Memphremagog MRC 2022 call for projects to support local and regional cultural initiatives

The Programme de soutien financier aux initiatives culturelles de la MRC de Memphrémagog has opened up for the coming year to support projects within the MRC.

The objective of the program is to stimulate local, regional or community-specific cultural development. By putting forward the call for projects, the MRC hopes to support artists, cultural organisations and municipalities in the region and reaffirm the prominent place of culture and heritage in the new development plan of the Memphremagog MRC.

“The stakeholders of the cultural milieu have just gone through a difficult period in the context of the pandemic,” explained Jacques Demers, prefect of the MRC and mayor of Sainte-catherine-de-hatley in a press release. “We want to support them in this gradual return to normalcy, to promote local cultural initiatives and contribute to territorial development,” he said, pointing to a sense of pride in the region’s cultural dynamism, and local stakeholders’ ability to adapt to a new reality. “We see that their creativity has not been hampered by the many challenges, quite the contrary! This financial support is therefore an incentive to encourage them to continue their actions. We are counting on the commitment of the various stakeholders to answer the call: the artistic community, municipal authorities and volunteers in the region,” the prefect said.

Applications for funding under the financial support program for cultural initiatives should be submitted by March 18, 2022. An envelope of $30,000 is available for this call for projects.

In 2021, 12 cultural projects received financial assistance totalling $35,636 from the program. Of those, the following three projects were launched in recent months:

Carnival parade in the Caribbean tradition - For the fifth edition of the Festiv’arts Caribéen de Magog, from Aug. 6 to 8, the Comité d’exposition sur les arts et la culture caribéenne added a carnival parade to the event, bringing together citizens and twenty artists: musicians, dance groups and circus performers. The project also included the addition of a workshop for the creation of masks in the Caribbean tradition. These initiatives aim to foster exchanges between Caribbean artists and the population through visual and performing arts in a festive and friendly atmosphere.

On the Land - Louise Abbott produced a series of short films on contemporary agriculture and horticulture in the Eastern Townships. In total, six bilingual mini-documentaries take the viewer into the lives of local livestock and vegetable farmers. This project provides an unfiltered look at the challenges of the trade and pays tribute to these frontline workers, who toil in often difficult conditions to ensure the population’s food supply.

Panorama sur notre culture - On Sept. 24, the municipality of Saintcatherine-de-hatley and its cultural committee proposed activities to encourage encounters between the general public and local artists. This initiative, carried out on the occasion of the 25th edition of the Journées de la culture, also aimed to highlight the cultural and heritage heritage heritage of the region. The 270 citizens present met the exhibitors in a festive atmosphere where several artists participated in the event: visual artists, writers, musicians, singers and a slammer.

All information concerning the Programme de soutien financier aux initiatives culturelles de la MRC de Memphrémagog, as well as the application form, is available on the MRC website at www. mrcmemphremagog.com/culture. Applications for funding should be sent by email to Marie-christine Perron-marier, territorial development officer at the MRC, at mc.perron@ mrcmemphremagog.com. She is also available to answer questions during the preparation of applications.