Rideau Hall, Friday, November 4, 2005

Of all the ways in which the people of a country can express themselves, I would say those employed and explored by our artists are among the most powerful. Theirs is a form of expression born of freedom, that courageously and wholeheartedly seeks to broaden our horizons. What art makes us hear, what it allows us to see, what it confers on us is a celebration of all that is most precious and most dazzling in life.

The creative act takes a lifetime of practice and learning. It records the journey of an individual who gives body and soul to the service of art in order to pierce beyond personal limits, and to carry us along with him or her.

The woman or man who embarks on such a great adventure speaks to the part of us that transcends the rational and makes us see the world from a higher vantage. From that vantage where anything is allowed, we can at last let ourselves go and dream of the infinite possibilities that daily life often ignores. This vantage is the very place from which expression springs, enabling us to reconnect with what warms us—what is called life, the indefinable something that allows us to discover a beauty beyond our day-to-day discords and petty troubles.

In that place, all that matters is life and mostly the freedom to speak, the freedom to sing, to dance, to play. There, all “humans are of my race,” to quote an insightful phrase of Gilles Vigneault.

This is what I have absorbed from my many conversations with artists, some of whom are here this evening, during my years as a journalist. Whatever the art form that they choose to explore, for our greater happiness, our artists have one and the same urge to extend our vision. I know quite well that it requires courage, tenacity and passion to take on yourself the dreams, to take on yourself the desires and fears of the multitudes, and to imbue them with a unique resonance that calls to us and brings us freedom.

We know that our performing artists put their heart sand souls into their lips, their eyes, their fingertips and their feet, summoning us to build the new and more harmonious world we long for. And for doing that, if nothing else, we can never thank you enough.

I would like to say to you artists gathered here and to this year’s winners of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, as well as to all artists young and old, that the path to which you have devoted yourselves reaches into our hearts. Your personal journey in itself is a lesson in freedom, a lesson in freedom that is very essential in a world where we are under pressure to conform.

You have never expected anyone to give a thought to you so that you might create your art. Most of the time your works take shape in utter solitude, despite the opposition of those who would like to stop you from bringing forth a world that fills your mind and that ultimately nourishes our own imagination. In every age, artists have always surmounted all the obstacles in their path, whether censorship or poverty. They have created art, impelled simply by this simple and unique wish to bear witness to their vision of the world and to leave a record of it for generations to come.

I pay tribute to you on behalf of all who, like myself, could not live without you. To Peter Boneham, who has realy pushed back the limits of contemporary dance, thank you. To the forever young Jackie Burroughs, who brings to life the enfant terrible on our theatre stages, thank you. To Oliver Jones, whose rhythms surge over us like crashing waves, thank you. To Marcel Dubé, whose poetry and plays for me are promises of renewal, thank you. To Moses Znaimer, always ready to explore technology in order to reshape our audiovisual world, thank you. To k.d. lang, who sets light to our vast landscapes with her unique and so beautiful voice, thank you. To Gail Asper, who works tirelessly to promote and celebrate the arts in her community and throughout Canada, thank you. My thanks to all of you winners of the 2005 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards.

I would like to say that this visionary spirit shown by each of you in your efforts is what I wish with all my heart to call on in order to break down the solitudes that condemn people to silence and indifference. May your example give us a spark of hope that one day the entire world may reflect the flame burning within you. For the sake of our children and ourselves, we must learn to imagine a world as great, as rich and also as beautiful as yours. When you have the opportunity to make your art and your commitment to help artists resonate loud and clear, we become stronger and live the better, fuller life that we want. Let me tell you that, without you, our imagination today would be impoverished, and perhaps we would be less free to aspire to the best within ourselves. You have had a strong impact on our lives, and this evening more than ever we are deeply grateful.

I salute you and applaud you, as would a spectator lit up by your presence on the stage. Thank you.