What a moving event, full of encounters, discoveries and sharing!
Cuisine ta ville lifted us and touched us through the bonds it helped create and the acknowledgement of a society that is rich with human experience and culture. Montreal, America's francophone metropolis, was built on the meeting and clash of cultures. From May 12 to 14, 2017, Cuisine ta ville served up plenty of both!
The installation's white tents, all in a neat row, evoked United Nations refugee camp tents, but also the car shelters that dot entire streets of certain Montreal neighbourhoods. Under each of the ten shelters, a world of encounter awaited, in four acts: the communal bowl of soup, the history lesson, the “Le Coeur et la Tête” seminars, and the artistic programming to provide a deeper understanding of the issues.
In all, the event featured:
- 35 kitchen parties, hosting close to 700 people for 175L of soup;
- 25 testimonials and seminars heard by more than 400 people;
- 18 films and documentaries, 3 workshops, dance, theatre and poetry performances, attended by more than 550 people;
- photo exhibitions, virtual reality, multimedi installations, appreciated by over 3000 people;
- a 25 foot long timeline providing historic information about migrant arrivals through the decades animated by the expert Bernard Vallée, a lexicon to clarify the many terms that cover this complex topic, to enable an informed debate;
- 264 conversations, While having Soup;
- 40 volunteers who accomplished 389 hours of mediation with the public, help in the kitchen, and more. Thank you!
On the Place des Arts esplanade, a new creation by ATSA, When Art Takes Action, Aller Simple, an arrangement of of suitcases and clothes, tugged at our heartstrings as it conveyed the urgency of the flight from home and the long journey toward a new life.
The Le Temps d'une Soupe intervention, for its part, racked up 264 one-on-one encounters!
TAKE A LOOK AT THE POETIC PORTRAITS
video of while having soup
by Jérémie Battaglia
ARTICLES, RADIO and TV coverage
LA PRESSE + 7 mai 2017 | Jean Siag
http://plus.lapresse.ca/screens/9902d9c6-3705-44e1-bb3d-31b1b3e97c1b%7C_0.html
ICI RADIO-Canada PREMIÈRE | Émission 15-18 | Mercredi 10 mai 2017, 16h36 | Chroniqueuse culturelle Mélanye Boissonnault
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emissions/le-15-18/episodes/380828/audio-fil-du-mercredi-10-mai-2017
LE DEVOIR 11 mai 2017 |Caroline Montpetit | Actualités culturelles
http://www.ledevoir.com/culture/actualites-culturelles/498410/atsa-contre-la-xenophobie-ambiante
GAZETTE MONTRÉAL 12 mai 2017 | By Allison Hanes
http://montrealgazette.com/
CTV MONTRÉAL | News Montréal | Friday, May 12, 2017 10:05PM EDT | Reporter AAlia Adam
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal-375-kitchen-party-brings-residents-and-immigrants-face-to-face-1.3412197
ICI CBC RADIO + TV | Daybrake + News | May 13, 2017 7:00 AM ET | By Nantali Indongo
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/cuisine-ta-ville-place-des-arts-montreal-1.4113705
GLOBAL TV | Global News Montréal | May 12, 2017 11:19 pm | Reporter Weather specialist Gloria Henriquez
http://globalnews.ca/tag/cuisine-ta-ville/
ICI RADIO-Canada PREMIÈRE | Émission On n'est pas sorti de l'auberge | Samedi 14 mai 2017, 14h43 | Animateur Francis Reddy
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emissions/on-n-est-pas-sorti-de-l-auberge/
TÉLÉJOURNAL DE RADIO-CANADA | 17 Mai | Tamara Altéresco
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/
DIAPORAMA
Photos : ©Daniel Robillard
What people say about the event
“I want to tell you that I was quite touched by this whole adventure, by you, again and always.”
– Philippe Ducros, speaker
“Another lovely adventure, once again. Thank you, Annie, thank you, Pierre, and thank you all for this quality time!”
– Hubert, mediator for Le Temps d’une soupe
“Rain or shine, there were all these poetic and political discussions going on... Always a pleasure.”
– Koby, mediator for Le Temps d’une soupe
“I very much enjoyed my experience as an ATSA volunteer. Congratulations on a wonderful event!”
– Caro, volunteer
“Bravo for the super event. Inspired, inspiring, and so much was learned about refugees and their situation!”
– Amélie, participant
“A one-of-a-kind experience. Very edifying and enriching. Bravo.”
– Nouara, participant
“By giving two perfect strangers an opportunity to engage in conversation, ATSA contributes to the creation of social ties that leads to the acceptance of people as whole individuals in all their complexity. I was very moved to read the words people used to sum up their encounters with their soup partners, who were totally unknown to them before that, but above all, to see the smiles and knowing glances they exchanged, which says a lot about how little time it takes to develop a rapport with someone provided we have an openness to the world.”
– Laurence, participant in Le Temps d'une soupe