The first day of the Acadie Love Festival in Caraquet paid tribute to the work of Leopold L. He filmed through a documentary about him and an overview of his works.
The Acadie Love Festival runs through Sunday. In addition to flag-raising, Écarlate’s concert at Folly Beach and DJ MKW’s concert on Carrefour de la Mer, this first day was marked by the presence of ceramicist Léopold L. Foulem, an important member of the Acadian LGBT community. He had the right to two activities in his honor.
The first was the screening of the documentary film Lettre d’amour à Léopold L. Foulem at the Cinéma du Center. The film is directed by René Blanchard, a Caraquet director with the TV series Belle-Baie and Le monde de Gabrielle Roy, as well as the popular 2020 documentary Le silence.
A huge fan of Leopold Vollem’s work since her childhood, she followed the artist at his grandparents’ house in Karakayi, discussing his daily life, his life, his work and the people who support him, specifically his sister Marie-Paul and her husband.
“It’s a film that celebrates the talent, freedom and uniqueness of Leopold Vollém,” declared Rene Blanchard before the screening.
The film was well appreciated by the audience, admiring the character that Leopold Vollm represents for the artistic community, the LGBTQ+ community, and the city of Caraquet and Acadie in general.
“Leopold, thank you for opening up your life for us in this way to get to know you better,” said Acadie Love President, Kevin J. Hachi.
The show was followed by a discussion with the director and the ceramist, during which Mr. Vollm thanked the audience for the warm welcome as well as the important people in his life, an important aspect of the film.
“I don’t work alone, I have my husband and my sister,” he said. Without them, I couldn’t do what I’m doing today.”
The public can then go to the Bernard Jean Art Gallery, in the Cultural Center, where the Men’s and Youth Gallery was opened. It presents many new sculptures of the artist on the topic of homosexuality. It also includes the ceramicist’s monolithic drawings dating back to 1977. The exhibition will be on display until August 28.
The atypical ceramic works of Mr. Fulhem have been presented in numerous exhibitions around the world since the end of the 1960s. The National Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec even dedicated a retrospective to him in 2014.
The Akkadian artist has received many awards throughout his career, including the Jean A.
A permanent exhibition of his work will take place at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton in the coming months.