CARAQUET (GNB) – The provincial government is highlighting another of its artist-in-residence projects this week, on the Acadian Peninsula, with artist David Champagne.
The initiative is intended to provide artists with resources, supplies and space to develop a creative body of work while engaging the host community in a meaningful exchange. Held in conjunction with local arts organizations and not-for-profit groups, the initiative aims to raise the profile of arts and culture in the province.
Originally from Quebec, Champagne has spent the last three years in Maisonnette. His artwork focuses on capturing the beauty of northern New Brunswick and the vibrancy of the Acadian culture through photography. His work, Le Regard de l’ailleurs, will be featured at the Bernard-Jean Gallery in Caraquet throughout 2018, before touring the province in 2019.
“The artist-in-residence program offered by the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture allowed me to run a photomontage project, which took place in Sainte-Marie-Saint-Raphaël,” said Champagne. “I first stayed for two weeks in this coastal community on the Acadian Peninsula in mid-January. This residency will have enabled me to carry out a project for a winter, and funding will have allowed me to intensely conduct the project, from the concept to the exhibition.”
Artist-in-residence projects with the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture are taking place this year in Caraquet, Kedgwick, Miramichi and Baie-Sainte-Anne. The initiative helps emerging and professional artists develop their careers and disciplines while cultivating New Brunswick’s cultural tourism sector.
“David Champagne’s artwork and photography is a wonderful testimony to the vibrancy of the Acadian culture,” said Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou MLA Wilfred Roussel. “We are proud to see that the municipality of Sainte-Marie-Saint-Raphaël, among others, is inspiring New Brunswick’s arts and culture sector.”
Roussel attended for Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister John Ames.
Artist residencies are intended to generate tourism in the province by reaching new audiences, and strengthening the existing ones. The New Brunswick Tourism Growth Strategy will invest $100 million in tourism over the next eight years, with a goal of growing tourism-related GDP to $2 billion by 2025. Tourism visitor spending is estimated at $1.3 billion, making it the third-largest service sector in the province.
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