Letter from the (New) Executive Director

I am so pleased and honoured to be writing this to all of you as the new Executive Director of ELAN. When I decided to join the exceptional team at ELAN I had no illusion of the challenges that the arts and culture community faces, and the amount of hard work and creativity it will take to tackle them. English-speaking artists and arts organizations, in Quebec have always faced unique obstacles, and the last two years have brought about new challenges, while amplifying those that already existed. The arts and culture sector is grappling with issues around reopening to the public, monetizing online work, and addressing the lack of opportunity for new artists to integrate into the community, among many others, and solutions are not straightforward.

However, I believe we have reason to be optimistic. I was lucky enough to attend the 12^th Annual Arts, Culture and Heritage working sessions in February, where key people from these sectors came together over two-days to discuss shared challenges, and possible solutions that we can execute together. The meetings result in working groups that devise action plans and projects to address the issues raised. In the past, these meetings have led to excellent initiatives and I believe strongly that we will see that happen again.

ELAN’s direct outreach and support for our members is in full swing with the Artists Capacity Building Clinics where you can book time with experts in accounting, media relations, and grant writing and others. I encourage you to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to learn from professionals!

The team at ELAN and I are looking forward to the warmer weather and to our community being able to come together and start the process of reflection and healing. We can also start the discussion of what role arts and culture can play in helping society recover on a greater scale.

Hope to see you on the terrasse soon!

Vanessa Herrick

Executive Director

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.