As the musical beats of jazz pulse through the French Cultural Centre, artists rapidly paint, glue and create several distinct works of art to be auctioned later in the night. As the wine flows, artistic and musical creativity flourished at Saturday night’s Jazz Art event.
This year marked the first time for Chantal Briere, the regional director for St. Paul’s French Canadian Association (ACFA), in organizing the event.
“People really enjoy something a bit more chic, a bit more gala,” she said, adding the event is a good opportunity for people to get together and enjoy live jazz, which is not commonly offered in St. Paul. The Celsius Quartet from Edmonton created the backdrop for the artists’ work.
Briere doubled her duties as an organizer with painting, as one of the five artists who each created four pieces of art in the course of the night, that ended up all being auctioned off for a total of $5,000.
“I think it’s really fun, it’s really stimulating,” she said, noting the music changes the work done, from the subject matter to the brushstrokes. For her personally, colours are important, and she explains, “Music speaks colours to me.”
The result, as the night’s emcee Pierre Lamoureux noted, is a “beautiful, artistic” evening out in St. Paul.
Louise Reidy, one attendee, said she enjoyed watching each artist’s techniques and talents, and marveled at the progression of the artwork from beginning to end. “It’s just like – wow. How did that end up being so beautiful when it started out as a blotch of black and some colours?”
“The ambience is nice. It’s a different night out for St. Paul,” she added.
The event, held every two years, serves as a fundraiser and this year’s proceeds are intended for a long planned and hoped-for French daycare centre for St. Paul. Reidy says that ideally, those supporting the project want to see such a centre open in two years.
“There’s a really high demand.”
Although total proceeds from the evening and silent auction had yet to be tallied as of Monday morning, Briere was pleased with how the event unfolded, saying, “It was a really good night.”
