Guy Rodgers with Board Members Bettina Forget and Kristelle Holliday presenting at ELAN’s 14th AGM.
Photo by: Nasuna Stuart-Ulin
It was a pleasure to see so many of you at ELAN’s 14th Annual General Meeting on August 27th. For those who could not attend, the full AGM package of activity reports, financial statements, budgets and bios is available here. I want to thank outgoing board members Khosro Berahmandi, Amy Blackmore, Farah Fancy, Warona Setshwaelo, Dan Webster, and two board members who served ELAN with dedication and enthusiasm for the maximum period of six years: Rob Lutes, and Vice-President Valerie Buddle. ELAN is an artist-driven network and our community is extremely well served by passionate, knowledgeable directors who contribute a wealth of knowledge. I look forward to working with the newly elected board members, as well as returning board members.
ELAN is now embarking on its 15th year and much has changed since 2004. Many of the historical obstacles faced by English-speaking artists in Quebec, important at the time of ELAN’s creation, have decreased as ideas about diversity and inclusion have gained prominence. But as we observed during last year’s consultations for Quebec’s new Cultural Policy, there is still a malaise in some quarters about fully recognizing the value of English-language artists and their contribution to Quebec’s cultural life. The creation of a new Secretariat for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers (SRESQ) last fall signaled that the government of Quebec is committed to identifying and eliminating barriers, real and received.
On August 13th, the SRESQ announced funding for four major long-term projects. The arts and culture project is called Un Nouvel Élan Pour les Artistes Anglophones du Québec (A New Momentum for Québec’s English-Speaking Artists). This three-year project will enable us to identify sources of funding within all culture-related provincial agencies (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Société de development des enterprises culturelles) and Ministries (Culture and Communications, Education), as well as funding for infrastructure, employment and training, and economic development. Over the next three years, we will work to connect community needs with government resources, and provide community members assistance to write applications. In addition, we will seek to create a working group of artists and senior government officials to continually identify new needs and opportunities. This project has the potential to change the dynamic for Québec’s English-speaking artists in ways that were unimaginable a few years ago. We’ll keep you posted on progress.
Executive Director
Guy Rodgers
Looking for grant writing help? Check out ELAN’S grant writing resources and notes from our CALQ information session!
Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ)
Funding for individuals:
- Acquisition and Marketing – Rolling
- Commissioned Works – Rolling
- Commissioned Works & Residences – Rolling
- Literary shows or storytelling and hypermedia literary works – Rolling
- Professional Development – Rolling
- Promotion – Rolling
- Research & Creation – Rolling
- Research, Creation & Exploration — Rolling
- Travel – Rolling
- Specific Programming Support (Description in FR only) – Rolling
SODEC (Info in FR only)
SODEC provides funding primarly to organizations. Please check your discipline for specific deadlines.
Canada Council for the Arts
Creating, Knowing and Sharing: The Arts and Cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples components
- Travel – Rolling
- Small-Scale Activities – Rolling
- Short-Term Projects – SEPTEMBER 21, 2018; DECEMBER 12, 2018
Supporting Artistic Practice components
- Professional Development for Arts Professionals – Rolling
- Literary Publishing Projects – OCTOBER 17, 2018
Arts Across Canada components
- Travel – Rolling
- Representation and Promotion – Rolling
Arts Abroad components
- Travel – Rolling
- Representation and Promotion – Rolling
- Translation – Rolling
- Circulation and Touring – SEPTEMBER 5, 2018; DECEMBER 12, 2018
- Residencies – Rolling
Frankfurt 2020 (purchasing translation rights and publishing in Germany)
- Translation – anytime translation is completed
Strategic Funds
- Access Support funds individual applicants who are Deaf, have disabilities or who are living with mental illness, as well as Deaf and disability arts groups and organizations. – within 90 days of submitting your associated grant
- Market Access Strategy for Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC) Fund – rolling
- Media Arts Equipment Acquisition Fund – NOVEMBER 7, 2018
Conseil des arts de Montréal
General Funding Programs
- Festivals and Events – SEPTEMBER 15, 2018
- Creation and Production – SEPTEMBER 15, 2018
- Professional and associations, groups and service organizations (visual arts) – SEPTEMBER 15, 2018
- Specialized presenter (film & video) – SEPTEMBER 15, 2018
Cultural Exchanges and Special Projects (for organizations receiving operating grants only)
Fiscal Sponsorship
- Fiscal sponsorship (all disciplines) – rolling
Dance
- Conseil des arts de Montréal along with Prix de la danse de Montréal is seeking applicants for their annual prize, the Envol Award, which celebrates inclusion in the arts. Submissions are open to choreopgraphers, performers, costume or set designers / lighting directors, cultural workers, artists’ collectives, organizations, and more. Deadline is OCTOBER 1, 2018. Click here for details.
Film & Media
- fliQs queer film night is seeking submissions for short videos, films, animations, and experimental videos. Deadline is SEPTEMBER 9, 2018. Click here for details.
Literature / Writing
- VOLUME 1 MTL : ART AND THE BOOK, launches its first edition from OCTOBER 15 – 21, 2018, featuring Montreal’s first annual art book fair on OCTOBER 20 – 21, 2018 at the SAT, 1201 St-Laurent. Artists and publishers can apply for a table online. This is an opportunity to make sales, promote yourself, as well as network and discover other publishers and artists. Deadline is SEPTEMBER 13, 2018. For more information, email info@volumemtl.art. Click here for details.
- Art/iculation is seeking submissions on “The Art of Healing.” Stories, illustrations, personal essays, poetry, photography, and / or other creative practices that helped your or others through difficult times. Deadline is SEPTEMBER 15, 2018. Click here for details.
- 100 Thousand Poets 4 Change Blues Festival is seeking submissions for their open mic poetry event. Sign up and submit your performance by emailing: 100TPCMONTREAL@gmail.com. Event will take place on SEPTEMBER 28, 2018. Click here for event details.
- VALLUM Contemporary Poetry is seeking submissions for Vallum 16:1 on the theme of Connections. Send in your best work. Deadline is NOVEMBER 15, 2018. Click here for details.
Music
- Adleisia Women’s Choir is looking for new singers. Auditions are taking place on SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 from 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM at Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal. Contact adleisia@gmail.com for more information and to book an audition. Click here to learn more about Adleisia Women’s Choir.
Theatre
- Infinithéâtre’s annual play-writing competition Write-on-Q! is seeking submissions from Indigenous playwrights from across Canada and local playwrights based in Québec. Deadline is SEPTEMBER 4, 2018. Click here for details.
- National Theatre School of Canada is seeking applicants for Artistic Leadership Residencies. Deadline is SEPTEMBER 11, 2018. Click here for details.
Visual Arts
- Journeys Through Health is an annual community-based visual arts exhibition offering a space of reflection for all who are touched by illness. The exhibition will be displayed at the Montreal General Hospital. Artists are invited to submit their artworks exploring the transformative potential of illness and healing. Deadline is SEPTEMBER 10, 2018. Click here for details.
- The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, with the support of Conseil des arts de Montréal is seeking candidates for an upcoming artist residency: Impressions. The residency will span 8 weeks from JANUARY – MARCH, 2019. Deadline is OCTOBER 9, 2018. Click here for details.
- Diagonale is accepting open submissions from artists and curators. Deadline is OCTOBER 15, 2018. Click here for details.
- 2018 Annual Accenti Photo Competition is seeking submissions on the theme: “Capture an Italian Moment.” Top prize is $1000.00 and publication. Deadline is NOVEMBER 1, 2018. Click here for details.
- Blank Gallery is a platform to connect artists with local venues that offer wall space. Browse their roster of local venues that offer wall space, and match with a venue to showcase your work. There is not deadline. Click here for details.
- MCLL (McGill Community for Lifelong Learning) is seeking art submissions. The MCLL hosts art exhibits each session – fall, winter, and spring. Art work must be able to be hung on the wall. Exhibit will take place from 5 – 10 weeks at the McGill Continuing Education Building. Contact Jackie Cytrynbaum for information by email: jackiecytrynbaum@gmail.com or by phone: 514-487-4956. Deadline is not listed.
Artisan / Crafts
- École d’ébénisterie d’art de Montréal is offering a Woodworking Workshop: Introduction to cabinetmaking power-tools. Discover the main tools used in a cabinetmaker’s workshop: table saw, jointer, planer, band saw, press-drill, and mitre saw. This course will be taking place on SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 from 6 PM – 10 PM and SEPTEMBER 29, 2018 from 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM. Deadline to register: SEPTEMBER 20, 2018. Click here for details.
- École d’ébénisterie d’art de Montréal is offering a Woodworking Workshop: Introduction to traditional cabinet making. Explore the basics of traditional cabinet making by creating a small chest. Learn about back saws, wood chisels through tenons and dovetails. This course will be taking place on NOVEMBER 15, 22, and 29, 2018 from 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM. Deadline to register: NOVEMBER 8, 2018. Click here for details.
Literature / Writing
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents True Tales: The Art of Personal Storytelling with Nisha Coleman and Taylor Tower on OCTOBER 1 – NOVEMBER 20, 2018. Click here for details.
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents How Does a Pear Taste? Writing About Food Using Your Senses with Susan Semenak on OCTOBER 2 – NOVEMBER 20, 2018. Click here for details.
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents Contemplating the Poetic: Responsibility, Hatred, and Meaning with Shannon Webb Campbell on OCTOBER 2 – NOVEMBER 20, 2018. Click here for details.
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents Crime Fiction: The Eclectic Platform with Peter Kirby on OCTOBER 3 – NOVEMBER 28, 2018. Click here for details.
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents Crafting Stories with Style and Substance: A Short Fiction Master Class with Dimitri Nasrallah on OCTOBER 3 – NOVEMBER 28, 2018. Click here for details.
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents Why Small is Big: Approaching Literary Magazines with Susan Scott on OCTOBER 13, 2018. Click here for details.
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents Writing from a Defining Moment: A Sensory Approach to Creative Writing with Oonya Kempadoo on OCTOBER 20, 2018. Click here for details.
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents Break into Freelance Lifestyle Writing: A Guide for the Digital Age with Lindsay Burgess on OCTOBER 27, 2018. Click here for details.
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents Science Fiction and Fantasy Characters with Jo Walton on NOVEMBER 10, 2018. Click here for details.
- Quebec Writers’ Federation presents Jump-Start Your Prose: How to Think Critically About Your Writing and Making it Shine with Cora Siré on NOVEMBER 17, 2018. Click here for details.
Multidisciplinary / Interdisciplinary / General
- The Space Between: Embodying Relationship in Performance with Gabriela Petrov and Daphne Lorian is a workshop for artists who want to investigate and awaken an embodied awareness of relationship to themselves, to others, and to the spaces they inhabit using somatic and improvisational practices and compassionate communication. SEPTEMBER 8, 9, 2018 from 12:30 PM – 5:30 PM at the MAI. Click here for details.
- YES Montreal presents Jump-Start Your Art & Financing Options (also available online). Learn how to make money through your art. After the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to have a 15 minutes 1-on-1 session with a YES Artist Coach. SEPTEMBER 10, OCTOBER 1, OCTOBER 22, NOVEMBER 12, AND DECEMBER 3, 2018, 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM. This workshop is free, however handouts are $2.00. Click here for details.
- YES Montreal presents French for Job Seekers. Improve your French-language skills and gain confidence! Price is $75.00. WEDNESDAYS and FRIDAYS at 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM. Click here for details.
- YES Montreal presents Quickbooks 101: Understanding the Basics. Price is $20.00. SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM. Click here for details.
- École d’art Pointe St-Charles Art School is offering a Mandala and Yoga Workshop – combining yoga with art therapy, led by Yoga Instructor Kat Teller and Art Therapist Catherine Wells. SEPTEMBER 23, 2018. Click here for details.
Music
- YES Montreal presents How to Release Music Independently with NJ Taylor (also available online). Learn how to successfully launch your next music project and how to find publicists, radio trackers, and social media managers. Price is $20.00. SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM. Click here for details.
Theatre
- MTL Acting Classes for Children & Teens 2018-19 Program with Julia Ainsworth offered on Saturdays 10:30 AM – 12 PM starting SEPTEMBER 15, 2018 at 6889 Blvd. St Laurent for children. Classes for teenagers run Thursday 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM starting SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 at 1208 avenue Van Horne. Click here for details.
Visual Arts
- Centre Culturel Georges Vanier is offering Modèle vivant, pose longue (live model, long poses) courses on SEPTEMBER 4 to DECEMBER 11, 2018. Price is $15.00 for 4 hours. Click here for details. Please note that details are only available in French.
- Centre Culturel Georges Vanier is offering Portrait painting courses from SEPTEMBER 17 to DECEMBER 10, 2018. Price is $5.00 for 3 hours. Click here for details. Please note that details are only available in French.
- Centre Culturel Georges Vanier presents: Dessin académique, pastel sex ou portrait – with Céline Bélec on SEPTEMBER 18 to DECEMBER 4, 2018. Price is $240.30 for all 12 courses. Click here for details. Please note that details are only available in French.
- Centre Culturel Georges Vanier presents: Peinture à l’huile académique ou pastel sec – with Céline Bélec on SEPTEMBER 20 to DECEMBER 6, 2018. Price is $166.71 for all six courses. Click here for details. Please note that details are only available in French.
- Centre Culturel Georges Vanier presents: Trouvez votre langage pictural – Peinture acrylique – with Anne-Laure Bixquert on SEPTEMBER 24 to NOVEMBER 5, 2018. Price is $166.71 for all six courses. Click here for details. Please note that details are only available in French.
- Atelier de Brésoles is offering a landscape oil painting workshop with Allana Benham at Mt. Rigaud on SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 from 10 AM – 4:30 PM (rain date: SEPTEMBER 28, 2018). Price is $125.00 (taxes included). Click here for details.
- Centre Culturel Georges Vanier is presents: Exploration artistique et impression textile for children ages 4 – 8 years old (parents present) with Anne-Laure Bixquert on SEPTEMBER 29, 2018 from 10 AM – 12:30 PM. Price is $35.00. Click here for details. Please note that details are only available in French.
- Centre Culturel Georges Vanier presents: Initiation à la création de motifs et sérigraphie for children ages 8 – 12 years old with Anne-Laure Bixquert on OCTOBER 13 and 20, 2018 from 10 AM – 12:30 PM. Price for two workshops is $58.00. Click here for details. Please note that details are only available in French.
- Centre Culturel Georges Vanier presents: Initation à la création de motifs et sérigraphie for adults with Anne-Laure Bixquert on OCTOBER 27 and NOVEMBER 3, 2018 from 10 AM to 12:30 PM. Price is $82.78. Click here for details. Please note that details are only available in French.
Dance
- Tangente is hiring an Administrative Assistant. Deadline is SEPTEMBER 8, 2018. Click here for details.
Film/Media
- Wapikoni Mobile is hiring a Youth Outreach Worker for a four-week contract between MAY – OCTOBER, 2019. Click here for details.
- Wapikoni Mobile is hiring Filmmaker Mentors for a four-weekend contract between MAY – OCTOBER, 2019. Click here for details.
Music
- Pop Montreal is hiring a Financial Manager. Deadline is not listed but paid training begins SEPTEMBER 17 – 30, 2018. The position begins officially JANUARY 7, 2019. Click here for details.
Theatre
- Infinithéâtre is hiring a Box Office and Sales Coordinator. Deadline is not listed. Click here for details.
Visual Arts
- La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines is hiring an Administrative Assistant. Deadline is SEPTEMBER 7, 2018. Click here for details. Please note that the job description is only available in French.
neuronervendings by Glenna Tissenbaum
Second Life
By Sufia Duez
After working many years in the legal field, Glenna Tissenbaum took an early retirement and made a life-changing decision. Despite having minimal training and practice in the arts, Tissenbaum embarked on a new adventure that would plunge her into a world of infinite colours, textures, and potential. Overwhelmed by a desire to explore and make art, she acquired books, purchased artist-quality supplies and commenced her schooling in painting and mixed-media techniques.
That was 6 years ago, this is now: Glenna Tissenbaum is a working artist with an impressive collection of abstract paintings and mixed-media pieces that demonstrate an array of skills. The variety of styles that Tissenbaum employs is a reflection of her active curiosity and ambition. Her particular attention to colour and texture is obvious. On discussing colour, she says, “Colour has always been a driving force in my life. There are those who are most comfortable wearing black (maybe grey). I’m most comfortable in red.”
Tissenbaum’s work Quickening is particularly rich in colour and texture. Similar to her other works, Quickening instills a desire to touch every nook and cranny – as if only by touch can one truly “see”. Tissenbaum states, “I hope that when people view my work, the textures at play encourage them to really ‘touch’ the canvas with their eyes. I wish to instill a sense of curiosity as to how the particular texture was achieved.”
Quickening by Glenna Tissenbaum
“Quickening” is a term used to describe the first time a pregnant woman feels fetal movements. On describing this work, Tissenbaum states: “…When I finished the piece, I saw many elements of that life force. An egg waiting to drop, shapes swimming to fertilize an egg, a mushroom representing fertility, and a rising sun in the top left corner. None of this was planned, it simply came into being – as life itself does!”
In contrast to Quickening — which is a positive feast for the eyes, Meeting at the Riverbed is more minimal in appearance at first glance. While the colours used in this piece may be described as “greyish and/or off-white” at most, there are textures at play. In this work, Tissenbaum experiments with Crackle Paste, which gives the illusion of cracked Earth next to a bed of sand, made with various acrylic gels.
Meeting at the Riverbed by Glenna Tissenbaum
But as previously mentioned, Glenna Tissenbaum also favours the expression of mixed media. Her first creative exercise was a mixed-media project entitled: Gall-Liver’s Travails, inspired by the classic Jonathan Swift novel, Gulliver’s Travels. An antique “medical” G.I. Joe-type doll (the giant) lies at the centre of the piece with an assortment of toy soldiers and other small figurines subduing the strange giant. The work is mounted on a turntable to accentuate a world spinning out of order, and to provide viewers with different perspectives.
What’s clear: Glenna Tissenbaum is a dynamic artist whose work will surprise you, just as it sometimes surprises her. She describes the art-making experience similar to being in a trance, a “fugue state.” Only after taking a step back does the art ‘reveal itself.’ She relies on her intuition to tell her when a project is complete. Her parting advice to emerging artists: “Trust your instincts, Love what you do. Don’t allow others to define you. Persist, persist, persist. Don’t be afraid to fail, but learn from it. Never stop dreaming.”
Discover more!
Glenna Tissenbaum’s Official Website
Follow us on our new Instagram account (#elanqc) to see more of Glenna Tissenbaum’s artwork.
A new photo or video will become available everyday from August 21 – August 27, 2018
See Previous Features and Shorts!
Laurence Dea Dionne (Shorts!)
Sharon Smith (Feature)
On August 14, 2018, Kathleen Weil (minister responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers) announced that $6.9 million will be distributed to four organizations over the course of 3 years to increase and fortify connections between English-speaking artists and the government of Quebec. These organizations include: Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN), Literacy Quebec (LQ), Seniors Action Québec (SAQ), and English-Language Arts Network (ELAN).
ELAN will be using this 3-year grant towards a new project entitled:
A New Momentum for Quebec’s English-Speaking Artists.
This community-driven project will aim to:
- Encourage English-language cultural organizations, as well as individual cultural workers and artists to participate fully in social, economic, and cultural life of Quebec.
- Enhance visibility of English-speaking artists and bolster their capacity to collaborate and work in partnership with the Quebec government.
To reach these goals, ELAN will:
- Document arts, culture and heritage funding opportunities.
- Design a comprehensive directory of active ACH (Arts, Culture, and Heritage) organizations, which includes their missions, audiences, and needs.
- Create a resource that matches individual artists (and their needs) and cultural organizations (and their needs) with funding opportunities that are currently available.
- Establish a committee that brings government and ACH community representatives together to brainstorm and initiate projects.
- Develop an Action Plan to make long-term impact using this project as a building block.
In addition to connecting English-language artists to funders and vice-versa, this project will identify new funding sources and help individual artists, as well as arts organizations in our community take full advantage of the support that is available to them.
Breakdown of funds:
Community Health and Social Services Network – $5.7 million
English-Language Arts Network – $400,000
Seniors Action Québec – $400,00
Literacy Quebec – $400,000
Links to Resources :
Press Release from Ministère du Conseil exécutif
CBC – Quebec unveils where $7M earmarked for Anglos will be invested
Global News – Quebec invests nearly $7 million in English-speaking community
Guy Rodgers presenting a Minute Market
Photo by Nasuna Stuart-Ulin
August brings us the second wave of Arts Alive! Québec with simultaneous weekends in Quebec City at the Morrin Centre (August 3 – 4), and in Knowlton (August 3 – 5). ELAN’s partners have programmed an engaging array of performances and hands-on artistic activities for all ages. Click here for full details.
ELAN’s 14th Annual General Meeting plus Schmoozer and Minute Market are coming up on August 27. The AGM is your chance to meet ELAN office staff and project managers, discuss what we have been working on, and get a glimpse of what is planned for the year ahead. It is also a chance to meet the current board of directors and vote in some new members. I hope to see many of you there.
I want to pay tribute here to an old friend, Harry Gulkin, who passed away July 23 at the age of 90. I first met Harry in 1986. He was the new Artistic Director of the Saidye Bronfman Centre, and had programmed an ambitious season of theatre, music, readings and visual arts. I had recently graduated from the National Theatre School’s Playwriting Program and convinced Harry to hire me as General Manager of the freshly renovated theatre. We embarked on a tumultuous season that incurred a significant deficit, and were both out of work when the Saidye Bronfman Centre’s chief benefactor put a stop to additional funding, bringing that particular adventure to a screeching halt.
Fortunately, we both landed on our feet. Harry was immediately hired by SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles), the provincial funding agency film and television, and by a happy coincidence, a film producer I was working with received funding from SODEC to develop my script. When ELAN was created, Harry joined our advisory board to share his vast knowledge and passion for the arts.
The NFB (National Film Board of Canada) documentary, Red Dawn on Main Street, and Bill Brownstein’s tribute in the Montreal Gazette provide some insights into a multi-faceted human being: merchant marine, union activist, retail marketing executive, artistic director, legendary film producer, and tireless champion of Canadian culture. Harry’s impact on Quebec’s cultural scene was immense, and his influence on those who had the privilege to know him was immeasurable.