Report September 2019
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2018-2019 ANNUAL REPORT SEPTEMBER 2019 Blue Metropolis at a glance Blue Metropolis Foundation is a not-for-profi t organization founded in 1997 that brings together people from different cultures to share the pleasures of reading and writing, and encourages creativity and intercultural understanding. The Foundation produces an Annual Literary Festival of international calibre and offers a wide range of educational and social programs year-round, both in classrooms and online. These programs use reading and writing as therapeutic tools, to encourage academic perseverance, and fi ght against poverty and social isolation. Our values Cultural and linguistic diversity Promoting reading among the young International exposure Quality, respect and inclusion BLUE MET TEAM NOVEMBER 19, 2019 BLUE METROPOLIS IN-HOUSE TEAM BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILLIAM ST-HILAIRE PHILLIPE BÉLANGER General Manager and Artistic Director Chair of the Board of Directors MARIE-ANDRÉE LAMONTAGNE Partner, McCarthy Tétreault General Director, Programming and Communications LOUISE-ANN MAZIAK CÉLINE FERNANDES Vice-President Programming Coordinator and Assistant to the President-General Member of the Board Manager and Artistic Director CHRISTOPHE ROUBINET FRÉDÉRICK GAUDIN-LAURIN Treasurer Coordinator, Educational and Social Programs, Assisant Director of Investments Head of Volunteer Resources Business Development, Filaction PIERRE-ANDRÉ THEMENS EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS Secretary MARIO ALLAIRE Production Manager Counsel, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg S.E.N.C.R.L., s.r.l./LLP LOUISE BÉLISLE Graphic Designer PETER DANIEL MYRIAM COMTOIS French-Language Media Relations Director, Ilian Consulting and Management INC SHELLEY POMERANCE Translator, English-language Media Relations STEPHEN POWELL WEBTMIZE Webmaster Associate Professor, English DUMONT ST-PIERRE INC. Accounting Concordia University JOFFREY BIENVENUE PROGRAMMING TEAM IT/IS Infrastructure & Operations Manager, Peerless Clothing Inc. LINDA AMYOT YOUSSEF J. FICHTALI Associate Director of Children’s Programming and Educational Lawyer, Fasken Programming CLÉMENTINE SALLÉE INGRID BEJERMAN Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Associate Programming Director, Spanish and Portuguese content CHRISTOPHER DIRADDO Programming Associate, LGBTQ content ANNIE HEMINWAY Programming Advisor, French-language literature SHELLEY POMERANCE Associate Programming Director, English-language literature “ Reading is the fi rst instrument of freedom and that which must A WORD FROM THE CHAIR A WORD FROM THE GENERAL OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS be defended fi rst. MANAGER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR To defend the act of reading means To build on Christian Oster’s quote, An Enlightenment Cafe… a blending of I would add that by defending reading, to defend the knowledge. we also defend freedom of expression freedom to read. The Blue Metropolis Festival is a world-class and democracy. And therefore, literary event which is not only the largest During this last Festival, I was particularly as a fi rst step, multilingual literary festival in North America impressed by the subjects that were access to reading.” (as far as we can determine), but one with raised, powerful, hard-hitting, necessary a fi rm social commitment. As BishBaz and courageous, especially those Christian Oster – writer, magazine put it: “a literary festival with a Prix Médicis 1999 dealing with social inequality and conscience.” Every year, festival-goers cross racism. Impressed as well by our many paths with major novelists, essayists, and guests and their diverse worldviews and poets, from Quebec, Canada, and a dozen opinions, including many indigenous other countries. They get to rub shoulders voices committed to bridging the cultural with journalists, philosophers, academics gap in our society, all of them eager to from various disciplines, and sometimes — improve intercultural understanding. why not? — even an economist or two. All year long, the Foundation’s educational In 2019, the “Enlightenment Café” concept and social programs are driven by a that is Blue Metropolis reached 120,000 similar mission which is common to people, of all ages, either in Montreal at both our authors and our many fi nancial l’Hôtel 10, where Blue Metropolis pitches its partners. I would like to thank and tent, or in the surrounding neighbourhood at congratulate you for the courage you have various partners’ locations, at a bookstore shown in choosing, like the rest of us, near you, or even in daycare centres to promote the act of reading… throughout Quebec. The Festival has At the administrative level, which is just as organized 230 literary events, mostly in important to the fulfi llment of our mission, French and English, but also in Spanish, I’m pleased to announce that the Blue Italian, German, Arabic, Innu, and Creole Metropolis Foundation has fi led a positive — 17 languages in all. At each event, balance sheet for the 8th consecutive our experienced programming staff led year. This is the result of both strong by Marie-Andrée Lamontagne, presents management and unwavering support captivating themes for the participants. from both public and private sectors. Marie-Andrée has been our General Director of programming and communications since Let me take this opportunity to thank our last June. outgoing president, Hubert T. Lacroix, for having led the Festival team through I wish to thank my team, and the public for a critical, and promising, shift to digital its continued trust and support. technology. William St-Hilaire I begin this mandate in the fi rm belief that we will be even more numerous at the 2021 Festival and I thank William St-Hilaire and the team for their loyalty and dedication. Phillipe H. Bélanger Some highlights from the 21st editition The 2019 edition of the Festival saw the introduction of a The awarding of the Blue Metropolis International Literary new award, co-sponsored by l’Observatoire québécois des Prize was without a doubt one of the high points in the inégalités. For its first edition, the Anthony Atkinson Equality Festival program. In 2019, the prize went to the American Prize was awarded to the eminent American economist and novelist Annie Proulx, whose work has garnered Nobel Prize laureate, Joseph E. Stiglitz. numerous distinctions (Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Pen/Faulkner Prize, Irish Time International Fiction Prize ) for its insightful depiction of the human heart and the narrative power that gives it life. Once again this year, the five other literary prizes shine a spotlight on talented authors from widely different origins: the Words to Change prize went to Reni Eddo-Lodge, a British essayist and journalist of Nigerian descent; the Blue Metropolis/ Montreal Arts Council Diversity Prize to the Palestinian-Canadian novelist, Yara El-Ghadban; the Blue Metropolis LGBTQ Violet Prize, presented by Air Canada, to the novelist and essayist Dionne Brand; the First Peoples Literary Prize to author Terese Marie Mailhot; the Premio Metropolis Azul to the Argentinian novelist and journalist Claudia Piñeiro. Hubert T. Lacroix, outgoing Chair of the Board of Directors of the Blue Metropolis Foundation. ©Camille Trudeau-Rivest This award ceremony was one of the highlights in the “Observing Inequality” series, which brought together writers, thinkers, researchers, journalists and various stakeholders from civil society, to discuss key issues in inequality and social innovation, in the hope of reducing the former through the latter. Through literature, the heart of its mission, the Metropolis Blue Festival has opened an area of enquiry that will take up the next two years, as we focus on the question of inequality from various perspectives. The second major series of the Festival “Ecology and Litera- ture. Humans, animals, the planet” had us thinking about the future of humanity, thanks to writers with contrasting points of view. Among them: the French philosopher Elisabeth de Fontenay, a noted authority in animal studies, the Quebec anthropologist Serge Bouchard, and the Australian aboriginal writer Bruce Pascoe. Two prominent guests of the 2019 Festival edition: French journalist and essayist Aymeric Caron (left) and Quebec anthropologist and essayist Serge Bouchard. ©Camille Trudeau-Rivest 230 EVENTS, IN 17 LANGUAGES 275 AUTHORS, CULTURAL MEDIATORS AND GUESTS FROM 25 COUNTRIES Annie Proulx Winner of Blue Metropolis International Literary Grand Prix, 2019 Every year, the Blue Metropolis Festival celebrates one nation’s Claudia Piñeiro literature in particular. 2019 was decreed by UNESCO as the Winner of the Premio International Year of Indigenous Languages, and by the UN as the Metropolis Azul, 2019 International Year of Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Since Canada has entered into a far-reaching process of reconciliation with its own First Peoples, it seemed only natural that Blue Metropolis should focus on indigenous literatures. The Festival includes aboriginal authors in all its editions, year in and year out. In 2019, the “Indigenous Literatures and Voices” series, at the adult Festival, featured indigenous writers from Canada, Latin America, and Reni Eddo-Lodge Australia. In addition, ten Canadian universities participated in the Winner of the Words 2nd edition of the students’ essay contest, based on excerpts to Change Prize, 2019 from past winners of the First Peoples Prize. Student laureates in 2019 were Matthew Leblanc (University of New Brunswick) for the English-language essay, and Coline Souilhol (Université de Montréal) in French. Terese Marie Mailhot Winner