Martin C. Barry
As many as 20,000 appreciators of fine sculpture and art from all over eastern Canada gathered in Laval’s picturesque Old Sainte Rose district from July 27 – 30 to take part in the 22nd annual Sainte-Rose Art Symposium.
Over the course of the three-day event, they had the opportunity to appraise hundreds of art works and to purchase the creations of 90 carefully-selected artists from Laval and many other regions in Quebec as well as parts of the maritime provinces.
Their reputation grows
Carole Faucher, president of the Corporation Rose-Art which organizes the event, said in an interview with Newsfirst Multimedia that the symposium is gaining recognition each year as one of eastern Canada’s largest and most prestigious gatherings of visual artists.
Among the new features introduced at this year’s symposium was a booth where those not yet initiated to the unique joys of canvas painting could sit with an experienced artist and learn some of the first steps. As well, an art auction featured paintings depicting scenes from some of Laval’s more picturesque districts.
MNA Habel chairs event
This year’s official spokesperson was Montreal-based journalist/photographer/culture critic Daniel Daignault, who is widely known among Francophone readers for his contributions to the magazines 7 Jours and Le Lundi. As well, Sainte-Rose Liberal MNA Jean Habel was back again this year as honorary chairman of the event.
“I am very happy to have an organization like Rose-Art in our community in order to awaken our senses while embellishing our streets and our lives,” Habel said in a poignant message to patrons published in the symposium brochure. “There is nothing like a work of art to make us feel, while inspiring and making us think,” he added.
Artists came from far
While more than half of the artists and sculptors whose works were exhibited in the show were from Laval, some came from more distant regions of Quebec such as the Eastern Townships and the Laurentians. Still others came from as far as the Acadie area of New Brunswick, one of the the many regions across eastern Canada where the Sainte-Rose Art Symposium’s reputation continues to grow.
