Art Centre

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Jounalist

PERCÉ – The Festival Les Percéides de Percé is considering a project to restore the historic Charles-Robin heritage barn, better known as the Percé Art Centre. Built in 1780, the structure could be brought back to life at an estimated cost of $5 million.

The federal government has taken the first step by granting $2 million to the festival.
This grant, from the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program, will enable the organization to restore the building to its full cultural purpose and help strengthen the resilience of the local community through a major infrastructure project, once other funding sources have been found.

“It’s ambitious, but it’s a great big project. In the evolution of our organization after 17 years of activity and eight years at the art centre, we have reached a point where we need to renovate the premises again,” says board chair Benoit Pilon.

Three years ago, a strategic development plan was drawn up, which included the desire to establish a permanent home.

“But there are challenges. It’s an old building. It’s not insulated, and so we started looking for programs,” says Mr. Pilon.

The first thing to do is to stabilize the building, which has virtually no foundation. “We’ll have to take a look before putting millions of dollars into a building. The architects will determine whether the foundation is sound and adequate. Then we can have fun inside, which will become a game room. The entire interior space will become a complete reflection area,” Mr. Pilon continues.
Les Percéides currently leases the site, but the lease is about to expire. Two options are being considered: purchasing the building or securing a long-term lease.

This investment would be a consolidation of the building.

“For now, we are only open in the summer. In fact, in our strategic development (plan), we had planned to create a community art centre for and by the community. Our wish is for it to be open year-round,” he says.

The future plans include a café, a kitchen, a community bar, and a movie theater.
Ultimately, the architectural project will reveal the splendor of this barn, whose nave “recalls the structure of an overturned sailboat,” as Gaspé artist and visionary Suzanne Guité, founder of the Percé Art Centre, wrote in the 1960s.