Artist Jean Paul Riopelle is shown in a 1955 handout photo. Nine cultural projects have been chosen to share a $1.3-million Canadian Heritage grant to create artworks for the 100th anniversary of artist Jean Paul Riopelle’s birth. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-@Estate Jean Paul Riopelle/SOCAN (2022) **MANDATORY CREDIT**
MONTREAL – Nine cultural projects have been chosen to share a $1.3-million Canadian Heritage grant to create artworks for the 100th anniversary of artist Jean Paul Riopelle’s birth.
The Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation, in collaboration with the Department of Canadian Heritage, describes the Riopelle Dialogues Program as one of the most ambitious cultural programs in Canada.
Artists were chosen by a committee put together by the foundation and the Quebec not-for-profit arts group “Culture Pour Tous” following a Canada-wide call for projects.
The community-based projects largely feature nature themes, public exhibition, outdoor events or a mix of disciplines, such as a proposed performance by Ryan Gray and Dawn Shepherd in Nova Scotia that will meld visual and circus arts.
Riopelle was born Oct. 7, 1923 in Montreal and died March 12, 2002. The Canadian painter and sculptor is widely regarded as Canada’s most important modern artist.
Cultural events in his honour began in the fall of 2022 and include a variety of tributes that include classical music, circus arts, theatre, cinema, literature and museum exhibitions. Celebrations culminate in the fall of 2025 with the opening of a new wing dedicated to Riopelle’s work at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Quebec City.
Details on the nine art projects can be found online at http://www.riopelledialogues.com.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March, 31, 2023.
