The Literary And Historical Society Of Québec / Société littéraire et historique de Québec
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Mission Statement
Founded in 1824, the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec (LHSQ) is the oldest existing learned society in Canada. Its history is linked to the intellectual development of Quebec and Canada. The LHSQ manages the Morrin Centre, a nationally recognized heritage site and leading English-language cultural centre, located in the heart of Quebec City’s historic Old City. The Centre’s mission is to provide the English- and French-speaking public with rich, engaging programming in the areas of heritage interpretation, education, and the arts. Building upon our site’s history and key institutions, such as the English-language library, our programming aims to showcase Quebec City’s unique English and French heritage, develop enhanced educational opportunities, and act as a springboard for artistic creativity. The Morrin Centre seeks to bring the city’s linguistic communities together, envisioning our future by better understanding our common past and shared experiences.
About This Cause
Over the past 5 years, the Morrin Centre has continued to position itself as a vital cultural institution for Quebec City’s English-speaking community. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Centre had enjoyed over a decade of across-the-board growth in terms of visitors welcomed and services provided. Over the first two months of 2020, we had been on pace to once again beat our previous number. In 2021, the Centre has slowly begun to move toward what will be our new normal. Currently, the majority of our activities are taking place adapted to what in the future will be the new normal; modified toward safety, whether that is format modification, capacity limits, or virtual offerings. Recent accomplishments include: - Welcoming more than 170,000 people to the Morrin Centre for events, activities, rentals and tours (an average of almost 57,000 people per year) - Providing more than 20,000 people with diverse and engaging cultural programming in English - Growing membership by 56% to over 1,100 members - Lending over 12,000 books (physical and digital) to members of the community Our reach has been far and significant, with the community being at the heart of what drives us. The reason the story has been such a successful one is because the idea for the Morrin Centre came from the community. This project would not have been possible without the support and buy-in from the community and its institutions. The significant and indispensable support of our community has laid the groundwork for the Morrin Centre’s success. This support has allowed us to provide a rich and diverse set of programming created for our English-speaking community. By listening to our membership and partnering with other community organizations, this programming is also created by the community and is representative of what we stand for as a group. While we have made incredible progress, there is still so much more that we hope to accomplish for the community. The Centre’s cultural programming revolves around its Three Pillars of Heritage, Education and the Arts. Our Programming Committee, which helps to steer the Centre’s annual programming, is composed of Council members, with each pillar being represented by at least one member. This approach allows us to ensure that our activities are being equitably distributed across the pillars. At the core of our Arts Pillar is the Imagination Writers’ Festival, which brings English-language authors from around the world to Quebec City; visiting not only to the Morrin Centre, but to the region’s CEGEPs, elementary and high schools. The festival has become a must on the English-speaking community’s cultural calendar, and is expanding each year, attracting even greater audiences, including an increase in Francophone participation. The Arts Pillar’s main goal is to stimulate the artistic creativity and fulfilment of the English-speaking community. It accomplishes this through the aforementioned festivals Imagination and Arts Alive as well as through a significant number of diverse events and activities in music, dance, writing, visual arts and more. Engaging our youth is a key element of our mission, and is at the core of our Education Pillar. Through a combination of recurring initiatives such as our Children’s Reading Program and S.T.E.A.M. Club and special projects (Coding in Schools), our Education Pillar strives to create learning opportunities for our community’s youth, from toddlers through Cegep. We also use the building to tell the story of the city’s English speaking community, through our guided tours, events and special exhibitions. Armed with a full set of guided tours and permanent and temporary exhibits, the Centre’s heritage interpretation truly does offer something for everyone. History talks and hands-on activities allow visitors to learn more about their community’s history and contributions. These activities, along with the conservation of the building, our main heritage asset, are at the heart of our Heritage Pillar. The Morrin Centre is one of the few “bricks and mortar” institutions left in the community, which makes it a symbol of arts, culture and heritage for the region’s English speakers. This creates both opportunity and risk. We have leveraged the building to generate a significant level of self-generated revenue. This has certainly been difficult during the pandemic, but thanks to our organizational flexibility, we were able to pivot and find different ways to continue delivering services while obtaining the necessary funds to do so. Worth noting is that the cost to operate the building is upwards of $80,000 per year, which does not take into account large scale renovation projects. While our major restoration project finished a decade ago, there are currently a number of interventions planned over the next two years, thus making it necessary for the Centre to continue generating revenue from diverse sources. Perhaps our most significant accomplishment during the past 5 years is earning official museum status from the Ministère de la culture et des communications. This significant step, which might have seemed impossible just 10 years ago, has already had wide-ranging effects for us, allowing us the opportunity to access funds we were previously ineligible to receive, including core funding. It also allows staff better access to professional resources. One of our greatest fundraising successes over the past five years has been confirming operational support from both the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Ministère de la culture et des communications. Obtaining this support is a testament to how far the Centre has come since its inauguration. It also brings forward the expectation that we will continue to excel at what we do as well as launch new initiatives that serve our community and the sectors in which we operate Throughout the year, our volunteers assist with many aspects of our activities – from the library desk to events and administrative tasks. They are the lifeblood of the centre, engaged and eager to lend a helping hand, the Morrin Centre would not be what it is without them. From long-term residents to new arrivals, our volunteer roster is composed of people with diverse skills and life experiences. Governance The LHSQ is governed by a board of 16 dedicated members. Their involvement does not end at the board level as many are involved in one of our organization’s subcommittees such as: the Executive Committee, the Programming Committee, Book Committee, Membership Committee and more. Thanks to their crucial involvement, the Centre continued to grow its outreach and has maintained a steady ship during recent difficult times.