montreal Region: Pursuing Shared Development Goals and Strategies, Summer 2007.

¹⁴ Ibid, p. 15.

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