If you happen to be in Montreal in the next few days, be sure to check out the big tent erected at Place Emelie-Gamelin near Berri/UQAM station. No, the circus ain’t in town – given Cirque du Soleil‘s ticket prices these days, it’s thankfully something a heckuva lot more economical.
The tent is part of the seventh edition a unique art fest, Etat D’Urgence (State of Emergency), and it houses a free 24-hour canteen, clothing depot and medical clinic for Montreal’s homeless. In a more conventional art fest vein, the venue also plays home to a slew of (also free) art performances, screenings and installations.
The whole thing is coordinated by Montreal’s dynamic activist art duo Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable – the same gang who caused a Quebec media stir by ticketing 10,000 idling vehicles with official-looking triplicate forms a few years back, and also the culprits who installed a burnt-out SUV in Yonge-Dundas Square last summer.
If you’re feeling like art just has to be expensive for you to enjoy it – or you genuinely want to or are able to help further to the fest’s aims – you can make a PayPal donation by following this link.
Interestingly, another Montreal-originated org, the Louise T Blouin Foundation, put on an international conference in NYC last week that addressed whether art and design can save the world. You can read more about Guardian reporter Martin Kemp’s take on it by clicking here.
Image courtesy of ATSA.
One comment
ATSA’s Pierre and Annie are amazing!!
I’m heading over on Saturday with The New Kings (www.thenewkings.ca playing Sat night at Etat D’Urgence) to work as a waiter at the Banquet. This is a unique opportunity to give back to some of the most neglected members of society and I’m glad to be a part of it.
If you’ve been wanting to go to Montreal now’s the time – an action not to be missed!