Avant Music News

This information comes from a music journalist in France, discussing the potential closing of Instants Chavirés, a Paris venue for improvised music.

On Thursday July 2nd 2009 we were shocked to learn that the balance of the operational subsidy allocated to our Association by the General Council of the Seine-Saint-Denis Department had been slashed by no less than 25,000€ – a drop of more of 19%. This in addition to a 7,000€ cut in our municipal subsidy (at the beginning of the year, the town of Montreuil had announced a reduction of 15,000€, 7000€ being the amount eventually decided upon by the end of June). This means that we have lost 32,000€ in 2009.

The lack of funding has forced us to cancel our Autumn season of concerts, video projections and exhibitions, in its entirety. Even maintaining a strict minimum of programmed events would lead to a budgetary deficit that we simply could not contemplate.

We maintain that an intermediary cultural space like the Instants Chavirés is an essential complement to existing institutions, and that it has made a major contribution to the diversity of the cultural offer, playing an essential role in discovering and promoting art for over 18 years.

We urge you then to sign the online petition (http://instants.mollo.fr), and write to Claude Bartolone, President of the General Council of Seine-Saint-Denis, and / or to the Mayor of Montreuil, Dominique Voynet, to inform them of what the Instants Chavirés represents in the local, national and international cultural landscape, and express your own commitment to the lasting nature of this project.

You can address your correspondence directly to us at the following email address soutiens[at]instantschavires.com, or by regular mail to Instants Chavirés, 7 Rue Richard Lenoir 93100 Montreuil. We undertake to forward it to the parties concerned.

Association Muzziques – les Instants Chavirés

http://www.instantschavires.com/

Choice of comments:

-Evan Parker : Les Instants Chavirés is known throughout the world and through its work people see Montreuil as a very hip part of France.

-Mark Dresser : Instants Chavirés is a cultural institution of great importance. It’s budget should not be compromised by the general economic crises. It is short sighted in the extreme. I fully support this venue and those artists and public it serves.

-Keith Rowe : Instants Chavirés is amongst the most important venues for new
music, its loss would make Paris and France all the poorer.

-Martin Davidson : It would be better to scrap nuclear weapons rather than
Les Instants Chavirés !