MINUTES – PUBLIC – ARTS, CULTURE, LETTERS AND HERITAGE COMMISSION

Filing and follow-up of the minutes of the public meeting of June 5, 2024

A follow-up request is made regarding the land transfer located behind the La Filature building. The Real Estate Services department issued a consultation notice for one of the land parcels, but a new consultation is required for the entire site.

A follow-up request is also made regarding the May 2024 minutes concerning the granting of a subsidy to the Cégep de l’Outaouais for the auditorium. A presentation was made to the plenary committee in June 2024, and the decision was deferred to the municipal budget review this autumn.

Presentation: Public Art Portrait

A presentation is made on Gatineau's public art portrait, in anticipation of the creation of the public art intervention framework included in the 2024-2027 action plan of the Cultural Policy.

• Clarifications are requested regarding the specifics of an intervention framework and its purpose, in a context where several municipal departments must align to deliver a public art project. A framework allows for the establishment of guidelines, the clarification of collaborations between departments, and better intervention in the territory by highlighting works and artists in their environment.
• The importance of taking into account the lifespan of the work, its maintenance, and the resources that must be allocated is highlighted. The same applies to the promotion of the works.
• The main partners will be consulted as part of the stakeholder consultations (business associations, organizations that submit an application to the FAC).
• The importance of clarifying in advance what is possible with the Urban Planning and Sustainable Development Department is mentioned.
• It is suggested that it would be interesting to have figures regarding the human and financial resources dedicated to public art, and thus be able to compare with other cities.
• A wish is expressed that public art be more integrated into the daily lives of citizens, in parks for example, and that they be more involved (it is suggested in particular that poetry could be more honored). Closer ties could also be forged with Ottawa. The next return to the Commission will take place after the diagnosis.

Presentation: Update on the redesign of the Support Program for Cultural Organizations (PSOC)

A presentation is made on the PSOC, in order to provide an update on the progress of the program's redesign and to present an overview of comparable municipal support programs.

• The PSOC is a very important program for cultural actors. However, we must separate cultural leisure organizations from professional organizations. In terms of cultural leisure, the City can support by providing premises and lending equipment.
• All elements to consider on page 14 of the presentation are to be retained and should constitute our roadmap. It is mentioned that it is interesting for the City to analyze the option of delegated management and peer evaluation.
• It seems that Montréal was not consulted for the redesign, but the Conseil des arts de Montréal has relevant experiences to share, particularly regarding fiscal sponsorship. This is an avenue to explore for Gatineau.
• The importance of operational support is recalled as a foundation for the sustainability of organizations and the vitality of the cultural sector.
• Audiovisual support program: Québec is investing a lot of money to support cinema; it will be important to consider this as well as new disciplines.
• The funding granted by the City of Gatineau must be increased. It was suggested that employees be dedicated to supporting organizations with the PSOC.
• Operational support (versus project support) is misunderstood by partners. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that everything is in the same protocol, but also that the vocabulary used in the PSOC should be clarified to differentiate between a project request and an operational request. Updating the elements regarding the PSOC redesign on the online platform is part of the schedule.
• A survey of partners is planned. Culture Outaouais recalls that they have information on 44 organizations as part of the Tremplin agreement and that this data could be shared.
• It is noted that the entire patronage, cultural investment, etc., component is underutilized in Gatineau, as is cultural philanthropy in general. We must really evaluate its potential. It seems that a similar structure exists at the federal government level.
• Culture Outaouais is currently conducting a study on private funding and is open to sharing the results and reflections that will emerge. A presentation could be made during one of the Commission's meetings.

Presentation: Update on the library modernization plan

A presentation is made on the expansion and modernization work planned for the Guy-Sanche library, the busiest library in our network.

• As part of the architectural competition where citizen members sit, it is important to manage the population's expectations, namely that the preference of citizen members is taken into account, but that the final choice is made by the entire jury.
• Citizen involvement is desired at the level of programming, usage, etc.
• The subsidy from the MCC was confirmed on September 16, 2024.
• As for the library deployment plan, it will be updated in the next two years and will allow for the identification of upcoming projects. The project to build a large library is still on the table.