“To me, Montreal feels like an island in the middle o f a continent.
There is a Strong sense o f independence here. A s a Montrealer,
la m p a rt o f a unique, vibrant and complicated culture float
is both marginal and international. This is a good place to live
a creative life. ”—Meghan Price
www.WorldMags.net & www.Journal-Plaza.net
affordable studio spaces and has hosted
events from puppet shows and film screen-
ings to craft art exhibits, open studios and
auctions—a microcosm of Montreal’s art
and craft scene.
“Montrealers are stylish, proud of their
city and have a strong will to support local
talent,” says Meghan Price, a textile artist
known for going beyond construction tech-
niques into potent “thoughtscapes.” She’s
also an educator who received a degree
in textile construction from the Montreal
Centre for Contemporary Textiles, headed
by the distinguished Louise Lemieux
Berube, and an
MFA
from Concordia Uni-
versity. Price takes note of the Society for
Arts and Technology, a transdisciplinary
organization dedicated to research,
production and education in the field of
digital culture, and praises the “Souk ®
s a t ”
as “anew tradition in holiday craft
shows, consistently presenting fresh,
edgy and sophisticated productions.”
Another important educational venue,
the Visual Arts Centre, started out as the
Potters’ Club over 60 years ago, and its
ceramics department is still going strong,
teaching the basic techniques but also
encouraging students to test the limits of
ceramic art. The centre’s fine and applied
arts department offers drawing, painting,
sculpture, calligraphy, collage and decora-
tive arts, with jewelry experiencing a
renewal of interest over the last five years.
“Each year in [the centre’s] McClure
Gallery, we feature at least one craft exhibi-
tion,” notes its director/curator Victoria
LeBlanc. “W e don’t make huge distinctions
between art and craft. This year, for in-
stance, we’ll feature an artist who uses clay
as an effective mediator between our con-
ceptions of nature and culture, creating»
Above (portrait)
and right:
Meghan Price
A c tin g L ike Starlings,
2008-2009, from
a series of enameled
copper wire “drawings,"
textile construction,
dimensions variable.
