centre d'artistes.artist run centre
A glittering New Year's Eve event on Sunday December 31, 2006 from 5pm to 7pm
At articule, 262 Fairmount O., Montréal
Appearing like a mirage from a winter fairytale, the Ice Palace stood as the glittering centerpiece of Montreal Winter Carnivals in the Victorian era. Constructed from blocks of ice cut from the St. Lawrence River and lit by electric lamps each evening, the Palace mixed a feat of winter engineering with pure and indulgent fancy. However each year, after having provided Montrealers with a week of carnival pleasure, the Ice Palace was demolished, "stormed" by snowshœrs carrying torches and fireworks.
In an attempt to capture some of this by-gone atmosphere and propose the possibility of its return, Leisure Projects presents Storming the Ice Palace, a glittering New Years Eve pre-event featuring all things cold and sparkling. Be prepared to sip champagne, witness the Leisure Projects, newly constructed Ice Palace, and enjoy the flickering NFB projection Ice Carnival Montreal 1885 - Storming the Ice Palace, as it evokes the conflicting aesthetic spirit of the legendary Montreal Ice Palaces.
Leisure Projects is an independent artist-curator initiative that seeks opportunities in glamorous hotel basements, tiny modernist apartments and in the gaps of established gallery programming. Leisure Projects is the delirious brainchild of artist/curators Meredith Carruthers and Susannah Wesley.