MONTREAL

Quebec artists' fees increased for the first time in 23 years

Published Monday, April 25, 2022 3:31PM EDT Last Updated Monday, April 25, 2022 4:50PM EDT

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Artists who reach out to elementary and high school students are getting their first fee increase in 23 years, and it's substantial.

Education and Culture Ministers Jean-François Roberge and Nathalie Roy announced Monday in Longueuil, on Montreal's South Shore, that the fee will increase from $325 to $515 per day, a 58 per cent increase.

The $325 fee, established in 1999, has not changed since then.

"This was an issue that needed to be addressed by the government," said Roy, who said she learned of the stagnation in a brief connected to the Status of the Artist Act review.

"It is to them (our professional artists and artisans) that today's announcement is addressed. They make our culture shine, enhance it and take us on unexpected detours, but always make us think and move forward... They sow seeds that will be called upon to grow and to form our artistic succession," she said.

MORE ARTISTS

"The number of artistic activities will increase by 20 per cent over the next three years," said Roberge. "Not only will artists be better paid, but they will be more present in our schools with the teachers, for the students.

"There will be more artists coming, so there will be more students who will be able to meet Quebec artists, listen to them, talk with them and also create, dance, sing, sculpt and do all sorts of artistic activities. When there are artists in the school, the students participate," he continued.

The artists in question work in all areas of the performing arts, visual arts or literature. The school visits are part of the Culture in the Schools program.

The Ministry of Education has a directory of 1,400 registered artists to which all school service centres and school boards have access. The directory is re-examined every three years to allow new artists, who meet the ministry's criteria, to register.

TALENT, DISCOVERY AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS

The artists who visit schools meet with young people to share their experiences and encourage them to practice the arts "so that students can discover their talents, discover their hobbies, and get them excited about going to school in the morning," said Roberge.

He and Roy insisted on the importance of these interactions to promote Quebec culture and develop a taste for the arts in young people, which can be a powerful vector of motivation and success.

"Very early in the morning, when we are teenagers, we may not feel like going to school, but when we know that there is a passionate teacher, when we know that there is an artist waiting for us, who will take us out of our habits, who will make us experience something that will shake us up a little, we want to go to school," said Roberge.

A former teacher himself, Roberge couldn't resist sharing an anecdote.

"I remember having gumboot dancers come to school when I was teaching," he said. "I remember doing the workshops with the gumboots to make rhythms with the students."

"This contact between young people and culture is extraordinary what it can do for a child, for a young person," said Roy. "It allows them to see themselves in the eyes of others, to understand each other and to feel united. Art does good, and art also unites. It is a universal language."