Julien St-Jean
Shawville July 21, 2021
As part of the MRC’s Regional Tourism Information Station (RTIS) project, youth gathered last Wednesday at the Pontiac museum to learn about the history of the Pontiac.
The project, a joint partnership between the Maison des Jeunes Youth Co-op and the MRC, seeks to teach youth both new skills and about the history of the Pontiac by having them learn from local artists and historians. On Wednesday, youth received a tour of the museum from staff and were taught about felting from local artist Brandie Lekovic.
Lekovic taught youth about different types of felting, such as wet felting, needle felting and upcycling old felts to reuse them in new projects.
“My hope is that it introduces them to new art,” said Lekovic. “It’s easy to access it. Anything you can imagine, you can create it. And nobody really gets hurt besides the occasional finger poke.”
Wednesday’s main project was a large felt created to represent the history of Bristol. Once finished, the felt will be on display in Bristol.
Youth decided to include details such as a horse drawn carriage and a mine to represent specific parts of the municipality’s history.
“We took information we heard on the tour and we’re reproducing it with felt,” said Alexie Durocher, a summer coordinator with Maison des Jeunes, as she created felt art with some of the youths.
According to Desiree Trembley, a Maisons des Jeunes coordinator, this is the project’s first year. It is expected to run until the end of August and will focus on the histories of Bristol, Portage du Fort, Alleyn et Cawood, Rapides des Joachim and L’Isle-aux-Allumettes.
Youth will learn different art styles, such as felting, photo collages, tile mosaics, painting and shadow boxes. The hope is that different art projects will be on display across the Pontiac.
“I’m very proud of the youth,” said Tremblay. “And I hope they’ll leave their mark on the Pontiac.”
