Project Background

In spring 2014, the board of the Symmes Inn Museum commissioned La bande à Paul to create a new permanent exhibition that would situate the inn (and its site) in the broader historical context of Aylmer and the surrounding region.

What La bande à Paul Brought to the Table

La bande à Paul envisioned the exhibition as a thematic journey through five currents in the life of the Ottawa River: The Ottawa River as a landing place, The Ottawa River: a busy waterway, The Ottawa River’s industrial past, Steamboats on the Ottawa River, and The Ottawa River: a leisure attraction. Each current paired a historical figure with the expressive line work of Paule Thibault, whose illustrations animated the narrative. At its core, the exhibition foregrounded the role of women in shaping the region, a narrative too often overlooked in conventional histories. A children’s area completed the experience with a final note of curiosity and delight.