Ange and her family discover Village en Arts and Ferme Phylum

Throughout July, the Espace culturel du Quartier Saint-Nicolas hosts a new edition of Village en Arts, a public event offering a host of free artistic activities for young and old, right in the gardens of the Espace culturel. The activities on offer vary every weekend, offering even more opportunities to discover inspiring artists in a variety of media!

First, we had the pleasure of learning a simplified alpaca wool felting technique from the owner of the Levis-based farm Alpaga Sélect (it’s also possible to take an alpaca for a hike during a visit to the farm, an idea we’re sure to keep in mind for next time!) By manipulating the silky fiber of one of their favorite animals, the children created pretty, soft and colorful bookmarks to accompany their summer reading.

The other workshop we presented was the creation of a zine; a sort of little notebook where the artist (us!) comes to put words, illustrations, collages, etc. on a theme of their choice. Here, the kids opted for space and vacations. They took the time to experiment with a folding method to assemble their zine, they thought about their stories and how to illustrate them, it was both a stimulating and relaxing activity.

We then refreshed ourselves with fruit mocktails in the shade of theEspace culturel‘s large gallery, before visiting the exhibitions inside. We then plunged into the colorful, playful world of Olivier Moisan-Dufour and Sarah l’Hérault. The artists worked with scraps and offcuts to create their light-hearted, joyful works. It was a very amusing idea for the children (who also often recuperate in their creations) to realize that these residues could become real works of art in their own right!

In the backyard, as we rocked on the iconic pink flash swings, we watched a cohort of teenagers in the midst of creating murals as part of a youth mentoring program in collaboration with Festivent.