[Summer 2025]

Caught Up in the System
Éric Desmarais interviewed by Jean Gagnon

[EXCERPT]

In botanical science, a sporobolus is a drought­tolerant grass with long, dense leaves. In art, it refers to Sporobole, an artist-run centre in Sher­brooke, Quebec. Rooted in its city and region for more than fifty years, first as the Regroupement des artistes des Cantons-de-l’Est and then as Galerie Horace, Sporobole stands as a gold standard in digital matters, defined by its exploration, experimentation, and “guidance services” for artists and all cultural organizations “making the digital shift.” At a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is infiltrating creation, it seemed like a good idea to learn about Sporobole’s position in this regard. In the first part of this interview, published in issue 128 of Ciel variable, the executive director of Sporobole, Éric Desmarais, spoke with assertive pragmatism and an eye toward action. He explained how, since its recent restructuring, Sporobole has militated for increased familiarity with digital realities in the cultural sector. He also mentioned the important role that art and artists have to play as AI becomes more and more ubiquitous. Here’s the second part of the interview, in which Desmarais speaks more di­rect­ly about issues such as copyright and about public funding of cultural organizations, which is indispensable to help them adapt even better to technological upheavals.

jean gagnon: Our first interview raised so many interesting questions that we had to continue the discussion. People complain a lot about how difficult it is to disseminate Quebec artists’ works on major platforms. Many are concerned about the discoverability of Quebec or francophone content. What posi­tion does Sporobole take regarding this problem?

éric desmarais: Discoverability is an issue situated beyond us or our individual organizations. We are captive to a system in which the power rests with foreign private businesses that control a sensitive sector essential to societal sovereignty: communications. They control all of the communications tools; they decide the priorities and the terms of sharing, access, and monetization of cultural content all over the world. Governments neither understood the scope of the revolution that was to take place nor reacted with the commitment and investments that would have been necessary to counter this omnipotent imperialism.

[…]

[ Complete issue, in print and digital version, available here: Ciel variable 129 – FROM CONTINENT TO CONTINENT ]
[ Complete article in digital version available here: Éric Desmarais, Caught Up in the System]

Jean Gagnon is an exhibition curator and independent art critic, who has been a curator at the National Gallery of Canada, director of the Daniel Langlois Foundation, and director of collections at La Cinémathèque québécoise. The author of Vidéocaméléon, devoted to video art in Quebec from 1972 to 1992, he is currently completing a book on language and rhythm in Michael Snow’s work.