Contributor: Emily Rose Michaud

Emily Rose Michaud is an artist and activist working at the intersections of community development, civic participation, and urban ecology. In recent years, her experimental, participatory, and socially driven approach has resulted in a series of performances incorporating living ‘sproutfits’, a guerilla gardener’s ensemble, an electronic book designed to be reproduced and remixed by others, and the Roerich Garden Project, a three-year land art project in a post-industrial railyard turned urban meadow.

Photos

Our FLickr collection contains over 500 photos, all under Artefatica’s attribution share-alike license. They will be used for our printed publication, due out in 2011. Notre collection comprend plus de 500 photos, et font partie d’images que la maison d’édition Artefatica va utiliser pour un livre en 2011.

introduction

Urban wilderness has a social value that is far reaching and apparent to all who gather there. How good it is for one’s senses to return, as the air clears and the decibels drop! How good it is when we can begin to hear the stories that emerge from the ground…

vision

Art is not separate from us, we are a part of the creative cycle.

an opening for démocratie participative

The field can be seen as a metaphor for what is now occurring in our economy.

action

Our sub-committee was named Le Champ des Possibles and involved up to thirty members. The announcement of the re-development of the district gave us an opportunity to formalize our ideas for this green space.

an opening for communauté

Strains of wildflower seeds have train hopped and travelled to this island from as far west as the prairies. The field is a host to many non-human lives; their silent and watchful numbers are powerful and rich.

an opening for émergence

People want to be near where the artists are. Life is simply more interesting. As developers come in to build their upscale condos, the original community starts to get squeezed out.

la exposición del pacto roerich

De Moscou à Madrid, en passant par Montréal… le Pacte Roerich est international! Invitation espagnole provenant de Madrid pour les 75 ans du Pacte Roerich.

an opening for histoire

These lots are far from vacant, and teem with life of all kinds. From weeds to wasteland, each patch of earth is rich and streaming with culture and memory.

history

The symbol was perfect to use in the field because the city had revitalization plans that did not speak of preserving the area as a centre of life and culture.

conclusion

What if more beauty and wilderness was prioritized and conserved?