DAM's history
Diversité artistique Montréal (DAM) was established by the Delegation for the Cultural Diversity of Montréal, a group created in March 2004 following a day focussed on cultural diversity organized by the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM). (Click here for the proceedings of the day [PDF])
The primary mandate of this Delegation composed of about 30 people from Montreal's various artistic milieus, was to identify ways to increase the presence of artists, organizations and communities of cultural diversity in the artistic landscape of Montreal.
The Delegation's work produced concrete results, including the presentation in February 2005 of a brief to the Office of Public Consultation of Montréal for the public hearings on the City of Montréal's cultural development policy.
In September 2005, the Delegation also made recommendations to the Conseil des arts de Montréal. These recommendations were to:
- introduce a Diversity and Equity Policy;
- ensure systematic representation of members of cultural communities on juries and committees;
- hire someone to communicate with and support artists from cultural communities.
The Conseil agreed with these proposals and has since adopted a number of measures, including the creation of an advisory committee on cultural diversity, the hiring of a liaison and development officer for cultural diversity and the drafting of an official policy on the promotion of cultural diversity.
In January 2006, the Delegation decided to become an independent body in order to expand its action. A Founding Committee was created and on Thursday, December 7, 2006, some 100 people gathered at the Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal to officially launch Diversité artistique Montréal, a new structure dedicated to promoting cultural diversity in the arts.
