The MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent has unveiled the winners of its annual art exhibition and photography contest, which took place as part of the organization’s Journées de la Culture activities last fall. The awards ceremony took place as part of an evening held in December to highlight the MRC’s achievements in cultural development over the past year.
More than $2,000 were awarded by the MRC and its sponsors including the Galeries Ormstown and the Caisse Desjardins du Haut-Saint-Laurent to a dozen local artists and photographers. Prizes were awarded based on jury selection as well as the public’s choice.
The winning artists who participated in the group exhibition include painter André Librex in first place ($100), artist Manon Béatrice Gauthier in second place ($50), and sculptor Serge Poirier, whose piece entitled Pas de Chance was selected as the public’s choice ($100). A participation prize was also awarded to Lilianne Reeves ($25). These awards were presented on behalf of the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent by artist John Ryan, who is also the president of the MRC cultural policy committee.
The prizes awarded in the juried youth photography category were presented by Éric Amyot, a representative of the Caisse Desjardins, to first-place winner Gabrielle Provost for her photograph entitled Univers Chaotique ($300), which was also selected as the public’s choice ($250). The second-place photograph was snapped by Catherine D’Amour ($200), and the third-place photo was taken by Maxym Marcil.

The prizes in the juried adult category were presented on behalf of the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent by André Brunette, deputy prefect and mayor of the town of Huntingdon, to Nancy Hébert for her photograph entitled Lueur d’espoir dans le désordre ($400), which was also the public’s choice ($250). The second-place photograph was taken by Oswald Merz Jr. ($200), while the third-place photo was taken by William Cloutier ($100).
The public choice awards were presented by Chantal Isabelle, the MRC assistant director general and assistant clerk treasurer, on behalf of DMT Immobiliers (Galeries Ormstown), which also provided the venue for the photography contest.
The winning photographs can be viewed online at mrchsl.com/en/services/culture/photo-competition. (SR)