Art teacher, advocate and artiste extraordinaire
Georgette Bourgeois
Art teacher, advocate and artiste extraordinaire
By Margaret Patricia Eaton
Artistic talent is embedded in Georgette Bourgeois’ DNA. Her mother, Anna Bourque was an accomplished painter; her father Thomas Bourgeois was theTimes & Transcript’ s first professional photographer while her son, Christopher Harrigan is a filmmaker.
A graduate of l’ Université de Moncton’ s education department, where she majored in visual arts, Georgette enjoyed a 32-year career teaching French Immersion and art in Anglophone East elementary schools, where her greatest joy was creating opportunities for students to exhibit in public venues.
When she retired in 2000, it was her chance to shine as a professional artist and shine she has, with more than 30 solo and group exhibitions since 2003across Canada, in Louisiana and in France.
Georgette’ s approach to painting is unique in that she works in series, with one leading logically to another. In 2007 she was the first Artistin-Residence at the Grand-Pré National Historic Site in Nova Scotia where she created a series of landscapes evocative of the fields the Acadianswere forced to leave in 1755. EntitledL’ Esprit de Grand-Pré it’ s in the permanent collection at the historic site after touring in Quebec, Louisiana and throughout New Brunswick.
Another important series is Renaissance,( 2012)
‘ Cathedrale Nôtre Dame De l’ Assomption’ by Georgette Bourgeois. Her maternal grandparents, Zacharie and Odile Bourque served on the cathedral’ s founding committee. PHOTO: SUBMITTED
Georgette Bourgeois with‘ Stéphanie’( mixed media, 2017) from L’ Acadie contemporaine du Grand Moncton et Circus Stella exhibited at the Moncton Gallery( City Hall) until Jan. 4, 2018. PHOTO: MARGARET PATRICIA EATON
documenting the rebirth of Acadian society( 1880-1930) through its built heritage. It’ salso toured and is now in the permanent collection of Village Historique Acadien, in Caraquet.
Her latest collection, L’ Acadie contemporaine du Grand Moncton et Circus Stella, comprised of two distinct but related seriesis exhibited at the Moncton Gallery in City Hall until January 4, 2018. The first half is comprised mainly of Moncton’ s urban landscape-- cultural, commercial, educational--to which Georgette has meaningful connections, either personal or through her direct ancestors.
Meanwhile Circus Stella, figurative works depicting acrobats and stiltwalkers, is a result of having been invited to participate as Artist-in- Residence for the troupe when they rehearsed and performed at the Dieppe Arts & Culture Centre and stylistically takes her work in a new direction.
Georgette is an active member of AAAPNB( Association of Professional Acadian Artists of New Brunswick). She also served for nine years on the Board of Directors of CARFAC Maritimes( Canadian Artist Representation / Front des artistes canadiens), and as Vice President and Co-President, initiating and administering the project,“ Best Practice in Visual Arts for the Maritimes” which she presented at a symposium at l’ Université de Moncton in 2016.
WINTER / HIVER 2017 PrimeTime 23