From the Summit of the Americas to the G7 in Charlevoix

How do the arts and culture affect important decisions about our future? Are they present at major forums when the topics of women, citizenship, equality, climate change and peace are discussed?

They were certainly part of the conversation when culture and public funding leaders from the Americas gathered to discuss cultural citizenship from various political, social, economic and cultural angles at the Americas Cultural Summit, hosted by the Canada Council for the Arts in May 2018.

So what presence did arts and culture have at the G7 in Charlevoix? Did the leaders of the G7 member countries witness the artistic excellence that illuminates this land? Were they moved and inspired by the transformative power of art? And did they come to understand the important place that it occupies in our lives here in Canada?

Art from Canada at the G7

The answer is yes – at least one hopes so, because the global leaders and delegates who attended the G7 Summit couldn’t avoid the display of art by Canadian and Indigenous artists at their meetings. The Canada Council Art Bank prepared the way by installing 80 works from its collection throughout the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, the hotel where the Summit took place – in the main lobby, the meeting and conference rooms, the lounges, the dining rooms and the guestrooms. The artists on display included well-known names like Ferron, Letendre, Pellan, Pootoogook and Morrisseau. The works were chosen to reflect three of the G7 meeting’s five themes: gender equality and women’s empowerment, climate change, and building a more peaceful and secure world.

The G7 members, throughout their stay in Quebec, were able to appreciate the creativity and rich diversity of artists from across Canada, the diverse and powerful voices of our Indigenous artists . . . and our fantastic Art Bank!

So yes, art from Canada was very present at the G7 meeting!

Share this news via your networks, using the hashtags #ArtBank, #ArtCanada, #G7 and #G7Charlevoix! To find out more about the Art Bank’s enormous preparatory work for the G7, how the works were selected and presented, and about the Canada Council’s largest collection of Canadian contemporary art, read our blog on the impact of the Art Bank’s work on Canadians’ daily lives, in workplaces like yours — both nationally and internationally.