Press Release
Monday, October 24, 2022
The Université de Moncton's Musée acadien Opens Two New Permanent Exhibit Rooms
Group photo: Gilles Roy, Vice-President, Academic and Research; Gabriel Cormier, Vice-President, Administration and Human Resources; Jeanne-Mance Cormier, head of Service - Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson and Musée acadien of the Université de Moncton and Marthe Brideau, chief librarian – Bibliothèque Champlain, director of the Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson and the Musée acadien of the Université de Moncton.
Photo: Yanick Pagé, President of the Fondation J.-Louis-Lévesque and grandson of Mr. Lévesque.
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The Université de Moncton's Musée acadien inaugurated the Salle Antonine-Maillet and the Salle J. Louis Lévesque last Friday, two permanent exhibit rooms housed in the Carrefour international de études acadiennes located in the Bibliothèque Champlain.
The new rooms were created thanks to the generosity of renowned Acadian writer Antonine Maillet and the Fondation J.-Louis Lévesque, founded by the late J.-Louis Lévesque, a great philanthropist and builder of the Université de Moncton.
“The Université de Moncton feels privileged to be able to present, in the form of a museum exhibit, key pieces of our history that are of great historic value to Acadie and the entire francophone world,” said Dr. Denis Prud'homme, President and Vice-Chancellor of the Université de Moncton. “We are very grateful to Mrs. Maillet and to the Fondation J.-Louis Lévesque for this invaluable legacy.”
Salle Antonine-Maillet
The exhibit brings together several objects from the office of the writer and Chancellor Emeritus, Antonine Maillet, which was in the attic of her Montreal home and was the birthplace of many of the mythical characters in her work.
It contains a reproduction of one of her manuscripts and her desk in the shape of a bow made by a Catalan artist, along with her leather and black wool armchair and its wooden footrest. The objects placed on the desk witnessed the creation of seminal works of Acadian literature.
“The Université de Moncton was an inspiration for me, a springboard in my career as a student, as a professor and later, to my great delight, as Chancellor Emeritus of an institution that I will continue to support until my last day... which I do not anticipate for a while!” said Antonine Maillet.
The ties that unite this emblematic figure of Acadian literature with the Université de Moncton are unbreakable. A graduate of the Université de Moncton, Antonine Maillet is not only an extraordinary ambassador for the institution, but she is also a great benefactor and friend. Chancellor Emeritus, she served as Chancellor from 1989 to 2001. She is an honorary doctor of Letters, a recipient of the Order of Merit of L'alUMni, and a patron of the Order of Regents.
Salle J.-Louis-Lévesque
The exhibit recreates J.-Louis Lévesque's office on the 23rd floor of the Industrielle Alliance building in Montreal. The view and woodwork reconstructed for this exhibit capture the atmosphere of the office, as does the integration of its original furnishings designed by renowned cabinetmaker and sculptor, Louis Pistono, as well as his private collection of over 150 trophies and awards.
“We are very grateful to the Université de Moncton for creating a permanent exhibit in memory of my grandfather for whom the Université de Moncton was an important cause close to his heart. He wanted Acadians to be able to obtain an excellent university education in their language. The Fondation J.-Louis Lévesque is proud to contribute to the largest francophone university in Canada outside of Quebec,” said Yanick Pagé, president of the Fondation J.-Louis Lévesque.
J.-Louis Lévesque was a great horse racing enthusiast, and his horses won the many prizes and trophies presented in this exhibit.
A distinguished businessman and second Chancellor of the Université de Moncton, Lévesque played a leading role in the founding and early years of the Université as a close associate of the Vice-Chancellor and founder, Father Clément Cormier. He was the first president of the Board of Regents, the precursor of the current Board of Governors. He was appointed Ambassador of the Order of Regents of the Université de Moncton and, in 1973, the Université awarded him an honorary doctorate in civil law.
Two free-standing walls recounting the ties that unite these two emblematic figures to our university are part of the exhibit.
The public is invited to visit both exhibits free of charge during the Bibliothèque Champlain hours of operation.
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