Montréal, September 27, 2023 – The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and their partners are unveiling four videos featuring the art projects that were selected as part of the seventh edition of the Cultural Bridges, From One Shore to the Other program.
The artworks created over the last few months are the result of inspiring meetings and co-creation work between four artists, organizations, and citizens from Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM, Laval and Longueuil, in partnership with the Conseil des arts de Longueuil and the Conseil des arts et de la culture de Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
This collaborative approach between artists and citizens made it possible to put local communities front and centre in the creation process, helping artists draw inspiration from participant input and involvement.
Discover the completed projects
Co-creation of an experimental video inspired by RADIOMATON
maribé – sors de ce corps
Longueuil
The co-creation activities in Longueuil started with RADIOMATON, a participatory and immersive digital installation created by Marie Béland and Simon Laroche in 2022, in collaboration with maribé – sortir de ce corps and Montréal Danse.
As a complete sensory and immersive experience, RADIOMATON questions the building blocks of truth, media contamination, fake news and the role the body plays in perceiving information.
After workshops on gestures and experiments with RADIOMATON led by Marie Béland and her team, 20 young people and seniors from Longueuil helped create an experimental video.
Chansons pour leurs mères
Gabriel Charlebois Plante
MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Author Gabriel Charlebois-Plante, from Saint-Lazare, went to meet mother and son duos in four municipalities in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM.
He ran dramatic writing workshops to guide the mothers and sons as they tried out intimate writing. This co-creation approach was also intended to inspire Charlebois-Plante’s own writing process.
Léonise Valois – une histoire vraie, reinvented
Théâtre de la Pièce cassée
MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges
The Théâtre de la Pièce cassée wanted to highlight the tangible and intangible heritage of Vaudreuil-Soulanges through the writings and personal history of Vaudreuil-Soulanges Léonise Valois, the first woman to publish a poetry collection in Quebec.
The creative team developed the beginning, middle and end of the play, then visited day camps to introduce young people to theatre and singing. Kids were asked to come up with the missing scenes in the play based on an idea: What would have happened if Léonise Valois had been a school teacher?
Seniors from Vaudreuil-Dorion were also invited to share their stories about the area and their childhood sweethearts, which were added into the script.
Pères en lumière
Marie-France Laval
Laval
Director and documentary filmmaker Marie-France Laval met fathers from different backgrounds to highlight different views of fatherhood and the role fathers play. The result was Pères en lumière, a series of five short films shot partly in Laval in a place that was symbolic for each participant. The fathers were heavily involved in creating and scripting the videos.
Photographer Gaëlle Vuillaume also worked with the fathers to create a series of portraits.
About the program
Cultural Bridges, From One Shore to the Other is a unifying program in which artists draw inspiration from joining forces with citizens to create a work.
It was created by the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) in collaboration with the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), the Conseil des arts de Longueuil (CAL), the Conseil des arts et de la culture de Vaudreuil-Soulanges (CACVS), and the cities of Laval, Longueuil and Terrebonne.
A call for proposals for the next edition of the Cultural Bridges, From One Shore to the Other program is underway. Artists, artists’ collectives and non-profit organizations have until October 13 to submit their ideas.
About the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) invests in the imagination and celebrates the successes of those who create memorable works, shape Québec’s cultural identity, and make it shine. With a view to equitable, sustainable artistic development, the CALQ supports creation, experimentation, and production in the arts and literature in all regions of Québec and promotes dissemination in Québec, Canada, and abroad.
