Special release | CQAM | Covid-19

Following the health crisis related to COVID-19 and the precautionary measures decreed by the government to contain the epidemic, the CQAM temporarily closes its doors and adapts its calendar of activities.

Cancellation of CQAM activities

Cinematographic Arts Tour : March 24, 2020
Contemporary Arts X Wiki Workshops: March 26, 2020
Labsessions 18 – public presentations: April 2, 2020
Conference – Artworks and Artificial Intelligence: April 7, 2020

These 4 activities will unfortunately be cancelled and postponed to a later date, depending on how the situation develops.

Please note, however, that we are maintaining our call for projects IA Networking Activity. So you can still send us your proposals! Deadline: 20 March 2020

Take care and be vigilant!

Our suggestions for continuing to support the media arts community!

The solidarity and support of the community is more than necessary in this period of crisis. Several online groups have been formed to organize self-help and solidarity networks during this difficult period: Soutien à/de la communauté culturelle québécoise – COVID-19 and more generally : MTL COVID-19 Mutual Aid Mobilisation d’entraide

In addition, we suggest several readings and screenings during this particular period:

Read the last ADN Column: ISNI and the identification of artists
Have you missed the “Artificial Intelligence in the Media Arts, Industry and Academic Community” forum? The videos are online!

Support these 4 online festivals!
- FESTIVAL REGARD : 10 short films from the 24th edition are available on La Fabrique culturelle for 10 days.
- FIFA : The International Festival of Films on Art will offer its programming online from 17 to 29 March.
- CINÉMA DU RÉEL : Thirteen films from the Première fenêtre selection, available on the Médiapart website until March 31th.
- MY DARLING QUARANTINE : A brand new online short film festival starting March 16th. Hosted on the Talking Shorts platform, the festival’s mission is to raise funds for organizations fighting COVID-19 as well as for events that have been affected by the situation.

Here are alternative, local, francophone viewing platforms to explore!
- VUCAVU
- Tenk.ca
- Les Films du 3 mars (With the SPIRA and Wapikoni collections)
- Groupe Intervention Vidéo (GIV)
- Vithèque of Vidéographe
- Perte de signal
- ONF

CALQ and CAC actions to get through the crisis

1. The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) has set up a FAQ on the impact of COVID-19 on projects supported by the Council. This FAQ is intended for artists, writers, curators and representatives of organizations whose projects are affected by Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). The Council has identified the most vulnerable mission-supported organizations and will contact them directly to adjust their financial support and help them through this crisis.

Emergency Assistance for Artists : Download the form | Email
Emergency Assistance for Organizations: Download the form | Email

2. The Canada Council for the Arts (CAC) encourages potential applicants or grant recipients to consult their detailed FAQs on COVID-19, which will be updated with new answers to questions that will be added over time.

Provincial Government

To counter the spread of COVID-19 and encourage the isolation of workers, François Legault, the Premier of Québec, and Jean Boulet, the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region, are announcing the implementation of the Programme d’aide temporaire aux travailleurs (PATT COVID-19) (temporary assistance program for workers). During their 14-day isolation period, eligible individuals will receive a lump sum of $573 per week. The program will extend to a maximum of four weeks for infected persons who are to remain in quarantine for an extended period. The goal is to prevent people from deciding not to follow the containment guidelines for fear of losing their income.

Eligibility

The program will be available to workers who are in isolation for one of the following reasons:

they have contracted the virus or are showing symptoms;
they have been in contact with an infected individual; or
they have recently returned from abroad.

In addition, workers who are in isolation or likely to be under the above criteria are eligible for the PATT COVID-19 if

they are not compensated by their employer;
they do not have private insurance; and
they are not covered by government programs, such as federal employment insurance.

For full information on the details of the PATT COVID-19, as well as eligibility conditions, please consult quebec.ca/coronavirus.

For more information, the individuals concerned can call 1 877 644-4545.

Federal Government

The federal government has announced that it will close its border on Wednesday, March 18th to people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents, except for citizens of the United States. The border will remain open for commercial goods.