The Québécoise artist Louise P. Rouleau (also known as L’OR) paints urban scenes from Montreal.
She discovered that a distant ancestor of hers was one of the original members of the St. Joseph Parish in Burlington.
In the 1840s Amable Rouleau journeyed from Berthier County in Québec to Burlington. He was part of a mass migration that brought substantial Francophone influence to northern Vermont.
To honor her ancestor and cross-border Francophony, L’OR created a painting of St. Joseph’s Cathedral and gifted it to the parish.
She also presented St. Michael’s College with a painting of the courtyard of the Alliance Francaise.
Her show, titled “Racines communes” (Common Roots), celebrated a shared history and culture, reminding us that words and concepts cross the border as freely as the waters of Lake Champlain flow into the Richelieu River. Our past is our passerelle d’embarquement, our bridge to the future.
The exhibit ran from June 5 to 19 at Leunig’s Bistro and Cafe.
