Artists rally in Quebec to demand more sustainable funding

A crowd of artists and people who work in the industry protest outside the offices of the Quebec minister of culture and communications in Montreal, Saturday, February 22, 2025, where they denounced the under funding within the arts in Quebec. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press) (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Artists and cultural workers, who are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, are demanding increased funding from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).

The average artist can count on an annual income of $17,000 if they live in Montreal and $13,000 a year if they live elsewhere in the province, according to Clément de Gaulejac, an artist and illustrator who is a member of the Grande mobilisation des artistes du Québec (GMAQ).

“In a world where it was possible to live cheaply, we could get by just about, but today, with inflation and access to housing, artists literally can’t get by any more,” he said in an interview.

“The industry is literally collapsing, and it’s not just us saying it, it’s the whole industry.”

The GMAQ will hold its fourth demonstration since the group was created in the spring of 2024 on Saturday afternoon.

The artists will gathered in front of the offices of the Minister of Culture and Communications in Montreal, the Musée des beaux-arts in Sherbrooke and the Méduse in Quebec City. Other rallies are also planned for Rouyn-Noranda, Saint-Jean-Port-Joli in the Chaudière-Appalaches region, and Sainte-Rose-du-Nord in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region.

Cultural workers from all walks of life - theatre, dance, circus, music, visual arts and literature - want to put pressure on the Legault government before the provincial budget is tabled in a few weeks' time.

Despite several meetings with Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe, they fear that the current $160 million in funding - which includes $60 million in emergency funding put in place during the pandemic - will be cut. The GMAQ artists are therefore calling for a doubling of CALQ’s permanent budget, from $100 million to $200 million.

“There’s no need to look much further for solutions. What’s needed is an additional budget to fund culture in Quebec, which is in complete crisis. Organizations are closing down one after the other, and artists are giving up their practices,” said de Gaulejac.

In the longer term, the GMAQ would like to see the creation of a social safety net for artists, who generally live off their art with only subsidies they receive to carry out their projects. On top of giving life to their art, these not-so-easy-to-obtain grants also enable them to pay their rent or buy groceries.

“Even if you get a grant, it lasts six months and after that you have to find another source of income,” said Sarah A. Tremblay, a visual arts worker and GMAQ member.

With their mobilizations, the volunteer movement hopes above all to change the perception that some people have of artists.

“We want to fight against the idea held by those who govern us that art is like a ‘hobby’ that is done on the taxpayer’s dime,” explained de Gaulejac.

“People consume culture, whether it’s books, music or anything else, but they seem to forget who made culture and how that person lives. We’re trying to change the way society looks at it,” added Tremblay.

The office of the Minister of Culture and Communications refused to comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French Feb. 22, 2025.