If I were Minister of Culture

Let’s talk business… cultural business!
A committed, essential, and exhilarating book

What would our world be without culture?
A hell, undoubtedly!

Convinced of this, a Minister of Culture tirelessly tries to persuade her colleagues of the importance of the arts and culture in all their forms in everyday life. She is listened to politely, but under the pretext of urgency, her budget is cut. Faced with such resistance, she comes up with an original and utterly improbable way to defend her cause. In the end, she is carried in triumph!

With its uncompromising text, its bold, unfiltered artwork, its full spectrum of colors, and the strength of its commitment, this book that agitates and acts reasserts—more vitally than ever—the necessity of culture. On the back cover, the message is crystal clear: “Read it and pass it on.”

And let’s be clear: If I Were Minister of Culture is not just for children!

A manifesto in the colors of resistance, to express and share a deep conviction with passion and humor.

Author & Illustrator

Carole Fréchette (author)

Carole Fréchette was born in Montreal. After studying acting, she turned to playwriting in the mid-1980s. Her body of work, which includes around fifteen plays, focuses particularly on giving voice to women. Her work—both theatre and novels—has been translated into some twenty languages, and her plays are regularly performed around the world.

In France, her dramatic works are mainly published by Actes Sud-Papiers.

Thierry Dedieu (illustrator)

Thierry Dedieu was born in Narbonne. After studying science and working in advertising, he turned to illustrated literature in 1994. Photographer, painter, sculptor, engraver, and ceramicist, he explores a wide range of artistic media and aesthetic registers that consistently surprise and delight.

In 2016, La Revue des livres pour enfants devoted a special issue (no. 286) to this distinctive artist, admired for the exceptional quality of his extensive body of work.