The COVID-19 pandemic has hit culture hard. Montréal has always revelled in its festivals, special events, artist performances and original exhibitions. This vitality was hampered by the health crisis, but it is still present today. Projet Montréal has set up support programs dedicated to the cultural community in order to help artists enliven the city once again. In a second mandate, Projet Montréal will continue to support the arts, which contribute so much to the quality of life that Montréal offers.
a. Adopt support programs intended for small private artistic venues and neighbourhood cinemas to promote them, help them recover and encourage them to remain for the long term;
b. Continue to support the soundproofing of alternative venues in order to preserve the vitality of the Montréal music scene while ensuring better coexistence with residents;
c. Accelerate current library construction projects as well as the transformation of all libraries into genuine public hubs that will become places of intercultural mediation and integration, in particular through information, integration and training programs, as well as by improving the public services offered there;
d. Ensure the maintenance and development of artists' studios by imposing a moratorium on their conversion for other purposes, by promoting their purchase by cooperatives or non-profits, and by encouraging their twinning with affordable housing;
e. Ensure adequate and accessible funding for artists and organizations representing diversity and Indigenous groups;
f. Mobilize public and private partners in support of the 2030 Montréal Agenda for Quality and Exemplarity in Design and Architecture;
g. Collaborate with government partners and stakeholders in the museum sector to promote the accessibility, development and influence of Montréal museums;
h. Increase the number of art projects in public spaces, in particular by doubling the budgets devoted to murals and extending them all over Montréal;
i. Consolidate the cultural and tourism vocation of the Quartier latin, in particular by supporting the Maison de la chanson francophone project in the Saint-Sulpice library and many other current and future cultural projects;
j. Support the development of the Quartier des spectacles in its leading role in the entertainment and vitality of downtown by consolidating its activities and infrastructure, including implementing the “Coulisses du Quartier des spectacles” project and the parking lot 066 project;
k. Support the establishment of a creation and production space for English-speaking theatre companies in the former fire station no. 14;
l. Support the development of the Cité des arts du cirque and improve its accessibility.