COMMENTS FROM PARTICIPANTS
8^th edition of the JournÉes de la culture (2004)

What do the people who open their doors to you think about the Journées?
We passed the microphone to some of the organizers.

“This was our first year taking part in the Journées, and the response was extraordinary. It was a wonderful opportunity to introduce our committee, to encourage people to think about the importance of protecting our heritage and to make young people aware of the role of fishing co-operatives in the region. Of the 47 refrigerated warehouses built back then, only nine are left. So the Journées de la culture were a special time to talk to people about history, culture and heritage, to see our built heritage as something alive, for both young people and their elders.”

Jocelyn Lacasse, Refrigerated warehouse development committee, L'Anse-au-Griffon

(...) “With the CEGEP art students, our glass workshop was to have lasted two hours, but it actually went on for longer than eleven. They had never used glass before, but in just one day they went through all the stages in making a piece. Every year, I use and even over-use the Journées. It's a wonderful way of educating the public and introducing them to our work.” Patrice Potvin, Centre du Chalet Studio de verre, Ste-Béatrix

(...) “I invited the elementary school students to come outside, and especially to put aside the traditional sheets of paper and draw on asphalt instead. Some of them lay on the ground while their classmates traced around them. What they found fascinating, even more than painting, was the feeling that they were taking part in a huge art project...” (...)

Magali Chouinard, Artist, St-Charles de Mandeville

(...) "Lots of young pensioners are curious, cultivated and full of energy. So we came up with the idea of putting on a drama workshop for them. It gave many of them a chance to live out an old dream. They had belonged to amateur theatre troupes 30 or 40 years ago, and had thought of becoming actors, but it was looked down on at the time. During the Journées de la culture, they had a chance to realize their dreams for a moment.”

Nicole Thibault, Centre d'art La Maison Jaune, Quebec City

(...) “Antoine Giasson, an art student at Concordia University, suggested that we bring together his classmates and the clients of Accueil Bonneau for an artistic activity. It was a marvellous shared experience! We discovered that some of our clients had hidden talents. One had even studied painting. Since then, the paintings they did have been hung on our walls. Now we would like to add some kind of painting activity at our farm in the country. We would never have had this idea had it not been for the Journées de la culture.”

Sister Nicole Fournier, Executive Director, Accueil Bonneau, Montreal

(...) “With Wajdi Mouawad, the Artistic Director of Théâtre de Quat'Sous, and actors who would be playing in one of the season's productions, we wanted to present the plays we would be performing later, but also to return to the very essence of theatre: a script, actors and the audience. All of it outside, by lantern light, in the middle of the night! It seemed like a simple idea, but we had to apply for the permit to use the alleyway 50 days ahead of time, have a petition signed by all the surrounding residents, notify the insurance companies, etc. We expected to attract 75 people, but nearly 285 turned up! It was really a magical night.”

Louisette Charland, Théâtre de Quat'Sous, Montreal