10th anniversary of the Ordre des arts et des lettres : 16 Compagnes and Compagnons honoured

Hélène Dorion, Claude Dubois, André Forcier, Linda Gaboriau, Rosie Godbout, Michel Goulet, Alice Ming Wai Jim, Menka Nagrani, Susie Napper, Louise Sicuro, Roland Smith and William Tagoona, as well as members of the band Les Cowboys Fringants, Marie-Annick Lépine, Jérôme Dupras, Jean-François Pauzé and the late Karl Tremblay, were bestowed the title of Compagnes and Compagnons by Sylvain Lafrance, chair of the CALQ’s board of directors.

Stirring video tributes This link will open in a new window were produced for each recipient, showcasing their outstanding contribution to Québec’s cultural landscape.

Watch the tributes from the ceremony This link will open in a new window
See the photo gallery for the eveningThis link will open in a new window

The ceremony, held in the Édifice Wilder’s Espace orange and hosted by Sophie Fouron, brought together some 180 guests from the arts community, including dignitaries and loved ones of the honourees.

“For the past 10 years, the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec has been an opportunity to pay tribute to special individuals who have enriched and promoted our culture with their outstanding achievements. May this prestigious honour be a source of pride and motivate them to continue their remarkable careers, while being a source of inspiration for future generations who will follow in their footsteps.”
- Sylvain Lafrance, Chair of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec

“The people we honoured last night are artists and influential personalities from Québec’s artistic and literary community, who have marked the cultural landscape with their know-how and unique vision. Just like the Compagnes et Compagnons who came before them, each in their own way have become inseparable from Québec’s cultural heritage.”
 - Anne-Marie Jean, President and Executive Director of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

The Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec celebrates the 10^th anniversary of its creation

Introduced in 2015 for the CALQ’s 20^th anniversary, the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec is celebrating the 10^th anniversary of its creation this year. It is awarded to artists, writers, teachers, managers and patrons whose outstanding achievements contribute to Québec’s artistic and literary development. The honour is symbolized by an insignia designed by the jewellery artist Christine Dwane.

With this new cohort announced today, 167 luminaries who have left their mark on Québec arts and literature over the past decade are now part of this growing, happy family.

See the complete list of recipients This link will open in a new window

Conseil de l’Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec

Compagnes and Compagnons are recommended by the Conseil de l’Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec, a jury that evaluates nominations received in response to an annual call for candidates. The recommendations are ratified by the CALQ’s board of directors. This year, the jury was made up of Anne-Marie Blouin, Michel Dallaire, Karla Etienne, Monique Giroux, Pierre Thibault and Louise Warren. 

About the Caisse Desjardins de la Culture, official partner of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec

An ally to artists, a driver of the cultural economy, and a springboard for organizations and entrepreneurs, the Caisse Desjardins de la Culture is a financial cooperative with deep roots in the community. For the past 30 years, it has been supporting artists, artisans and self-employed workers in their personal and professional projects, offering cultural businesses and organizations financial services adapted to their needs and participating in the socioeconomic development of the cultural milieu by supporting structuring efforts and projects.

The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec: at the heart of culture for 30 years

For the past 30 years, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) has been investing in the imagination and celebrating the success of those who create memorable works, shape Québec’s cultural identity and make it shine. With a view to equitable, sustainable artistic development, the CALQ supports creation, experimentation, and production in the arts and literature in all regions of Québec and promotes dissemination in Québec, Canada and abroad. 

The CALQ would like to thank the Caisse Desjardins de la Culture This link will open in a new window, main partner, and Le Devoir This link will open in a new window, media partner, for their invaluable cooperation.

About the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec This link will open in a new window

Biographies of luminaries 2024

Hélène Dorion This link will open in a new window

Author, publisher, columnist and critic, Hélène Dorion has spun a body of work between Québec City and Montréal, the Laurentians and the Eastern Townships, literature and philosophy, Québec and European journals, poetry, novels and essays, music and the visual arts, literary concerts, song and opera. She has received prestigious awards in Québec and abroad, including the Prix Athanase-David for her body of works, which have been translated into over 15 languages. 

Claude Dubois This link will open in a new window

Singer-songwriter, publisher, producer and host, Claude Dubois showed an irrepressible passion for music from the age of 12. A poet and performer with undeniable charisma, an avid traveller, faithful to his roots and his language, this giant of Québec song has earned a vast audience with some 40 albums celebrating love, hope and freedom. The proud recipient of a dozen Félix awards, in 2001 he received an ADISQ Hommage for his career.

André Forcier This link will open in a new window

Director, screenwriter, producer and president of Films du Paria, André Forcier occupies a unique place in Québec cinema. His boundless imagination and the visual aspect of his films, with his unique style steeped in magical realism, have earned him international recognition. He has won many prestigious awards for his work, including the Prix Albert-Tessier and the Governor General’s Award.  He has received many career tributes, including the Iris Tribute Award and the Festival du nouveau cinéma’s Louve d’or. He is the ambassador for the Conseil des arts de Longueuil.

Linda Gaboriau This link will open in a new window

Born in Boston, literary translator and dramaturgical consultant Linda Gaboriau has brought to the Anglosphere the voices, spirits and worlds of iconic Québec authors such as Michel Tremblay, Michel Marc Bouchard, Wajdi Mouawad and Jasmine Dubé. Having worked for many years at the Centre des auteurs dramatiques centre for playwrights, she also founded the first international literary translation centre in North America, located in Banff. The excellence of her some 150 translations has been recognized by many prestigious awards.

Rosie Godbout This link will open in a new window

Weaver, felt maker, visual artist, teacher and self-taught creator, Rosie Godbout has been producing wearable artworks the beauty and originality of which have been celebrated in Québec and around the world since 1978. A poet of textile and colour, she has won the Grand Prix des Métiers d’art du Québec twice, as well as the Prix Jean-Marie-Gauvreau for her remarkable work, which has been shown in galleries and at art fairs at home and abroad. She teaches at the École-atelier en construction textile de Montréal.

Michel Goulet This link will open in a new window

Michel Goulet is a sculptor. Alongside this main vocation, he has taught sculpture at university and created memorable stage designs for theatre. For the past 40 years, his work has combined the everyday with the sublime, human scale with social reach. By bringing everyday objects and fragments of poetry into the public space, he starts conversations, poses questions, evokes stories and sows poetry with close to 70 permanent works installed around the world. The Prix Paul-Émile Borduas, the Governor General’s Award in Visual Arts and other awards have recognized the innovative nature and power of his creations. 

Alice Ming Wai Jim This link will open in a new window

Researcher, art historian and theorist, professor and curator, Alice Ming Wai Jim holds the Concordia University Research Chair in Ethnocultural Art Histories. Founder of the Journal of Asian Diasporic Visual Cultures and the Americas, she has distinguished herself over more than 20 years through her commitment to recognize and increase ethnic and cultural representation in the visual arts in Québec and Canada.

Menka Nagrani This link will open in a new window

A multidisciplinary artist, choreographer, director and renowned educator, Menka Nagrani is a pioneer and activist for inclusive artistic practices. Her exceptional, bold creations veer off the beaten track. Her interdisciplinary creation company, Les Productions des pieds des mains, founded in 2004, enables artists of all ages, origins and unique qualities to shine their light on professional stages in Québec and abroad. 

Susie Napper This link will open in a new window

Cellist, gambist, entrepreneur, educator and mentor, Susie Napper is recognized around the world for her innovative, creative, bold and colourful performances of the baroque repertoire. She has founded inclusive vehicles such as Les Voix humaines and the Montreal Baroque Festival to bring together music lovers and neophytes. She has received honours including a Women of Distinction Award and being named Personality of the Year at the 2002 Prix Opus.

Louise Sicuro This link will open in a new window

Louise Sicuro has dedicated her life to promoting arts and culture. A manager, cultural mediator and visionary, she created Les Journées de la culture, which has been transforming relationships between audiences and artists since 1997. Founder of Culture pour tous, partner in Québec’s digital culture plan, the initiator of the Groupe de recherche en médiation culturelle, a cultural mediation research group now called the Observatoire des médiations culturelles, she also implemented the Lab culturel, an incubator for digital projects.

Roland Smith This link will open in a new window

Passionate about film, Roland Smith invented repertory cinema in Québec. For the past 60 years, he has devoted himself to creation and programming for movie theatres and video clubs. From Cinéma Empire to the Outremont, from the Boîte Noire to Superclub Vidéotron and from festival to festival, he cultivated generations of film lovers, promoting films and memorable encounters between filmmakers and audiences.

William Tagoona This link will open in a new window

Singer-songwriter, journalist, radio host, editor and producer, William Tagoona is an icon of Inuit music and the pioneer of a style in which genres happily coexist. In the 1960s, he was a founding member and the singer for the first Inuit rock band The Harpoons. Engaged in promoting the language and culture of his people, he has produced some 30 albums and inspired generations of artists. The Aboriginal Music Awards has honoured his achievements, and CBC North presented him with an Award of Excellence in Broadcasting.

Les Cowboys Fringants This link will open in a new window

The late Karl Tremblay and his bandmates Jean-François Pauzé, Marie-Annick Lépine and Jérôme Dupras made Les Cowboys Fringants a cult alternative rock band whose activist songs have been addressing the sociopolitical and environmental issues of modern-day Québec for the past three decades. Touring to sold-out houses in the Francophonie, the band has won 21 Prix Félix, two Miroirs de la chanson d’expression française, the Prix RIDEAU Hommage and the Medal of Honour of the National Assembly.