What We Do
What does ELAN do?
The primary role of ELAN is to build bridges between artistic disciplines and also between English-speaking and French-speaking communities.
Exchanging information can be of enormous benefit in and of itself. One artistic discipline may pioneer an idea or open doors that can benefit other disciplines. This kind of dialogue can be facilitated by regular public events and an on-going electronic bulletin board. Concrete examples of exchanged resources are co-productions and shared mailing lists. Shared community resources can range from accountants and web designers to publicists and rehearsal spaces. The multidisciplinary nature of ELAN opens up many possible creative connections between artists e,g, musicians who provide music for theatre productions and visual artists who design book covers or posters.
ELAN can help English-language artists be better integrated in the Quebec arts milieu. A dialogue between the Quebec Drama Federation and le Conseil Québécois du Théàtre (CQT) led to the creation of a seat for English-language theatre on the CQT board. This is a model for the other disciplines. In 2006 ELAN worked on a pilot project with le Regroupment des artistes en arts visuels (RAAV) to provide more services and support for English-language members. In 2007 ELAN began to work with le Regroupment Québécois de la danse (RQD) and le Conseil Québécois de la musique (CQM) to represent their English-speaking members more actively.
ELAN also gives Quebec's English-speaking artists a stronger presence with arts advocacy groups like the Canadian Conference of the Arts, le Mouvement pour les arts et les lettres (MAL) and Culture Montréal.
Why was ELAN formed?
ELAN was formed following the Quebec Arts Summit, which was held in November 2004. Bringing together more than 100 English-speaking artists from across the province—as well as partners from government, media and the community—the Summit evolved into three days of discoveries and the realization that virtually all the delegates shared a similar vision of their lives as artists in Quebec, and a desire to be an integral part of Quebec culture. Whether born here, or drawn by the vibrant arts scene, there is nowhere else we would rather live. Summit delegates from literature/publishing, theatre, film/television, music, dance, and visual arts expressed a strong desire to create a new organization to unite all disciplines and promote a new face of English-speaking artists in Quebec. ELAN was formed in early 2005.
How is ELAN structured?
The constitution and by-laws adopted at the inaugural Annual General Meeting in November 2005 equip ELAN with a board structure that formally represents the disciplines of: writing, theatre, publishing, film & television, visual arts, dance and music. Additional board positions are assigned to represent regional members and provide corporate experience. The discipline reps ensure that the concerns of each discipline are represented around the ELAN table and they maintain a dialogue with all artists in their disciplines. ELAN's staff members perform all daily administrative duties, provide administrative support to the Executive Director and the Board of Directors, and ensure overall organization and connectedness of ELAN.
Who can be a Member?
ELAN welcomes artist members working in all regions of Quebec and in all disciplines. Send in a short bio for our Members' Directory via the Become a Member page on this site. Artist members can be working artists, emerging artists or students. Non-artists may join as friends.
ELAN also welcomes organizational members which may be other arts organizations or community partners in education, the media or other areas. As well as providing you with regular ELANews, we will add your website to our links.