Artists looked to the past for a special exhibit in the Pointe-Claire Village.
Paintings are being showcased at Studio 77 Café, with each work being part of a retrospective about the village.
“I remember as a kid walking up Cedar Ave. Under the tunnel there was a highway where the railroad tracks are,” said local artist Jacques Semeteys. “I would wait for steam locomotives to go by because they were still around. For a kid growing up you’d always wave to the conductor and they’d always wave back.”
The project engaged locals like Semeteys and reconnected them with where they grew up.
“I think history is important,” said Semeteys. “I think we should study it and this is a little bit of history for people to look at and maybe ask a few questions. ‘Oh, is that what this is like?’”
Included in the works are scenes depicting the1950s and 60s, with some going back to the 1600s, when the Iroquois clashed with French soldiers.
In recent years the village has undergone some big changes, such as the closure of the Pioneer Bar, a longtime staple. Semeteys pointed out that change for Pointe-Claire, like all places, is inevitable.
“Cities grow outwards and population grows,” he said. “They need places and more buildings go up. So we’re trying to give people a window into the past before everything disappears.”
