MONTREAL – A collaboration between two English and French schools in Montreal has resulted in more than just a gorgeous artwork, it’s also created cultural and linguistic bridges.
Over sixty students in Verdun from Lester B. Pearson School Board and Commission Scolaire Marguerite Bourgeoys have worked together to create two spectacular mosaics.
One is a triptych that will be showcased at Beurling Academy and the other is a diptych that will be exhibited at Monseigneur Richard High School.
“Despite living side by side, communities sometimes do not interact with each other for a variety of reasons,” noted the students in a joint statement.
“This collaborative art piece is a result of two such communities who decided to join together and dedicate their efforts toward common goals.”
These goals included learning to be more open-minded towards others, accepting differences in language, traditions and beliefs, and building on a shared love of and for art.
The project was funded by a Quebec government grant under the Projet d’echanges linguistiques intra-Quebec (Project Peliq-an), which provides resources to assist in covering project costs to teachers who wish to organize language exchange projects with their classes.
“It’s no accident that the genre of mosaic art was determined to be the ideal vehicle to bring two varied and interesting groups together,” said Beurling art teacher Michelle Wright.
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“Just like a mosaic, there were many contributors who, by working together toward a common goal, created the ‘big picture’ of how interspersed and overlapped our likes, interests, traditions and similarities are.”
“I have been thrilled with every aspect of this project,” said David Abracen, the principal at Beurling Academy.
“Seeing students from both schools sitting at the same table . . . creating the sketches for what would become the basis of the permanent piece and communicating in each other’s mother tongue – either for practice or just to be polite – was really memorable.”
For the art teacher, the most important aspect of the project was the experience the students had of working and creating together.
“Connections and friendships have been made that will perhaps develop into long-lasting ones,” Wright said.
“Understanding and appreciation for each other’s traditions and beliefs has grown and the seed has been sown for the potential of open mindedness towards others in the future.”
There will be a vernissage at Beurling Academy on Tuesday, May 14, from 8:30 to 10 a.m.
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