Since its creation, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) has been playing a leading role in projecting Québec’s artistic excellence beyond our borders.
Beyond pride and visibility, the success of Quebec artists and arts organizations abroad has an important economic dimension and delivers tangible benefits. As ambassadors of artistic excellence, Québec creators inspire in their wake other Québec talent from different generations onto international circuits and increase opportunities for presenting Québec-made artistic and literary works.
Whether through its funding programs or its network of studio-apartments, or as part of cultural missions conducted by its team with international partners, the CALQ works to facilitate the positioning and presence of Québec creations on foreign stages, across artistic disciplines.
The team is working to ensure artistic expertise is recognized on the international stage and to develop innovative ways to offer new audiences ongoing access to Québec works around the world. The CALQ also supports artists and organizations during biennials, fairs and festivals to foster the development of new markets, promote the circulation of their works and strengthen their international careers. The effects of the international presence of artists and arts organizations are essential to ensuring viable, sustainable artistic development.
Financial support that gives you wings
Artists and companies filling rooms at prestigious festivals, earning renown with a literary prize, taking home honours in a competition, or touring on a new continent have become more commonplace in recent years.
And for good reason: many talented Québecers are making their mark on the international scene. To ensure their continued presence, the CALQ offers different types of funding to meet the needs of artists, writers, and organizations. Our grants facilitate participation in conferences or training, travel to festivals, and the development of new markets.
For artists
For organizations
© Martin Parsekian
© Caroline Cloutier
Residencies around the world
Since 1994, the CALQ has been managing a vast network of Studios du Québec, exchanges, and studio-apartments on four continents.
From New York to Taiwan, Paris, Rome, London, Seoul, Tokyo, and Guadeloupe, this network offers creators across all disciplines some 40 opportunities for enriching stays for their artistic and professional efforts. This residency program is for artists and writers seeking fresh ideas and exploration, who want to immerse themselves in another culture or have access to internationally renowned residency sites to conduct research and explore new avenues for creation.
Grants for a residency support artistic research and development and an artist’s networking activities while abroad. Calls for applications for residencies are disseminated throughout the year.
Some residencies are for artists at the beginning or middle of their career. Studios du Québec are available only to artists with over 10 years of practice and offer long-term stays. While most CALQ residencies are open to all disciplines, over the years specialized residencies have also been created to meet the needs of a particular clientele.
As one approach the CALQ uses to encourage the presence of Québec artists and have their works travel internationally, the network of studio-apartments has increased the number of exchanges with other countries and participated in the career development of many artists from around the world.
© Donatas Alisauskas
© Martin Messier
Support for tours
Every year for the past 30 years, hundreds of Québec companies have counted on the CALQ’s assistance to travel the globe.
In the past five years, the CALQ contributed to 628 projects through its support for tours outside Québec for performance and multidisciplinary arts organizations, for a total of $11.4 million.
In 2022-2023, the CALQ’s support enabled organizations to, in part:
- Present 1971 performances, involving over 1400 artists and cultural workers;
- Earn $11.8 million in autonomous revenue, in addition to the $3.7 million invested by CALQ in these projects;
- Pay $7 million in salaries and fees for artists and cultural workers.
It is also clear that there are multiple benefits generated by tours outside Québec for arts organizations. Whether through audience development, awareness-raising or loyalty building, or by creating contacts with new networks or partners, international tours fuel collaboration.
They also generate concrete visibility for Québec companies, who want their works to pique the curiosity of an ever more diverse audience.
By enabling Quebec companies to bring works closer to audiences outside Quebec, CALQ aims to encourage international touring opportunities for organizations, while opening up new outlets for the future.
Did you know?
In an effort to encourage environmentally responsible practices This link will open in a new window, in 2023 the CALQ introduced an environmentally responsible criterion in mobility support programs for organizations to help maintain the integrity of the environment and the fight against climate change.
© Christophe Péan
© Derviche Diffusion
Commission internationale du théâtre francophone
The CALQ is also an engaged actor in the Commission internationale du théâtre francophone (CITF).
Since its creation in 1987, the CITF has supported multilateral projects in theatre creation and presentation that involve at least two continents and three countries. It meets once a year, often as part of a festival or other francophone theatre initiative.
To date, more than 400 projects have been supported, giving artists the opportunity to meet on the ground of theatre creation and production, to compare and enrich their artistic process, to explore other francophone cultures, and to attract new audiences.
Member countries take turns managing CITF programs and calls for projects through a general secretariat, with four-year mandates. Since 2024, the CALQ has been entrusted with the general secretariat.
Contact us
Marie-Pierre Dolbec (International Affairs Officer)
830 Saint-Joseph Street East
Suite 301
Quebec City, Quebec
G1K 3C9
Laurent Rozencwajg (Program Officer - Studios and studio-apartments)
1435, De Bleury Street
Suite 300
Montréal (Québec)
H3A 2H7
