Announcement of the Names of the Laureates of the
Governor General's Performing Arts Awards

Montreal, Tuesday, February 23, 2010

What a pleasure it is to be here at this showcase of contemporary drama, which is so in tune with our society and the rhythm of our times.

Thank you to Espace Go. Thank you to all its team for such a warm welcome.

In these times of getting and spending, so obsessed with profit and balance sheets, we tend more and more to talk about the contribution of our artists by referring to box offices and bottom lines.

And we too often forget that art is art before it is an industry.

What is art if not a reason to believe that beauty is still possible?

Artists give us imagination, emotion and inspiration to counter the temptation of defeatism, complacency and indifference.

They show us that there are other ways of acting and thinking, other ways of being together, other ways of seeing the world.

It often takes our artists years of learning, exploring and hard work to be able to express their own uniqueness, and, through it, to make us see the universal that unites us.

The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards are one way for us to honour these artists who have the great talent to move us, to make us laugh, cry and think: in short, to gain access to that very place of truth and humanity that lives in all of us.

I am always surprised when art is treated as something for elites, or as if it were on the fringes of reality, when in fact it is born from, nourished by and testament to the human experience.

We will be talking about that this evening, when we hold our 47th Art Matters forum, at the Society for Arts and Technology.

We’ll be talking about the key connection among citizens, artists and the arts, and about ways to enhance that interaction.

As a filmmaker, writer and philosopher, my husband Jean Daniel Lafond lends his perspective of creator to the position I hold.

It was on his initiative that Art Matters was established, a place for dialogue on arts and culture that we are opening up to as many people as wish to take part, throughout Canada and when we travel abroad on State visits, in the spirit of the human and cultural diplomacy that we practise.

We are delighted to see that these forums on important cultural issues have generated so much enthusiasm.

We already have a full house tonight, but you can participate in the discussion on the Citizen Voices link on the Governor General’s website, another of Jean-Daniel’s initiatives.

I should point out that a number of the winners here with us today will be joining this evening’s discussion, for which we thank them.

Artists of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards class of 2010, yes, you indeed deserve our enthusiastic recognition for all the happiness you bring us, with such generosity and perseverance.

And heartfelt thanks also to the winners of the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts and the National Arts Centre Award.

You have not only a passion for art, but also a desire to make it contagious and show what an essential, vital resource it is. Thank you for your commitment.

And finally, bravo to the members of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation, who carry out such an exceptional task.

I see performance as a celebration.

A celebration of life, the life that beats within us and around us and is reborn before our eyes with each new performance.

After all, isn’t performance said to be a living art?

It is to that celebration that I invite you on April 30 and May 1 this year, when we will pay lively tribute to our performing artists who will once again give their all for the offering they will present to their fans.

The invitation is sent!