Last year, Dominick Trudeau was taking a break from exhibiting. But this year, it is literally on fire! Everything is busy and several activities will follow one another for the holiday period. Of course we are talking here about his passion: nurseries. Dominick Trudeau has more than 700! But each time, a few hundred end up in one place or another. From November 6 to December 22, this artist presents “Joyeuses crèches… a stroll in 60 countries! » both at the Maison de la culture Maisonneuve as well as in several windows on Sainte-Catherine Est and Ontario Est streets in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. There is also his new book, “When I think about my Christmases!” (Editions TNT). In short, a lot of work to do and great events to visit.
Well, the younger generations will tell us “ok, nativity scenes are old, they’re old-fashioned, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the donkey and the ox”, but wait to see what Dominick Trudeau has in store for you and can -maybe you will no longer see nurseries in the same way. You will laugh madly when you see the “Montreal crèche”… in orange cones! Ah there, I can almost hear you laughing! No ?
On Promenade Ontario, we can indeed see several crèches installed by Dominick Trudeau, such as at Biscuits Oscar or at Canard Café. There, he will display a nativity scene with cute little ducks. “I’m having a lot of fun this year with this exhibition, I’m trying to adapt the crèches to businesses, it’s very funny and interesting at the same time. I can’t wait to see people’s reaction,” he says. And who would believe that a sparkling and very colorful nativity scene from Poland is made of… Candy wrapping paper! “Well yes,” Dominick Trudeau said with a very broad smile. It is very precious, it comes from Krakow and it is made with very thin candy paper, it is also very fragile, which is why it must be handled with care.” This is one example among many others of true works of local craftsmanship and which will be on display at Biscuits Oscar.
La Chapelle Barbiers, Simplement Fée, Les Givrés or even the Pop-up Christmas Boutique, on Ontario East, but if we go down to Sainte-Catherine East, also at Café Graffiti, Bistro Ste-Cath, Agrigourmet and also La Taqueria d’Hochlag are just some of the 16 establishments in which you can admire these sometimes very original nativity scenes as mentioned previously. It starts on November 6, too. But why do that in windows? “The windows are a personal trip,” he says with his mischievous air. No, really I wanted to show that there are all kinds of nurseries. It also seems that a crèche has become taboo, we don’t dare venture there too much, it’s religious, and the merchants don’t know me. When I went to see the Société de développement commercial (SDC) on Promenade Ontario, they took me, at first, for a “Jesus freak”, then they heard my proposals and understood this concept. . But they also didn’t know me, now, quietly, we are becoming friends!”
Right next to the Promenade Ontario, we find the Maison de la culture Maisonneuve which will host “Joyeuses crèches… A stroll through 60 countries”. Of course, Trudeau cannot exhibit his more than 700 nativity scenes, that would be unthinkable.
A new book
Ten years ago, this artistic director published “Joyeuses crèches” (GID Éditeurs), a book essentially in homage to his father and the crèches which were bequeathed to him by the latter. Dominick Trudeau does it again this year with another amusing writing, “When I think about my Christmases!”, with drawings by the artist François Guillet and a preface by the singer Louise Latraverse. He recounts the Christmases of his childhood, we see him as a child, the way things were for him with his family, his loved ones, etc. This director even offers us a log recipe inspired by his mother’s with apple jelly! “I don’t know how my mother will react, she hasn’t read the book yet,” he says with a laugh. There was the 1is book, but here I wanted to tell other things, to explain stories from other countries, for it to be fun but also interesting, for people to learn things about certain traditions that we find elsewhere. He tells stories of the holiday season from countries such as Mexico, Syria, Sweden, Italy, etc.
The book comes out on November 6. But several events are linked to it. For those who live in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Dominick Trudeau will be at the Librairie Moderne, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., for a signing session. Then, on November 18 from 6 p.m., there will be quite a launch at Bistro Le St-Cath. “It will be a big party, with a pianist and singers to sing Christmas and have fun,” said this artist. No time to be bored here since Trudeau will be at the Fierté Littéraire Book Fair, December 7, from 10 a.m. The next day, December 8 from 1:30 p.m., he will present a workshop for creating crèches, at the Maison de la culture Maisonneuve. From December 13 to 15, 2024, he will be at the Marché des Fêtes at the Denise-Pelletier theater. Yes, this theater transforms into a Christmas market with artists and artisans in the space of a few days. Phew!
INFOS | encoredesidees.com
