Advocacy is about listening to the community having a seat at the table standing up together showing up
ELAN believes a thriving arts ecosystem is essential to a strong and healthy community. Representing the voices of the English-language arts community to funders, organizations, and various stakeholders is central to our work and all year round, our team is out in the community speaking at events, negotiating important agreements, meeting with federal and provincial arts funders, and getting into discussions with Quebec policy and decision makers.
Ongoing Community Initiatives
Beyond our individual responses to current conditions and political changes that impact our members, ELAN is also dedicated to long-term, community-based advocacy. Through Arts & Culture Dialogue Days, we work with other Quebec organizations to understand and meet the needs of Arts & Culture workers.
March 2026
Banff National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture
Miranda Castravelli, Executive Director of ELAN, joined the Minister of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Innovation Evan Solomon and Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller, and over 300 leaders from the cultural, government, technology, academic, and civil society sectors to shape a the future of culture in the age of artificial intelligence. Miranda spoke passionately in favor of protecting artists’ intellectual property and job security. Read more hereAnnual Dialogue Day
ELAN was joined by members of the English-speaking Arts & Culture workers across Quebec to shar
e challenges faced by our communities, resources, and brainstorm possible solutions.March 2026
February 2026
Valuing Human Creativity in the Age of AI
Miranda Castravelli, and Jon Weisz, (ELAN Board Member Executive Director of Les SMAQ, Founding President at Indie Montréal & franconnexion.info) joined the Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CDCE) in Ottawa to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on the creative industries. The conference aimed to deepen understanding of the challenges associated with the development of AI in the cultural sector and to identify concrete avenues for action to value human creativity in the digital age.
View the Recording and Report on the Event HereMiranda Castravelli Submits Brief Regarding Bill 1
Miranda Castravelli and Nick Maturo from ELAN headed to Quebec City on February 4, 2026 to speak on behalf of the English Arts Community against Bill 1– The 2025 Quebec Constitution Act. Watch the full video of ELAN’s appearance at Assemblée nationale du Québec here. As Miranda explains in her brief, “there is enough in this Bill proposal to cause grave concerns on the grounds of legal legitimacy, language exclusion, and basic human rights that compel us to take a stand.” ELAN stands alongside more than 300 organizations who have also voiced their concerns. Read Miranda’s in-depth brief here (Note: English version follows the French)
February 2026
December 2025
Miranda Castravelli at the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages.
We’re so proud ELAN’s Executive Director, Miranda Castravelli, was able to speak for Quebec’s English-Language arts community at the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages. “Existence is not the same as thriving.” You can hear her speak at 18:10:12 via this link.Guide to Arts & Culture Working Environments for High School Arts Teachers
This guide was created by Compétence culture, ADÉSAQ, and SYNTHÈSE to provide career perspectives in the fields of arts & culture while enhancing learning experiences in art classes. ELAN worked with these organizations to help make an English-language version of this guide available to the community. Click here to consult the guideSeptember 2025
July 2025
Telefilm signs historic agreements with Official Language Minority Communities
ELAN is proud to collaborate with Telefilm to advance the interests of minority language artists and creators in Quebec and across Canada. This historic agreement marks a collective commitment to championing OLMC voices and stories. Click here to read moreELAN’s Inaugural Town Hall: Connecting the Community in Times of Change
ELAN leadership team with Lesley Bramhill, Danielle Azoulay (PCH), Julien Valmary (CAM) & Lori Schubert, Quebec Writers Federation’s Executive Director,
The ELAN community gathered recently on a sunny and warm spring day at the end of May with a simple yet relevant goal: to respond to the concerns Quebec’s English-speaking art community has expressed to us in the recent months. Concerns such as funding scarcity, cost of living, and the insecurity of the social and political situation in the US impacting opportunities for artists. Click here to read more
May 2025
April 2025
Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival
Miranda Castravelli, Executive Director of ELAN, was one of seven dynamic speakers featured in Bold & Creative: The Talks. Presented at the 2025 Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, the series celebrates voices that lead, inspire, and connect communities. Listen here
