Rideau Hall, Thursday, December 13, 2007

Jean-Daniel and I are pleased to welcome you to Rideau Hall.

We see this institution as a place for dialogue, reflection and sharing. We want to throw its doors wide open to new ideas and current events, and for creative thought to flow through its historic hallways.

And that is exactly how we envision this edition of Art Matters, and what all twenty editions we have held since the beginning of our mandate have been. Art Matters was created on Jean-Daniel’s exciting initiative, and it is one that I support with great enthusiasm.

We have come together today—you, the writers and creators without whom we would not have books, dreams and horizons to share, and you who are the driving force in Canada’s literary community—to create an opportunity for you to discuss the challenges you face and also to work together to find new ways to address them.

It is my firm belief that literature and art in all its forms are essential, even necessary, in our societies, societies in which we too often sacrifice reflection, the search for meaning and an understanding of the world in favour of speed, profit, “close enough” and entertainment at all costs.

Artists do not produce goods; they show us a vision of the world.

To create is to examine our place in the world. It is questioning our certainties, and risking everything for everything.

And it is this ongoing questioning that gives rise to our originality. And that originality sparks creativity.

Putting a monetary value on art—turning it into a consumer good to sell to as many people as possible—is like selling one’s soul to the highest bidder.

Putting a monetary value on art is reducing it to the lower common denominator, which—I believe—leads directly to the depletion of cultures, cultures that enrich humanity.

Arts Matters is our way of encouraging you to continue—as you do so well—to show us different perspectives, to stimulate debate and to constantly question the world so that it may be enriched by a multitude of points of view.

I can’t wait to hear what you have to say. Thank you for being here today.

Jean-Daniel . . .