Montreal awarded its annual prizes for the preservation and enhancement of the city’s heritage. The Acting Together 2023 Prize was awarded to the non-profit organization Objets de memoire-Museological Action Group for the safeguarding of the Wing collection, the oldest factory of Chinese origin still in production in Montreal.
In an old building occupied by the Wing family in the heart of Chinatown, this group, which notably includes Jean-Philippe Riopel and Bernard Vallée, found a number of objects that trace the history of the Chinese community. “The Lees kept a little bit of everything. As they had space, they also stored the trunks of newcomers,” Mr. Riopel explained to Duty. Some of these trunks had never been opened. The oldest, sealed since 1939, is a treasure in itself. Others have been piled up there, intact, since the 1950s. They tell, in their own way, a story of immigration.
The founder of the Wing company, Hee Chong Lee, was an immigrant who arrived in Montreal in 1897, at a time when the City was implementing very harsh vexatious measures against this community, in a form of systematized racism. Starting in 1946, the Wing company manufactured fresh Chinese noodles, imperial rolls and wonton wrappers. Evidence of this industrial and cultural activity has largely been preserved. “The Wings have kept a lot of objects. We spent hundreds of hours organizing this. We created a collection. It tells more, much more than the history of the Chinese community,” explains Jean-Philippe Riopel, to the extent that this neighborhood will be crossed by all kinds of cultural influences.
What would have happened to these objects had it not been for the salutary intervention of this Museological Action Group?
Frescoes and houses
The jury also awarded the Grand Prix Savoir-faire to Mr. Pierlucio Pellissier, an architect and restorer of frescoes and murals. The jury highlighted his versatility and competence. Mr. Pellissier is able to prescribe restoration work on interior decorations as well as to carry them out.
Ms. Marie-Christine Jacques and Mr. Michel Fournier, owners of 1851-185, boulevard Pie-IX, won the Grand Prize in the “Taking Care” category. The jury highlighted the restoration work on several original elements of this residential building, “in particular the repair of the crowning, the balcony and the stone on the facade”. The jury also indicated that this work contributed to restoring the nobility of Boulevard Pie-IX. This encourages future projects that also respect and focus on heritage.
In the same category, a mention was given to Ms. Amélie Bolduc-Monette and Mr. François Berthiaume for the constant maintenance of the building located at 1600, boulevard Gouin Est.
These heritage awards, presented by the City of Montreal in partnership with Héritage Montréal and the government of Quebec, aim “to celebrate Montreal’s heritage in all its forms and to raise awareness among the population of the importance of protecting it.”
A jury made up of seven members selected the winners. It was chaired this year by Denis Boucher, president of the Montreal Heritage Council. The metropolis has awarded prizes of this type every year since 1991.
“The winners remind us that heritage is much more than a simple legacy of the past; it constitutes an invaluable source of inspiration for the present and for the construction of a flourishing future, imbued with our unique Montreal identity,” said Robert Girard, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Héritage Montréal, on the occasion of the prize-giving.