Sports and cultural trip to Joliette | The Press

A big sun. Not too cold. It’s perfect for a little sporting and cultural trip to Joliette, a skating-art museum combo that should be good for body and mind.

Mary Tison
The Press

The L’Assomption river crosses the town. Every year, a long skating rink is built there, allowing you to cover miles and miles of ice.

The mild temperature is particularly appreciated this morning — during the week, the Louis-Querbes park pavilion is closed, so you have to put your skates outside the building, on benches provided for this purpose.

On the other hand, the Donut Shack, on the ice rink itself, is open for those who need fuel before, during or after the skating session.

We postpone this break until later and go to the left, to follow a small section that runs along the historic buildings that now house the Cégep régional de Lanaudière. The ice cream is very nice. Of course, there are a few cracks (it’s still a river), but they are few and we put a little blue paint on some of them in order to see them clearly.

The skating rink comes to an end as we see the modern forms of the Musée d’art de Joliette, and we start back in the opposite direction. We pass once again in front of the Cabane à donuts. There is a small line of skaters patiently waiting to refuel.

Nourish body and soul

The L’Assomption River skating rink has a unique feature: a hiking trail runs along its entire length. You can therefore enjoy the river without necessarily putting on your skates.

But we agree that skating is particularly pleasant, it allows you to quickly travel the long meanders of the river, to see the large trees that adorn the banks, then to return quickly in the opposite direction, towards the Cabane à donuts … or to one of the many restaurants, bistros and brasseries nearby, especially on Boulevard Manseau and in the surrounding streets. You can leave the car in the parking lot near Parc Louis-Querbes ($2 for the whole day on weekdays, it’s a good deal) and walk there.

The Joliette Art Museum is also a short walk away. After feeding your body, it’s time to feed your mind. And his soul.

The first thing you see when you arrive at the museum is a large bright yellow mural created by Atikamekw artist Eruoma Awashish following the tragic death of Joyce Echaquan.

Several temporary exhibitions have just opened their doors. From the first showroom, we swallow a great whiff of contemporary art, with the works of Derek Liddington, which destabilize a little before arousing great appeasement. These paintings with natural colors recall the forest, the river.

The following rooms bring together works by various contemporary artists. It’s time to stop, to look, to wonder. What do these blown glass objects (by artist Lorna Bauer) locked in iron cages mean? Or more precisely, what do they evoke?

Then, what looks like, from a distance, a bed and a huge canopy turns out to be a gigantic head of textiles that sees its tongue stretching out on the floor. The work of Tau Lewis arouses curiosity and interest: we want to scrutinize all the details.

Further on, the work of DaveandJenn, The song of the forest, refers to the works of Derek Liddington. In a dark room, we can see the sun rising, gradually lighting up the trees, the birds that were invisible until then. It is a very beautiful moment of serenity in a busy day.

Upstairs, a room is devoted to the permanent exhibition. We have grouped the works of various artists, from various periods, according to themes: still lifes, portraits of ladies, portraits of gentlemen, small landscapes, large square shapes. It makes it possible to establish a relationship between local legends, such as Alfred Pellan, Jean Paul Riopelle, Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Côté, Ozias Leduc, and lesser-known artists. We feel enriched.

We end the visit at the very top of the museum tower, in a space bursting with light, under a work by Claudie Gagnon made up of hundreds of glass and metal objects. Through the bay windows, we can see, at the very bottom, the end of the skating rink. The river is never far away. We always come back to it.