Montréal, jour 3

Montréal hurts. It hurts in the bottom of the feet and all through the legs. I can feel the fatigue in the tips of my toes and all through my calves. After seven or eight hours of exploring the downtown area on my pair of Converse, I can say with a certain degree of empirical confidence that "these shoes were NOT made for walking". Anyway, this is what I found:

After a somewhat disappointing visit to the contemporary art museum (they were in the process of putting on two expos, so most of it was closed), I dedicated the whole day to the Elektra Digital Arts Festival. Earlier that day, I picked up a copy of the Mirror in the subway and read about an "Igloo installation" so I decided to go find it. I didn't have an address or any idea of where it was, but somehow seemed logical to walk to the museum district. 

And so it happened...the unexplainable magical moment that changes your entire day: looking for a bathroom while walking down Rue St. Catherine, I literally bumped into the Belgo building, or the building that hosts the most important Artist Run Centres in Montréal, making it one of the largest visual arts centers in the country. 

It took me a mere second of looking at the old style directory (golden frame and white plastic letters on black velvet) at the lobby to understand what I was about to witness. The Belgo is home to more than 30 contemporary art galleries, plus countless studios and workspaces for creators. 

In other words, I walked into what felt like the Mecca of the Montréal art scene.  More importantly, I walked into the Belgo on the first Friday of the Montréal Biennale, and on the opening weekend of the Elektra festival! I couldn't have hoped for a better afternoon: the place was alive with visitors and openings and talks and artist and wine and cheese and everything that makes contemporary art the more enjoyable. (to see what's on, check out the Belgo Report)

I particularly enjoyed the "Squeeeeque!" installation by Alexis O'Hara at Skol, the installation/performance by Chaban Unit at Circa, and the photographs at Optica and Projex Mtl.

As the sun went down, my legs took me to the famous Usine C, an old factory turned into an impressive arts centre, for the opening night of the Elektra Festival. At exactly 11 pm, I was blown away by Mr. Arnaud Rebotini and his incredible Black Strobe. But this really requires a post by itself, so... à demain! 

Montréal, jour 2

Et alors. The people of Montréal seem to love their city. I woke up and went directly for a pain au chocolat at a little boulangerie next to the Jean-Talon market, and a couple of Montrealers started talking to me. I told them my reason for visiting the city and they instantly began to tell me about the wonders of Montréal, as if they understood that they needed to convince me to stay. When I asked the taboo question, "What about the winter?" they shrugged it off with a classic "Ohh lala, pas de problème". I had my doubts, but I loved the friendliness. 

I spent the rest of the day walking around downtown Montréal, exploring the length of the Museum Quarter along Rue Sherbrooke and Rue St. Catherine. At Rue Crescent I stopped a random guy my age to ask him about the area and he was fascinated to serve as a temporary tour guide. He launched on a 15 minute talk about the city and it's architecture, and the churches and the way it was laid out...and then wrote me a list of about 10 places I should visit. 

I passed by McGill and sat on the sunny grass in front of the library, where I started conversation with a girl that said "I can't imagine a better place for my undergrad experience than McGill...except for the winters!" She was really excited to tell me all about the student life at McGill and about the thousands of things to do in the city, but she was also adamant about the winters: "you'll HATE the winters, but it's worth it." 

And then I walked into the highlight of the day: the IMAGINE: The Ballad of John & Yoko expo at the Museum of Fine Arts. The museography is simply insuperable! It is an expo that breaks the boundaries between audience and artists and invites everyone to participate with the art. For instance, in order to commemorate the famous "Bed-in" for peace that Yoko and John staged in Montréal in 1969, the expo had a whole room recreating the scene, with an enormous white bed where visitors could sit or lie and stage their own "bed-in" while listening to the original recordings of Give Peace a Chance. There is also an incredible room with a white piano where one can sit and play Imagine while watching the original video of the song projected on a huge white wall. 

But the most impressive to me is the room dedicated to the War is Over! campaign. The room is full of TV's displaying original news videos and footage from the major peace demonstrations around the world in 1969, as well as tragic videos from Vietnam. There is also a timeline highlighting the main events of 1969, as well as the main advances in human rights of the 1960s, all surrounded by the posters of the publicity campaign and photographs of John and Yoko's demonstrations. Most importantly, this room didn't feel like a piece of old history; instead, it felt like an urgent call for political protests and mobilizations against today's equally irrational war in Iraq. I left the expo inspired, excited about the vast possibilities for art to stir the minds and hearts of sensible audiences everywhere. 

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.  

Minneapolis 101

Wow. I'm surprised and filled with delight. I just came back from a wonderful wedding in Minnesota and I'm pleased to inform that I discovered two inalienable truths. First, that Jewish weddings are definitely the most fun. (I mean, the famous Jewish "chair dance" where everybody elbows each other is infinitely better than the usual "let's dance a corny slow song and have everybody else watch from the sidelines")

Second, that Minneapolis is a gorgeous city for the architecturally sensitive eye! I expected a nice skyline like any other important American city, the usual parks, and some grand avenues. And yes, I knew about the incredible Walker Art Center and about the famous Mall of America. I also expected the unbearable cold that makes your ears numb the second you step out of the airport door. But I never thought that I would be constantly surrounded by impressive buildings by the most renowned architects of our time!

Minneapolis surprised me the second I stepped out of my hotel door the first morning. Not because of the cold (which was quite shocking), but because of the skyways. It turns out that Minnesotans decided to solve their slight weather problem by connecting every building in the downtown area with glass skyways! In other words, you can traverse through most of the downtown (going to work, lunch, running errands, shopping, dining) in the comfort of heated bridges, never stepping outside. In a way, the city is becomes a live mall.

However, to the first time tourist, a skyway feels like a hamster playground that can never substitute the feel of a city's streets. So I did step outside into the cold air, and it paid off. If you're ever planning to visit this city (and I insist, you should), here is a rough sketch of my itinerary, or what some smart marketing guys would call "Minneapolis by foot 101":

Here is a map.

1. Start early at the Walker Art Center and visit the expo. Then, step outside and walk around the building at least seven times to fully enjoy this amazing creation by Herzog and de Meuron. (these Swiss architects were the ones who turned that old London factory into the Tate Modern...and the created the "bird's nest" stadium for the Beijing Olympics). Then walk around the famous sculpture garden.

2. Walk along the Loring Park and visit the Basilica of St. Mary, which looks like a smaller, but definitely not more modest, version of St. Paul's in Rome. Find your way to Nicolett Mall, which is a pedestrian oriented street full of stores, and which runs a parallel to the theatre district. Walk down on Nicollet (towards the river) and you'll catch a great view of the great skyscrapers, like the Foshay Tower.

3. Take a left on 5th Street and go visit the Hennepin County Library. It's simply fantastic! The building was completed in 2006 by none other than César Pelli (or the architect that designed the Petronas Towers in Malaysia). When I was there, I was walking around the central hall when suddenly a small brass band came down the escalator playing the most joyful circus music and momentarily interrupting the typical library silence.

...to be continued...