- Skol-CEDA co-creative projects
This project came about from an urge to demystify contemporary art for an uninitiated public and to set up conditions that would facilitate the involvement of emerging artists wishing to work in a community environment. Invited to meet with artists in the centre’s programming, Danielle Arcand, a CEDA facilitator, and a group of participants following the adult literacy program visited Skol on several occasions.
2005-2006
Co-creative project with Catherine Sylvain, Adriana de Oliveira, Danielle Arcand, Gérald Allaire, Lise Cyr, Roland Cyr, Yves D'Aragon, Yves Doyon, Mina Mazzer, Henriette Robertson, and Siria Vargas.
Spurred by the positive experience of these visits and by a desire to give wider expression to the collaborative spirit at the heart of all the centre’s operations, we initiated a creative project with artist Catherine Sylvain. Facilitated by the art educator Adriana de Oliveira and the litteracy facilitator Danielle Arcand, the open process was informed by the tenets and practices of popular education, which promotes the development of critical thinking, participative democracy, and cultural democracy. The project’s impetus lay as much in the production of the work itself as in fostering trust, mutual respect, and better understanding of cultural differences.
Quand l’amour se conjugue dans l’œuvre
Si l’arbre pouvait parler, il nous dirait quoi?
Que même les plus petites racines ont fait pousser des branches qu’il n’aurait pu imaginer.
Je suis devenu le plus bel arbre de la forêt.
J’espère juste que le gouvernement ne viendra pas me couper parce qu’il ne voit plus ce qu’il y a autour de lui.
Ils sont venus ici comme un dernier recours, ils ont travaillé pour atteindre leurs objectifs, pour se prouver à eux-mêmes qu’ils n’étaient pas les bons à rien de notre société.
Regardez comme je suis devenu beau. Qui aurait pu imaginer que je deviendrais grand et fort. Qu’il ferait bon d’être à l’ombre sous cet arbre quand les rayons du soleil nous brûlent la peau et qu’on sue à grosses gouttes.
Je danse avec le vent, comme si on fêtait mon anniversaire avec tous ceux qui m’ont fait grandir avec l’amour qui faisait d’eux des gens bien particulier mais qu’on ne connaissait pas encore. Pouvait-on imaginer tout ça?
Text by Yves D'Aragon, composed during the project
The co-creative workshops — 3 hours per week for 18 weeks — were organized around the conception and production of a collective work titled L’œuvre et la main-d’œuvre (or “the work and the labour/manpower”), which commemorated CEDA’s active role in promoting popular education in South-West Montreal for 35 years. The work was given two distinct openings, with its first unveiling taking place at the CEDA and a second showing at Skol, in October 2006, in an exhibition of collaborative projects produced outside the centre.
The exhibition at Skol also marked the beginning of a reflection on critical stages in the project. As part of the exhibition, we organized a public meeting facilitated by Devora Neumark to discuss the diverse experiences and challenges. L’œuvre et la main-d’œuvre is on permanent display at the CEDA.
2006-2007
Co-creative project with Nancy Belzile, Adriana de Oliveira, Danielle Arcand, Denis Plante, Gérald Allaire, Roland Cyr, Yves Doyon, Henriette Robertson, Gilles Brière, and Alain Gervais.
This time, in collaboration with artist Nancy Belzile, participants threw themselves into the creation of a visual environment for a theatrical production by a troupe from CEDA’s literacy section. Co-creators in this group process participated in all stages of the design and production of a decor created through projections. The play, Concierge demandé, developed from improvised dialogue and dealt with the theme of housing. Designed to express and refine situations triggered by the dialogue, the environment attempts to push the notion of decor beyond its materiality.
2007-2008
In August 2007, taking into account assessments made for the two previous projects, we organized a preliminary meeting of the two partners in the project to discuss issues related to clients of the literacy program at CEDA. During the meeting, literacy facilitator Nathalie Germain brought up the issue of the loneliness and isolation experienced by the illiterate in society. We then devoted the third joint creative project to a reflective process around questions concerning the notion of encounter and the artistic means for bring it about.
The desire for encounter prompted both partners to leave their physical spaces in order to take artistic action in the urban environment. Together, the co-creators, along with artist Christine Brault, dedicated themselves to creating two performance-actions with the intent of meeting with people who, like those in the literacy program, faced the reality of social isolation. Both actions took place among residents of Montreal’s South-West district, the first, at the Les Fleurs public housing project in Little Burgundy, the second at the Dunkin’ Donuts on Wellington street, in Verdun.
Brief Conclusion
(for detailed conclusions and recommendations, see the reports in the Documents tab)
In our opinion it is important to plan time for critical reflection before, during, and after interventions. Critical reflection, so fundamental to this collaborative project, has led to the following question: How does one lend visibility to an often invisible process? The question also led to the observation that a collaborative project develops over time, and that it is essential to plan time for the development of trust, a fundamental condition for the success of a shared creative project. It led to the further observation that participants’ diverse experiences and competencies are not only a challenge, but a strength. We are aware that the synergy between art and education is a great asset, complimentary and necessary in this context, because it energizes a shared space of encounter where the desires and experiences of each are recognized and respected.
