The leader of Projet Montréal, Valérie Plante, has unveiled a series of concrete actions that will kickstart the revival of the Montreal cultural scene and allow it to regain the vibrancy that characterized it before the COVID-19 pandemic.
These significant measures will be implemented quickly in the second mandate of a Projet Montréal administration, because the revival of Montréal also requires the revival of the cultural milieu. The cultural sector has been particularly shaken by the health crisis. Projet Montréal is committed to supporting the organizations that make up this sector and to ensuring that Montreal retains its status as a cultural metropolis. Valérie Plante's team is committed to :
1. Offering financial support of $1 million per year to small private arts venues and neighbourhood cinemas to promote their visibility and encourage their sustainability and revival;
2. Subsidize the soundproofing of alternative music venues in order to preserve the vitality of Montreal's music scene, while ensuring better cohabitation with residents;
3. Double the budgets dedicated to murals in order to increase the number of art projects in the public space and ensure their maintenance;
4. Set aside $12 million for the Maison de la chanson francophone project in the Saint-Sulpice Library;
5. Providing essential storage space for events in the Quartier des spectacles, in particular with the development of the backstage area of the Quartier des spectacles;
6. Support the development of a creation and production space for English-language theatre companies by renovating the former Fire Station #14, a historic building inaugurated in 1913 on Saint-Dominique Street, which has been vacant since 2015;
7. Protect and support the creation of new artists' studios. Projet Montréal will collaborate with Non-Profit organizations to set up promising new projects.
Quotes
"Our measures for the cultural milieu will allow small theatres, independent cinemas, public art, innovative cultural companies, and artists and artisans to recover from the pandemic and continue to enrich the daily lives of Montrealers, for today and for tomorrow. Culture is part of Montreal's identity and contributes directly to the vibrancy of our city, its influence and its economy. Projet Montréal will continue to work tirelessly to support the revival of the cultural sector in Montreal, to allow it to regain its vitality and to provide our creators with affordable artist studios." - Valérie Plante
"Culture is a tremendous lever for social and economic development and is an integral part of Montreal's recovery. Our plan will allow this key sector to recover and attract culture lovers and tourists back to our streets, our neighbourhoods, our museums, our cinemas and our theatres. Montreal is fortunate to have an extremely diverse and vibrant cultural scene." - Magda Popeanu, candidate for City Councillor in the Côte-des-Neiges district
