Introducing State of the Arts!

State of the Arts is a community consultation aimed to better understand how we as artists, cultural workers, arts organizers, funders, and audiences are all connected, and how we can help each other strengthen our arts community together through thoughtful collaboration and meaningful exchanges.

ELAN recognizes that there are many rapidly evolving conversations regarding access, inclusion, working conditions, economics, appropriation, and other barriers that prevent our community from thriving.

Through this project, we commit to actively listen and find practical ways to recognize and validate the diverse experiences of artists who speak in English and who make up an important segment of Quebec’s evolving identity.

Through State of the Arts, we will:

Compile and share existing resources
Build relationships in Montreal and the Regions
Have in-person and online conversations to learn more about your needs, wants, barriers, and actions
Host a one-day event on February 28, 2019 (save the date!)
Identify and support meaningful opportunities and initiatives that emerge from our conversations

Get Involved! Your opinions and feedback are important to us.
Be sure to watch out for upcoming surveys, which will be shared via email.
We appreciate your participation!

If you have any questions about this ELAN project,
contact Amy Macdonald at amymacdonald@quebec-elan.org.

Land Acknowledgement

ELAN is an official minority language organization within a country that recognizes two languages as official. ELAN is located in Tiohtià:ke, the original name for Montreal in Kanien’kéha, the language of the Mohawk—also known as Mooniyang, which is the Anishinaabeg name given to the city by the Algonquin. While we are based in this city, our projects have also taken place in many regions across Quebec.

We acknowledge the colonial origin of English and French in Canada, and recognize that both languages benefit from official status throughout the land. The province that we know as Quebec is an amalgamation of the traditional territories of the Innu and Inuit nations, Algonquian nations, as well as the Mohawk nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Kanien’kéha and Anishinaabemowin are but two of the original languages of this province; Atikamekw, Cree, Inuktitut, and Innu-aimun are also among the many Indigenous languages spoken across Quebec as majority languages, all well before French and English.

ELAN acknowledges the important work being done by First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to revive the traditional languages of these territories, and their advocacy for the official status of Indigenous languages.