Aux confluents de l’Akiawenhrahk
Yahndawa’
First meetings and workshops
En suivant la rivière Akiawenhrahk/St-Charles (Following the Akiawenhrahk/St-Charles River)
In Wendake and Quebec City
Summer-Fall 2021
Artists
Aïcha Bastien N’Diaye
Alexis Gros-Louis
France Gros-Louis Morin
Andrée Levesque Sioui
Teharihulen Michel Savard
Manon Sioui
Nicolas Renaud
Annie Baillargeon
Anne-Marie Bouchard
Dgino Cantin
Phile Després
Érika Hagen-Veilleux
Jeffrey Poirier
Alain-Martin Richard
Authors
Guy Sioui Durand
Anne-Marie Proulx
Organisations
Avatar
La Bande Vidéo
La Chambre Blanche
Le Lieu
L’Œil de Poisson
Rhizome
VU
Getting to know each other. This was the first necessary step in the Yahndawa’ project, before beginning co-creation residencies between artists and the various organizations involved. Workshops were designed to facilitate initial contact in the region, following the course of the river between the two communities. Activated by a series of symbolic and cultural elements that allowed us to share our perspectives and visions of the land, the workshops provided an opportunity to listen to different stories that invited us to (re)gain awareness of where we are to better connect with each other.
Connecting through water or how
to fit a circle into a square
Virtual meeting between artists and representatives of partner organizations
May 11, 2021
Still constrained by the pandemic and social distancing, we had already postponed our first meeting between the artists and representatives of the partner centers several times, and had to resign ourselves to holding it virtually. Each of us in our little squares, we began a circle of sharing and conversation, using water as a common thread and a way to connect with one another.
Teharihulen began the canoe song to initiate this gathering, then Manon opened and led the talking circle in which everyone was invited to share a memory related to water. Together, we explored amniotic waters, cosmological waters, the waters of childhood, lakes, shores, rivers, inland seas, sensations, states of being... and we introduced ourselves based on the element that now unites and sustains us, far beyond our artistic practices.
We presented the values underlying this project, the modus operandi that is taking shape, and the series of upcoming workshops that will allow participants to connect with each other and get to know the land, which is gradually gaining new perspectives.
Notes taken by Anne-Marie Proulx during our first meeting
First workshop
À partir de la chute Kabir Kouba
(Based on the Kabir Kouba waterfall)
Kondiaronk Community Hall and Huron-Wendat Museum, Wendake
June 19, 2021
The threat of a violent storm forced us to change our plans, which had been to meet on the river in canoes, and instead head to the Kondiaronk Hall, a community space steeped in history and filled with various objects recalling the presence of the community's ancestors. After cleaning and preparing the hall, which had been closed for nearly two years due to the pandemic, we gathered with artists and representatives from each of the organizations involved. It was an opportunity to meet new people and reconnect with old friends. We sat together in a circle. Teharihulen first told us about the place and shared various elements of Wendat culture, such as the bowl game. Then, one by one, people introduced themselves, shared their expectations, and addressed any questions and/or concerns they had. For example, certain concerns mentioned in relation to cultural appropriation immediately sparked a debate in which a variety of positions were expressed, raising collective awareness of the complexity of the relationships and tensions that can arise within the group, in addition to the challenge that this project represents.
France had prepared strawberry juice, and Manon had made sunflower soup and cedar tea. The day continued with a visit to the Huron-Wendat Museum to see the collections and the temporary exhibit together Le canot, porteur de traditions, the replica of the Long House and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Church in Wendake. It was also an opportunity to see Manon's work: the mural in Falaise Park, which tells the story of the woman who fell from the sky, a Wendat origin story, as well as an outdoor exhibition on panels showing several of her works. The day ended at the Kondiaronk Hall with a screening of Nicolas' short films Portages and Oursons, paying tribute to Roland Sioui, Manon's father, who had passed away shortly before.
Second workshop
Yawe yawe yawe
Canoe outing, Wendake
August 14, 2021
We met on a beautiful sunny day for a canoe trip on the river: an experience rich in symbolism, sharing, and humor. We traveled up the winding river, and the canoe provided a special space for conversation, getting to know each other, and navigating together. Upstream, we held all our boats together to form an island, a maneuver suggested by Guy, who took the opportunity to speak. Manon gave each of us a small bouquet of sweetgrass tied with an orange ribbon to mark the recent discovery of the graves of children who disappeared in residential schools. A way of not ignoring the tragedies of our history, even when we gather around creation.We then went with the flow and took a break on an island, in the shade of a forest of tall willow trees, where we shared Teharihulen's mother-in-law's bannock with Véronique's wild raspberry jam. Alain-Martin took the opportunity to present his project to us L'Atopie textuelle and invited some of us to participate by taking a piece of this work with them in exchange for a sound. We then lit a fire, Teharihulen introduced us to tobacco, and we were each invited to take turns burning some.
Third workshop
Aux abords de l’Akiawenrahk
(Around Akiawenrahk)
Walk along the river, visit artists' centers, potluck, and Pecha Kucha presentations by artists, Downtown Quebec City
October 2, 2021
For this third and final workshop, we all gathered at “Anse à Cartier,” in the heart of the public artwork representing the skeleton of the Grande Hermine, one of Jacques Cartier's ships that anchored there in 1535. Guy performed a story for us that revisited the myth of Quebec City's origins from the Wendat perspective. Then we walked along the riverbank and took the time to revisit the series of colonial monuments in Parc Cartier-Brébeuf together.We paused on the Passerelle de la Tortue (Turtle Footbridge) and talked about this animal in Wendat cosmology. After crossing the river, we continued through the city, also viewed from the perspective of Quebec City, passing by the tobacco factory, the Victoria Park footbridge, and the General Hospital. We then stopped at Ludovic Boney's artwork La classe Buissonnière, and Andrée told us about Wari, a wonderful story about maple butter squash.
We then visited each organization individually to learn about their production and distribution facilities. Anne-Marie Bouchard also showed us one of her animations and we then headed to the Îlot des Palais, where archaeologist Marcel Moussette told us a little about his research on this site.
We started the evening with a corn roast and a big potluck feast, where each of the artists from Quebec City cooked a dish to share, followed by a Pecha Kucha evening (a form of presentation consisting of 20 images, each lasting 20 seconds) where each artist was able to present their creative work in their own way. The evening ended around a campfire, because, as Guy says, “important things are said around a fire.”
“I remember that one of the important things shared around the fire came from Aisha, who mentioned how valuable it is to be able to create a sacred space for sharing where we feel confident enough to open our hearts together, ask questions without feeling judged, and learn from one another.” – Véronique Isabelle
Photos : Charles-Frédérick Ouellet