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ABRAM-VILLAGE, P.E.I. —

The many components of Acadian life in the Evangeline region - its music, dance, culture, cuisine, industries and above all its “joie de vivre” – are being displayed on 35 paintings that have just been mounted in front of Abram-Village homes.

The objective of the Street Exhibition project is to help summer visitors, especially those coming to the area for the 2019 Congrès mondial acadien in mid-August, to discover what the Acadian spirit is all about.

The large multicoloured panels by local artists are located on both sides of Route 124, between Evangeline School and the Évangéline Recreation Centre. Organizers say they are already attracting a lot of attention and admiration, both from visitors and locals.

The president of the Palette Artists’ Co-operative, Jeannette Blaquière, said she is particularly satisfied with the exhibition.

"We hope to be able to find a permanent home for these beautiful works – a community facility with large walls, for example – so that people can appreciate them for many years to come," said Blaquière. "It would also be interesting to put the panels back outside each summer, if the people in the community so wished, and possibly even to add other works each year.”

She said about 10 artists from the co-operative, supported by several other artists from all over the Island (including Lieutenant Governor Antoinette Perry), painted the works free of charge because they believed in the project.

Théodore Thériault developed and co-ordinated the project while Lise Genova guided the artists who supported the initiative.

Blaquière said the public was invited to submit photos that could be copied in the form of paintings for the project. The selection committee then picked photos that would represent as many aspects of Acadian life as possible. In addition, some artists offered to create and donate their own works for the project.



Linda Derasp and Sylvie Cayouette's painting of two young musicians with an Acadian flag near the Cape Egmont Lighthouse.

THEMES AND COLORS

The Acadian flag and its colours are omnipresent - one of the paintings shows three cows painted in red, white and blue.

As visitors check out the panels, they will see artistic representations of the Agricultural Exhibition and Acadian Festival (concerts, the mascot Acazing and the parade), musicians and dancers, the late singer Angèle Arsenault, the Confederation Bridge, historical scenes, the Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel Church, the popular Cape Egmont Lighthouse, sand castles, fishermen, farmers, Acadian quilts and other themes.

Some of the paintings represent Acadians from Quebec, Louisiana and Maine.

All those who would like to explore the 35 works are welcomed to visit them free of charge and preferably on foot. Visitors should give themselves about an hour to explore the entire exhibition since it is displayed over a distance of about a kilometre.