Culture pour tous

BIBLIO-VÉLO: RAMON VITESSE GETS CULTURE ROLLING IN COWANSVILLE

A Cowansville cultural officer enlivens the life of youths with his
neighbourhood cultural vehicle the Biblio-vélo.

In the streets, parks and surroundings of the Eastern Township city of Cowansville the cultural officer Ramon Vitesse appears on his bike with his load of books and art material for his in situ workshop in public spaces frequented by youth (12-20 year old). The Biblio-vélo is a bicycle equipped with a small trailer filled with books, fanzines, comic books, stencils, and collages to be created with old magazines; all things likely to stimulate the curiosity and occupy youths’ creative minds.

 

By proposing original creation workshops and a selection of alternative publications not found in mainstream culture or school and municipal institutions, the Biblio-vélo makes it possible to directly contact a clientele that is assumed to be distant and marginal. Everything is done on the spot, where it happens when it happens. The youth can consult the publications or borrow them without any other formality but the promise to return them later, i.e. a loan based on an honour system.

As for the workshops they can involve stencil painting, comic books using the exquisite corpse technique, or even automatic writing. Ramon Vitesse seeks to “promote cultural expression in view of changing the world by first starting with oneself!” Three words are at the heart of Ramon Vitesse’s activities and dialogue with the youth — inform, discuss, experiment. His slogan: “Document dreams and utopias! Dare to be who you are!”

Without question, Ramon Vitesse has become the vehicle of alternative culture among youth. The magazines are independent, the fanzines and art books are more often than not self-produced and the book’s subjects are anarchy, social change, feminism, etc. The Biblio-vélo is also equipped with a musical listening post where one can discover up-and-coming artists.

This curious adventure is based on the singular expertise of its initiator Ramon Vitesse, or Stéphane Tardif by his real name, who has over twenty years of experience as a street worker and cultural producer. As an illustrator, comic book creator and columnist—CKUT, À Bâbord, Le Couac, Le Tour, Recto-Verso, etc.—he has been tuned into the Quebecois alternative cultural and activist milieu for many years. This has provided him access to an original collection and many contacts to draw on for his projects.

Though he defines his younger self as “a drop-out, always the last in class who barely passed,” he nevertheless went on to earn a BA in criminology while also taking classes in the psycho-sociology of communication. However, his actions are more guided by his experience than his studies. “The Biblio-vélo project is something I first imagined to revolutionize my own life, which consisted of frustrating street work in downtown Montreal, anarchist activism, engaged journalism, playing music in the metro, independent fanzine publishing and underground musical production.” The Biblio-vélo saw the light of day in Montreal in 2000 and was kept rolling for three years thanks to support from the Dans la rue organization, an independent shelter for street kids in the Montreal Centre-Sud neighbourhood, Cactus Montréal and the Centre St-Pierre, two other important community resources that are very aware of the extreme poverty affecting marginal youth in downtown Montreal.

The Biblio-vélo resurfaced in Cowansville in 2007. Enthusiastic about proposing an innovative cultural resource aimed at helping adolescents directly, the city hired Ramon Vitesse as a cultural development officer with the support of the Villes et villages d'art et de patrimoine (VVAP) * program. The Fonds culturel Brome Missisquoi and the Ville de Cowansville (Service culture, tourisme et patrimoine), financed this renewal with the support of the Sac à mots, a literacy organization, the youth centre Le Trait d’Union and the Massey-Vanier high school.

At the close of the Biblio-vélo’s season Ramon Vitesse leaves the streets and takes on the halls with his backpack. Instead of weaving through Cowansville’s outdoor spaces he roams through the corridors of the Massey‑Vanier high school which is attended by nearly 2,000 students from ages 12 to 17.

Ramon Vitesse stimulates alternative action, original drawing, critical thinking and citizen participation. A broad program that he pulls forward with his Biblio-vélo project, but which he also puts into action through the organization of a multitude of other original activities. For the literacy organizations the Sac à mots and the Yamaska Literacy he created a wordless comic strip in order to reach the participating persons directly and to raise awareness about this issue among the population. With the city’s downtown skaters in mind, and in collaboration with the youth centre Le Trait d’Union, for the summer of 2009 he is organizing the CowanSkateCult, a program for emerging youth groups. Also for this summer he is setting up an artist residency in collaboration with the Office municipal d'habitation (OMH) to respond to graffiti vandalism. For three weeks a recognized graffiti artist will work on the creation of a mural and then give workshops to Cowansville youth. If comics have made inroads in Cowansville to the point that the city now holds a popular festival in December, it certainly has a little something to do with Ramon Vitesse’s pedal power...

Ramon Vitesse’s approach is undoubtedly different and may raise some concerns. Nevertheless, Ramon Vitesse and his projects have caught on, the needs of partners in the socio-community milieu are being met and youth keep asking for more. It is rare that a city of this size can proudly claim to be the host of so many original cultural initiatives.