As the cold arrives...

...some good news! Jesse Fuchs (Caroline), Claude Trépanier (Canelle) and Isabelle Roy (Duff) have been working to get the attention of local politicians and it has paid off. Sophie Thiebaut has agreed to meet with Jessy, Isabelle and pouf sometime over the next few weeks. The exact date is still pending but we are looking forward to presenting the initiative to Mme Thibaut soon. Claude has been in contact with Mayor Benoit Dorais' office, who have promised to read the Memoire about the project, and is awaiting a response. Thanks you everyone for the hard work.

In other news the Parc Gallery project has been posted on Montréal Dog Blog, a project initiated by long-time Montréal radio personality and dog lover Nat Lauzon. You can see the posting at: http://www.montrealdogblog.com/10936/montreal-dog-parks/, and learn more about Nat at: http://natlauzon.com/ or listen to her weekend show on 925 The Beat.

Also, anyone who is interested can take part in a study by a research team at the University of Waterloo's Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies who is looking at social interactions (between humans) in dog parks, and has chosen to base the study on the experiences of Montrealers. To find out more follow this link: http://montreal.openfile.ca/blog/curator-blog/exclusive/2011/quebecs-outdated-animal-welfare-laws-lead-study-dog-park-interactio

In Memory of Silver

Silver doing what she loved in a place she loved.
Photo by Daniel-John Watkin

Silver a long time Parc Gallery user with her companion Daniel John, passed away on October 12, 2011. The loss of a beloved animal friend is a profound experience, we send you our warmest wishes and deepest condolences.

Quiet time at Parc Gallery

Parc Gallery, October 14, 2011

Jessy Fuchs (Caroline), Isabelle Roy (Duff) and Thomas Strickland (pouf! art and architecture) had a very positive meeting with Tyrone Benskin, the NDP representative for Jeanne Le-Bar, yesterday. He will be including a text and images about Parc Gallery in his mailer to be sent out next week. An important course of action suggested at the meeting was to increase the park's visibility within Griffintown and elsewhere. Following this suggestion we have resolved to permanently install the images from the exhibit. We will be reinstalling them on the fence over the next week. Jessy, has already been in contact with Sophie Thiébaut of Projet Montéal, who has expressed interest and we will be following up with Benoit Durais. We have over 160 signatures on the petition, Wow! Please tell everyone you know about the initiative to save the park and get them to drop by and sign the petition! 

In Memory of a Great Friend

A picture of Brea in a place she loved.

Beloved Brea passed away today much to the sadness of her loving family Wendy, Chris, Diana and Alec. Our heart goes out to them.

Artists and dogs

Over the past year, people have told us about some amazing art that has been done with dogs. Here are a few examples. American artist Nancy Levine has photographed elder dogs in places they love for the past eight years.

Joon, 16 years old, Sandwich, MA. By Nancy Levine.

Francis Alÿs is a Belgian-born artist who bases his practice in Mexico. For the project Dog Rose (1998) he made the protagonist of a story a little, three-legged dog, Negrito.

Alÿs also worked with Mexican artist Rafael Ortega on the project, The Last Clown (1995-2000), a multi-media work, incorporating painting, animation and narrative, which told the story of a pivotal encounter between an art critic, a city, and a dog.

Alÿs discusses the project in this short video by the Tate Modern.

The petition

The petition to save Parc Gallery is ready to be signed. Hard copies are in the park, in the winter shack at the east end (pens are there too). Sign and put the sheet back in the green envelope - we will pick the petitions up in the next two weeks, to include in our official justification to the Mayor of the South-West, Benoit Dorais. If you cannot make it to the park or would like to have copies of the petition to take to friends, you can download this copy:

We will aim to submit the justification by the beginning of October. Your signatures will really matter. Need help or have questions? Email us at poufblog@gmail.com, or call 514 678 5595. Want to help make the justification? Please email or call. The justification will matter more if it comes from the users of the park themselves.

last day of dog parc gallery

Today we took down the exhibition and ran into a few regular park users. It was a gorgeous day! The sun cast some beautiful shadows through the portraits on the south side, along Olier Street. We had to share a picture (Gallimard) with you.

Portrait of Gallimard - Parc Gallery, 18 Sept. 2011

After we took the show down, we put up signs announcing the petition, which is ready to be signed and can be found in the winter shack at the east end of the park. Please come by, sign, and be part of the action to save Parc Gallery.