In June 2012, at the height of the Maple Spring demonstrations, ten or so individuals wearing identical t-shirts sat down on the edge of the sidewalk in front of Brasserie T! at Place des festivals to eat sandwiches. When they were asked by technicians from \u00c9quipe Spectra^{1<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 1 <\/a> - \u00c9quipe Spectra is one of the major players in terms of cultural production in Montr\u00e9al, as it is responsible for three festivals (Jazz, FrancoFolies, and Montr\u00e9al en lumi\u00e8re) and the owner of the concert venues M\u00e9tropolis, L\u2019Astral, and House of Jazz. Its vice-president, Andr\u00e9 M\u00e9nard, sits on the board of directors of Quartier des spectacles.<\/span> to explain their presence, one of them handed over a card on which was written: \u201cUsing public space is a privilege and not a right.\u201d ^{2<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 2 <\/a> - The sentence is taken from the Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles website (our translation).<\/span> A series of tense telephone calls between \u00c9quipe Spectra and the administration of Quartier des spectacles ensued, finally reaching DARE-DARE, which was coordinating the performance: the administration ordered it to immediately stop these \u201cpolitical\u201d acts. With Anne-Marie Ouellet\u2019s Secondes zones<\/em> project,^{3<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 3 <\/a> - Anne-Marie Ouellet, Secondes zones<\/em>, an intervention project hosted by DARE-DARE from May 18 to June 27, 2012. Project website: http:\/\/secondeszones.blogspot.ca\/<\/span> the relationship between DARE-DARE and its new host, Quartier des spectacles, began in an atmo\u00adsphere fraught with suspicion.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Even though these relations have since returned to normal, they nevertheless shed light on the growing tensions among stakeholders, for whom culture represents an economic mainspring, and artists, for whom profit is not the primary objective\u200a\u2014\u200aand, between the two, the orga\u00adnizations that are trying to preserve their assets amidst the storm clouds brewing over cultural policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$
Martine Viale<\/strong>
ma intervalles (actions infiltrantes)<\/em>, parterre, vitrine \u00e9v\u00e9nementielle, Quartier des spectacles\u2009;
banc rouge, Place des arts, Montr\u00e9al, 2013.
Photos : Genevi\u00e8ve Mass\u00e9 \u00a9 DARE-DARE, permission de L’artiste | courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
DARE-DARE In An Urban Power Zone<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Since 2004, artist-run centre DARE-DARE has been nomadic, a fact that inspired its growing\u200a\u2014\u200aand now exclusive\u200a\u2014\u200ainterest in art practices in public spaces. Based in a mobile trailer, the organization moves from one neighbourhood to another, following offers from the Ville de Montr\u00e9al and the wishes of its members. Since March 2012, the DARE-DARE trailer has been located on the vacant lot surrounding the Saint-Laurent metro station, under the auspices of the Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles, which manages the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The choice of Quartier des spectacles, a large district devoted to a culture of spectacular light and sound performances, may seem surprising for a centre usually interested in less ostentatious practices. And yet, for DARE-DARE, it was precisely a question of defying expectations. As Martin Dufrasne, coordinator of the centre since 2010, explained, the members wanted to get away from marginal spaces\u200a\u2014\u200athe usual playground for artists\u200a\u2014\u200ato draw closer to the centres of power.^{4<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 4 <\/a> - Interview with Martin Dufrasne, March 21, 2014, Montr\u00e9al (our translation).<\/span> Conversely, the Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles, at the time, seemed interested in preserving less conventional creative forces in its environs\u200a\u2014\u200aan interest that, in retrospect, seems to have been based on ignorance. \u201cOn their part, there was an understanding that we would perhaps organize activities,\u201d ^{5<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 5 <\/a> - Interview with Genevi\u00e8ve Mass\u00e9, March 23, 2014, Montr\u00e9al (our translation. <\/span> notes Genevi\u00e8ve Mass\u00e9, co-coordinator, with Dufrasne, of DARE-DARE. The few meetings held prior to the arrival of the centre in its new location were not enough to dispel any mutual misconceptions: it took the reality of an initial project to test the limits of this nascent cohabitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondes zones<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWith Secondes zones<\/em>, Ouellet wished to deepen her exploration of public space and how it is used\u200a\u2014\u200aa theme central to her practice. The relocation of DARE-DARE, which was assisting her with her project, to Quartier des spectacles sparked her interest in the specific characteristics of this still-new site. Consequently, she put together a group of volunteers who were responsible for choosing and performing a series of actions in and around Place des festivals.^{6<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 6 <\/a> - Place des festivals is part of Quartier des spectacles, situated west of the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019art contemporain, between Pr\u00e9sident-Kennedy, Sainte-Catherine, Jeanne-Mance, and Bleury Streets.<\/span> For the occasion, all of them wore t-shirts bearing an ambiguous symbol that discreetly identified them. The actions that they performed played on the ambiguity between the banality of their gestures (standing up, sitting down, approaching a group, facing or turning away from a stage) and the spectacular\u200a\u2014\u200aor worrying\u200a\u2014\u200aeffect that these gestures might have when performed by a group. In Ouellet\u2019s view, it was a question of \u201cseeing how these actions were perceived by the public in a space already devoted to entertainment.\u201d ^{7<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 7 <\/a> - Interview with Anne-Marie Ouellet, March 16, 2014, Montr\u00e9al (our translation). <\/span> It was also a matter of testing the limits of what is authorized in this space where everything seems primed for controlling use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first day of actions went smoothly in the calm atmosphere of an uncrowded Place des festivals. The ten participants in the project moved around as planned, all together and in subgroups, coming together on the stairs in choir formation before returning to the DARE-DARE trailer. Meanwhile, on this seemingly insignificant day, May 18, the National Assembly of Qu\u00e9bec was in the process of adopting the controversial Bill 78 (which, ironically, in its original draft, restricted gatherings of ten or more people). The political context, which placed Quartier des spectacles at the centre of relentless demonstrations, undoubtedly made the admi\u00adnistration more apprehensive about unidentified activities, especially those involving groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Anne-Marie Ouellet
<\/strong>Secondes zones,<\/em> Place des festivals, Quartier des spectacles, Montr\u00e9al, 2012.
Photos : Genevi\u00e8ve Mass\u00e9 \u00a9 DARE-DARE, permission de L’artiste | courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The second action took place two weeks later. The participants chose to reproduce the lunchtime routine of workers who use this outdoor space, but without respecting the zones set aside for this purpose. Having sat down on the edge of the sidewalk in front of Brasserie T! to eat sandwiches, they were reminded by a waiter that \u201cthere are places for that.\u201d Obediently, the group got up to sit down farther along the closed-off street. Later, before the group separated, each member lay down between the lines of switched-off fountains. Even though these actions were no more or less threatening than those undertaken in the first intervention, they were performed while the stages were being set up for the launch of the FrancoFolies festival, which occupies Place des Festivals for several weeks and is organized by \u00c9quipe Spectra. The team\u2019s technicians made calls, more alarmed than reassured by the cards bearing the message \u201cUsing public space is a privilege and not a right\u201d that were offered to them by the performers. On their return to the trailer, Ouellet and Mass\u00e9, who were coordinating the project, discovered anxious messages on the centre\u2019s voicemail. In one of them, the programmer for Quartier des spectacles ordered DARE-DARE to inform it in advance of any activity to be performed and to immediately stop distributing cards. The centre agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Design and Lighting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Quartier des spectacles encompasses three of Montr\u00e9al\u2019s urban \u201chubs\u201d: Place des arts, Quartier Latin, and the intersection of Saint-Laurent and Sainte-Catherine Streets. Since 2009, it has been administered by the Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles, an autonomous body created by the city under the leadership of the ADISQ and the city\u2019s major festivals. Apart from promoting the Quartier as a tourist destination, the Partenariat\u2019s mandate is to see to the \u201canimation of the area, the management of public spaces, and the enrichment of general cultural offerings.\u201d ^{8<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 8 <\/a> - Le Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles<\/em>, 2014, http:\/\/www.quartierdesspectacles.com\/fr\/a-propos\/partenariat-du-qds (our translation).<\/span> Serving on its board of directors are mainly large-scale cultural organizations and businesses, with only one representative for the neighbourhood\u2019s residents and no representation for the local community.^{9<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 9 <\/a> - Ibid.<\/span> Reflecting only the most visible and lucrative extremes of the cultural spectrum, the Partenariat promotes an extremely specific vision of culture, reduced to the role of economic lever and tool for urban renewal.^{10<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 10 <\/a> - For more on this subject, see Laurence Li\u00e9geois, \u201cEspace labyrinthique et contrainte: Quelles strat\u00e9gies d\u2019am\u00e9nagement pour les espaces publics? \u201d G\u00e9ographie et cultures <\/em>70 (2009), http:\/\/gc.revues.org\/2290 (accessed June 24, 2014).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this perspective, the type of culture promoted in Quartier des spectacles welcomes diversity, spontaneity, and incongruity only if it does not interfere with the area\u2019s principal objectives of social harmonization and branding. Although the theme of creativity features prominently in the Partenariat\u2019s discourse, in reality its projects to date have focused on a narrow range of cultural segments. The illuminated signage and projections flooding the building fa\u00e7ades, and the interactive installations such as the swings on Pr\u00e9sident-Kennedy Avenue and M\u00e9gaphone <\/em>on Promenade des Artistes cannot hide the absence of a true artistic presence, falling short of the organization\u2019s creative aspirations. Spectacular, seductive, consensual, and always in its place<\/em>, the \u201cculture\u201d of Quartier des spectacles is distinguished above all by the fact that it is predictable, clearly identified, and mediatized enough to provoke neither anxiety nor questioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure>\n\n\n\n $\"\"$
Sheena Hoszko
<\/strong>Red Light Monument: Floor area of caf\u00e9 cl\u00e9op\u00e2tre stages (500 square feet),
<\/em>vue d’installation | installation view, esplanade du m\u00e9tro St-Laurent, Montr\u00e9al, 2012.
Photos : Genevi\u00e8ve Mass\u00e9 \u00a9 DARE-DARE, permission de L’artiste | courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Current Trends In Cultural Politics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Isn\u2019t Quartier des spectacles just another place, among many, that we can choose to avoid? Can\u2019t we just leave it to indulge in its latest whims? Even for participants who, like DARE-DARE, choose to get involved with rather than avoid the district, the consequences, in reality, seem very limited. Following the Secondes zones <\/em>incident, the compromises that the Partenariat expected of DARE-DARE proved similar to the essentially logistical constraints that the centre had had to come to terms with at its previous locations. And yet, unlike the borough councils with which DARE-DARE had to negotiate in the past, the Partenariat is a major player on the Montr\u00e9al, Qu\u00e9bec, and even Canadian cultural scenes, and its approach\u200a\u2014\u200adespite its efforts to be discreet\u200a\u2014\u200areflects the overarching trends in current cultural policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attention that the Partenariat pays to the growth of (carefully planned) interactions between art and public and to the creation of links between art and industry (digital technologies, in particular) is closely aligned with the directions recently taken by various arts councils.^{11<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 11 <\/a> - These directions result from the encounter between two forces with which arts councils have to come to terms: on the one hand, the artists and organizations they support; on the other hand, the governments that determine their budget. In the absence of political mobilization and cohesion among artists and arts organizations, can one really expect that government concerns not play an increasing role in the choice of cultural policies? <\/span> The Partenariat distinguishes itself, perhaps, in the frankness with which it states the intentions underlying its choices: to secure financing for the arts with immediate, easily quantifiable economic spin-offs (tourism, business) and social benefits (urban renewal, social harmony)\u200a\u2014\u200aaspects that are already apparent in the Conseil des arts de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s arts and business program, in the Marois government\u2019s decision to invest in a new digital culture strategy (Strat\u00e9gie culturelle num\u00e9rique du Qu\u00e9bec) rather than adjusting the budget of the Conseil des arts et des lettres,^{12<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 12 <\/a> - The budget tabled in February 2014 by Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s Minister of Finance, Nicolas Marceau, anticipated the injection of $150 million over seven years in the new strategy, while the government abandoned its promise to increase the CALQ\u2019s budget by $13 million. <\/span> and in a recent speech made by Joseph Rotman, chair of the Canada Council for the Arts: \u201cArtists and arts organizations\u2009.\u2009.\u2009. need to move to the intersection of the arts and the economy, the arts and innovation, and the arts and healthcare, education and social policy\u200a\u2014\u200aand offer a way to re-imagine Canada\u2019s future as an international leader of the creative economy.\u201d ^{13<\/sup><\/a><\/span>} 13 <\/a> - Investing in Creativity: A National Priority<\/em>. Speech by Joseph Rotman, Chair, Canada Council for the Arts, to the Montr\u00e9al Council on Foreign Relations, November 13, 2013. Full text: http:\/\/conseildesarts.ca\/en\/council\/news-room\/news\/2013\/joseph-l-rotman-investing-in-creativity-a-national-priority.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Question of Satisfaction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
According to Dufrasne, the direction taken by DARE-DARE has been received very positively by its sponsors. This level of satisfaction lies, for the most part, in the quality and originality of the centre\u2019s work, but Dufrasne does not deny the fact that the new location and the visibility that it brings have played a role. In the name of good governance, arts councils must demonstrate the effectiveness of their policies, and numbers seem to be the most popular way of doing so. Profitability is no longer measured in dollars alone but also in terms of crowd numbers\u200a\u2014\u200aan indicator of user satisfaction. The context that sees DARE-DARE\u200a\u2014\u200ahaving successfully negotiated its rightful place in the cultural economy\u200a\u2014\u200areceiving critical praise from its sponsors raises an important question: Who among us, organizations and artists, does not receive such praise?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Translated from the French by Louise Ashcroft]<\/p>\n
Edith Brunette<\/div>
Edith Brunette<\/div>
Edith Brunette<\/div>
Edith Brunette<\/div>
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