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