ABOUT

Gare de Matapédia - Artistique and Community Pole is a contemporary visual arts center housed in a heritage railway building. Its mission is to support the creation, production and dissemination of works of art. Through free events offered to the public, whether in the form of brunches or cocktail parties, open-house workshops, discussions, exhibitions, performances or creative workshops, Gare de Matapédia aims to bring artists and communities closer together, and to enrich people's knowledge of themselves and the world. Its project is based on residencies, i.e. hosting artists in the studio for a set period of time, through four different programs: Résidences Québec-Acadie, Résidences TransAtlantiques, Résidences Internationales and Résidences Accès Libre. Permanent and temporary exhibitions are inspired by the location and history of the site. Promoting sustainable social and community engagement, the project preserves the use of the waiting room by train passengers in which exhibitions are presented, a great opportunity to develop audiences for contemporary art.

Direct relations between artists and the public are at the heart of our proposal, as they help to facilitate understanding and awareness of art through human contact. Public access to the creators' workspaces offers the privilege of seeing works in the process of creation, and thus contributes to a closer relationship with art. The aesthetic experiences that emerge are unique, encourage discussion and strengthen bonds between participants through the collective emotion shared by all during these events.

MERGING CONTEMPORARY ART AND HERITAGE

The Matapédia train station is a heritage building dating from 1903, classified by the federal and provincial governments as a key element in the history of regional development by rail. Prior to the project, only the waiting room was functional, while most of the other spaces were abandoned. The establishment of an art center will preserve the building's authenticity, revitalize and enhance it, making it more accessible to the public and inviting artists to draw inspiration from its history and architecture, still intact today. The project currently occupies the vast majority of the premises with works of art and artists; certain other spaces still derelict will be revitalized during its medium-term redevelopment, which includes the creation of a second studio and a new performance space. The fusion of heritage, relating to the past, and the presentation of avant-garde works, projecting the future, allows the public to be better anchored in the present.

A PROJECT AT THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

The Matapédia train station is located in the institutional and industrial part of the municipality, just off Highway 132. From a community point of view, it is part of Matapédia-les-plateaux, complementing the Route des Belvédères, the Saint-Laurent church, the Petit Chamonix ski and leisure resort and Club Rustico, the cultural center of Saint-Alexis.

Regular collaborations take place with Matapédia's École des Deux-Rivières and Campbellton's Polyvalente Roland-Pépin, with creative workshops offered to students at the train station or in classrooms. Partnerships with local community organizations (Centr'Elles, Centre d'Action Bénévole, Club des fermières de Saint-André, for example) also enable the population to benefit from artistic activities. The opening of this new space contributes to the municipality's dynamism, while strengthening social ties within the community and developing a sense of belonging through the enhancement of a railway heritage building, a symbol of ecological values and economic development since the beginning of the 20th century.

A railway station is a space that invites you to let yourself be carried away by an imagination of travel and discovery. It's also a meeting place, a place of arrivals and new departures.

QUARTIER ÉPHÉMÈRE, VASTE ET VAGUE, MATAPEDIA JUNCTION POLE

Inaugurated in 2021 by the two founding organizations, Quartier Éphémère (Montreal) and Vaste et Vague (Carleton-sur-mer), both recognized charities for educating the public about contemporary art, Gare de Matapédia - Artistic and Community Pole has been managed solely by Quartier Éphémère for the past 2 years. Quartier Éphémère's long-term vision is to acquire the building and undertake renovation and development work to ensure its preservation and to promote it to its full potential.

Recently, in January 2025, a new organization, Matapedia Junction Pole, was founded by three local artists and an art historian - Maryse Goudreau from Escuminac, Pierre D'Amours from Ristigouche Sud-Est, Pierre Durette of Causapscal and Caroline Andrieux of Matapédia - with the aim of supporting the creation and dissemination of visual and multidisciplinary artists, as well as taking over, as of April 2025, the operations and vision instilled in the Gare de Matapédia from the outset, while giving it local roots and strength.

The name Matapedia Junction Pole is inspired by the station's position on the territory, and by the desire to bring different communities together through art and heritage. It refers to its river crossings and vistas, its position on the border between the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick and as a threshold between fresh and salt water; to its function as a railway hub, a crossroads of cultures and ideas; to the famous Junction Pool salmon pool a little further up the Restigouche. It pays homage to its Mi'gmaq origins, mata meaning “junction” in the native language, to which is added its magnetic effect and its ability to polarize audiences around art and heritage.

TERRITORIAL DECLARATION TO MI'GMAQ PEOPLES

In a spirit of reconciliation with First Nations communities, the Gare de Matapédia - Pôle artistique et communautaire acknowledges that it is located on ancestral Mi'gmaq territory that has never been ceded by treaty, and that it respects their relationship with art and nature.