There is a bicycle path running the length of the Soulanges Canal. In an initiative to bring the works of local artists closer to the population, the Autour de Nous artists group has installed posts every kilometer along the path and has mounted vertical banners, each showing images from two artists.

            The Autour de Nous group of artists is a non-profit organization focusing its activities on the upper St. Lawrence Valley. Its mission is to operate a collective of professional artists to expand the exchange of art and culture and promote the professions active in the visual arts. The mandate of Autour de Nous is to create new distribution initiatives and develop projects to further the interaction of art with the public. It intends to organize artistic and cultural events to help sensitize the public at large to the existence and the importance of art and culture.

            Contact: (450) 455-5570; 1167 Chemin Frontière, Rivière-Beaudette, Québec J0P 1R0; autourdenous.org

            The Autour de Nous group of artists first conceived the project in 2008 and received the support of the bike path committee as well as several other regional and municipal bodies. The positive reception allowed them to obtain the $60,000 financing they needed to implement their idea. They proceeded to put up the posts along the Soulanges Canal, one every kilometer, and mounted the works of art, two to a post, one facing each way. The exhibition reaches from Pointe des Cascades in the east, at the entrance to the Soulanges Canal, to St. Zotique in the west.

            To ensure impartiality and fairness in the selection of the artists, the group chose the artists to be included in collaboration with the cultural committee of the Vaudreil Soulanges regional municipal council and the regional museum of Vaudreuil Soulanges. The criteria for selection were originality, coherence with the rest of the project and quality of execution. The group asked for a submission of works and mounted those chosen, planning for a four-year exhibit.

            The project was considered a success and, in 2013, the time came to renew the exhibit. A total of 54 artists with several being from the Hudson area were selected in April. They submitted their works which were photographed and printed on vinyl banners about six feet high. Two banners will be mounted on each of 27 flag posts along the bike path.

            In addition to the work of Michele Meredith, “Along the Path,” shown at left, and Heather Dubreuil’s “Villagio Toscano,” at right, the banners will include works by former Arts Hudson featured artists Daniel Gautier and Solange Villeneuve as well as Hudson and Region Studio Tour participants Lorraine Bouchard and Gerard Fuentes.

            According to the organizers, about 100,000 people, including cyclists and pedestrians, use the path each year. They call the exhibition the world’s largest outdoor art exhibit and feel that it not only provides exposure to the Vaudreuil Soulanges artists involved but also acts as a tourist attraction for the region.

            Because the works of art are photographed and the photographic image is printed on vinyl, the group accepted a wide variety of works. In addition to all kinds of painting, ranging from oil and acrylic to pastel and ink drawings, artists could submit sculpture, wood carvings and ceramics. While the final selections are mostly paintings, other art is represented as well.

            For the moment, the new works are not installed yet but they should be up by the end of the summer, and the group intends to publish a map showing where the different works are located. Some of the original works on which the banners are based can be seen and purchased at the Autour de Nous gallery, Pavillon Wilson, 4B rue Principale, Coteau-du-Lac.