February 2, 2010 Fringe Arts

Hochelagart

Pioneer east end gallery provides a rare meeting space for neighbourhood artists

by Laura Beeston

Under the looming shadow of the Olympic Stadium, past loitering teens smoking outside Joliette metro, beyond the rented rowhouses and poutine joints, something is growing in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

The southeast neighbourhood of Montreal, traditionally misunderstood as the “French ghetto” by Anglos and art fags alike, is foreign territory for those who naively believe the Montreal creative landscape meets its eastern boundaries somewhere around Papineau Street.

But it’s here in Hochelag, as it’s known to locals, that the work of up-and-coming francophone artists and students is happening in huge ways. The moving and shaking finds a home at L’art passe à l’Est, one of the neighbourhood’s sole galleries and current home to a collective show dubbed Le grand dessin canadien.

Featuring the work of Université du Québec à Montréal alumni and artists from Quebec City, this show exclusively celebrates the medium of drawing.

“There are a lot of places to create art and a lot of artists in the neighbourhood, but the problem is that there are not so many spaces to regroup—it’s very split up. C’est, comme, dommage un peu,” said Louis Bouvier, who began showing his work at the gallery three years ago as an UQAM student and whose series, “Art Checkers,” is currently on display. “When we get together out here, people see or hear about our stuff. We can unite to possibly do another collective and it will grow bigger and better—we can try to make Hochelaga-Maisonneuve à rénover, tsé?”

Created in 1999 by UQAM’s visual arts student association, the gallery was intended to offer students space outside of the university to show their stuff during the semester. L’art moved to a permanent, full-time site in 2007.

“Young people here want to make things move,” said Remi Cosnier, another artist exhibiting work in Le grand dessin. “They’re not just living here, going to work and going home—they’re creating places and moments of social and
cultural exchange. There’s an identity coming out of this; there’s a community born in these gallery walls.”

The advantage of not having a pre-existing scene is that things are kept pretty real, Cosnier added. “[L’art passe à l’Est is] a positive place to show. It’s not a fake or pretentious place. It’s not like going into galleries and being a snob about art. It’s libre.”

Bouvier added that he believes Hochelaga-Maisonneuve has struck the balance between being underground and well-known. It just depends if you’re from the neighbourhood.

“You think that something big is going to happen here, but you’re not sure yet,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any secret about [the art scene], since the people that live here know it and we’re a community. With this space, anyone can come and see what we’re doing. Plus on est fou, plus on rit, you know?”

Le grand dessin canadien runs until Feb. 14 at L’art passe à l’Est (3843 Ste-Catherine St. E.). For more information on the gallery, visit lartpassealest.com.