Caleb Nickerson
PORTAGE DU FORT
Oct. 10, 2017
With the local elections fast approaching, an organization that supports arts and culture in the region presented 17 proposals for local candidates at the Stone School Gallery in Portage du Fort on Oct. 10.
Culture Outaouais, a non-profit organization whose mandate is to support local artists and cultural enterprise in the area, held multiple events across the five MRCs in the region last week to advocate for the development of arts and culture by municipalities and regional bodies
“It’s to talk about culture during the municipal campaign, because most of the time it’s not a preoccupation,” said Culture Outaouais Executive Director Julie Martineau. “We want the candidates to start talking and put some propositions on the table.”
She pointed to statistics from Hill Strategies Research that found that outside of Gatineau, the Municipality of Pontiac has the highest concentration of artists in the Outaouais (150, or 2.5 per cent of the population), followed by Chelsea. Martineau asserted that the region has lots of potential as far as artistic and cultural events.
“It can be better and bigger if we do more to encourage it,” she said.
Culture Outaouais’ proposals covered a wide range of topics and modes of action, from tax credits for heritage restorations to establishing an intergovernmental working committee to promote artistic development on both sides of the river.
No candidates were present at the MRC Pontiac event but Martineau said she encouraged those running for office to look into the organization’s proposals and add them to their platform.
More information is available at cultureoutaouais.org.
