The "En couleurs" Exhibition at Collège de Saint-Laurent: A Complete Success!
By
Véronick Talbot, contributor, hired in the various student projects of Tolerance.ca
To mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, arts students at the Collège de Saint-Laurent were asked to create work on the theme of cultural diversity and identity. Organized in collaboration with Tolerance.ca® as part of the series on the diversity of values and religious beliefs, published on its Web site, the exhibition lasted a week and drew hundreds of visitors. Close to 40 students attended the opening. Victor Teboul, director of Tolerance.ca®, spoke at the opening to congratulate the participants. Also present were François La Bissonnière, a member of Tolerance.ca® and professor in the French Department at Collège de Saint-Laurent, and Ariane Bureau, project director. Véronick Talbot of Tolerance.ca® met with the participants.
Democracy: defending the value of equality
The “En couleurs” exhibition led many young people to reflect on diversity and other questions that mattered to them.
Victor Teboul, director of Tolerance.ca®, spoke at the opening to congratulate the participants and organizers. He observed that while the March 21 efforts were aimed at building awareness of the struggle against racism, they were also a reminder that our society is not racist: on the contrary, we live in an inclusive environment based on democratic values that guarantee equality and freedom of expression in a spirit of mutual respect. Mr. Teboul pointed out that these values, which are part of our daily lives, are unknown to more than half of humanity and we must struggle to make democracy a reality for other societies around the world.
Ariane Bureau, project director and student life coordinator, takes every possible opportunity to teach her students about diversity and allow them to express themselves on the subject. “I want to let the students speak out and talk about what March 21 means to them. I want to hear what they think about diversity and the notion of their own identity.” This initiative is especially pertinent given that 15% of the student population at the CEGEP is of immigrant background. “Our young people are learning about other cultures on a daily basis,” notes Ms. Bureau.
Fear of losing one’s identity
It would be a mistake to think that only students born outside of Quebec felt they could relate to Ms. Bureau’s project. These days, as we witness the phenomenon of globalization and as cultures are assimilated to the American model, the fear of losing one’s cultural identity and roots is something that everyone can identify with. That is evident in the student work. Three film students, Marie-Claude Lacerte, Isabelle Leduc and Simon Lesage, used cinema as a medium to illustrate the phenomenon and raise awareness of identity among young Quebecers, who all too often tend to forget their origins. “We wanted our film to show our own personal vision of the situation. So we reversed reality and presented people from here as if they were a visible minority. We wanted them to understand what it’s like for immigrants, but also to show the importance of preserving the culture and values that shaped our identity and now form part of our collective identity,” said Isabelle in an interview. The film, The Assimilation, tells the story of a young student who has just moved to Montréal. She notices that everyone around her speaks English. When she finally meets a student who speaks her language, they decide to assimilate all the others to their culture. “The problem,” notes Isabelle, “is that we don’t live our culture on a daily basis. For example, we are no longer attached to the Catholic religion, except when it comes time to set ourselves apart as Quebecers in relation to visible minorities. We only realize how important our own culture is when we are faced with another,” comments Isabelle, “and that is what happened to the main character in our film.”
Another student, Ravy Puth, who is studying visual arts, took a different point of view. She was born in Quebec to Cambodian parents. She recalls that she became aware of her roots during a workshop led by Ariane Bureau. That was when she realized that she should consider her Cambodian background important, because it too was part of her identity. “Before, I was intolerant of my family because they were too conservative—that’s typical of Cambodians. I was angry because it seemed like my background deprived me of the chance to live certain experiences. I resented my own identity. But when I learned more about my background and about the country, I began to appreciate it. Understanding helped me to accept my situation and recognize that it’s an integral part of who I am today.” Ravy created three plaster scenes, 15 cm x 22 cm, containing fragments of family photos. “In the end,” she admits, “it’s a work about myself.”
Open-mindedness and clear-sightedness
Several other works bear witness to the open-mindedness of the artists who created them. Film student Catherine White presented a series of nine photographs directly inspired by the exhibition title, “En couleurs” (In Colour). The images show a young girl wearing colourful clothes, and in an accompanying text, Catherine compares them to the flags of various countries. She wants to show that over the course of our life experiences, we acquire knowledge about other cultures; we learn to appreciate them and even to adopt some of their values. Nonetheless, she remains clear-sighted about the ability to accept others, as shown by her documentary, Identités déracinées. The film focuses on the former residential school system for Aboriginal people. These institutions, established by the Canadian government and run by the Catholic Church, aimed to destroy Native culture through the process of depersonalization, according to Catherine. “We made this documentary because it was a little-known subject, and because people should know that these things existed,” she says. “It’s comforting to see how far we have evolved. Raising awareness can only help us to go farther in the future.” Catherine has screened the film to a secondary school audience, and the reactions were just as surprising as those of college students. “It’s hard to identify with being on the side of the perpetrators, and returning to the not-so-distant past when the population was closed in on itself and its own culture, without being open to that of others. Isolation prevents dialogue between the various sectors of the population,” commented Marie-Claude after the film screening.
Another student, Mylène Lavoie, expressed her point of view on the subject by writing three poems, “La richesse des autres cultures” (“The Wealth of Other Cultures”), “Mon pays, ma richesse” (“My Country, Source of Wealth”) and “Le cégep, c’est…” (“What CEGEP Means to Me”). “I strongly believe in the importance of other cultures,” she says. “They have contributed a lot to the city of Montréal, for example—it would not be the same without them. Life in CEGEP would not be the same either, without the presence of all these cultures that we learn more about every day.”
The project director, Ariane Bureau, is proud of what the students learned during the event. “They all have the same perspective. The message has stayed in their minds and they want to pass it on to others. That’s especially important because it’s during secondary school and CEGEP that you learn to forge your identity. If you’re already aware of these causes at that time, you’re likely to remain aware.” Nonetheless, students must not forget that they have a right to their opinion, and saying what you think does not necessarily make you a racist. “Students are open-minded, but they are also very clear-headed about this issue, which makes them more objective when they speak about it,” she observed.
Ravy Puth, Catherine White, Marie-Claude Lacerte and Mylène Lavoie were awarded grants by Tolerance.ca® as part of its project on the diversity of values and religious beliefs, produced with the financial support of Canadian Heritage. They were warmly applauded by all those present at the event. The Tolerance.ca® team wishes to thank the other participants, as well as Vincent Doré and Lucas Feraz for their excellent musical performance during the opening.
Editor’s Note: CEGEP is the acronym for general and vocational colleges in Quebec.
English translation: Christine York
See also the events organized at Vanier College and the University of Sudbury.
This article is part of a series on the diversity of values and religious beliefs in colleges and universities and is presented with the financial support of:
* The students who participated in the “En couleurs” exhibition at Collège de Saint-Laurent, with Professor François La Bissonnière (front row, left); Victor Teboul, director of Tolerance.ca® (back row, far left); Ariane Bureau (back row, centre) and Véronick Talbot (back row, far right). Photo: Guy Labissonnière.
** Victor Teboul, speaking at the event. Photo: Guy Labissonnière.
*** Ariane Bureau. Photo: Guy Labissonnière.
**** The audience listening to one of the participants. Photo: Guy Labissonnière.
***** Mylène Lavoie, recipient of one of four awards from Tolerance.ca®. Photo: Guy Labissonnière.