Project Background

This project coincided with the relocation of the Musée Louis-Hémon to Espace Péribonka, at the heart of the village. The task: to conceive the museum’s inaugural permanent exhibition in its new home, a deconsecrated church.

What La bande à Paul Brought to the Table

This was both a spatial and curatorial challenge. On one hand, the team had to adapt to a newly repurposed architectural setting. On the other, they were tasked with revisiting Maria Chapdelaine – a novel central to the museum’s identity, but also deeply entwined with contested narratives of Quebec’s past. La bande à Paul chose to shift the focus away from the book as a fixed object and toward the creative act that produced it. Visitors are invited to follow the arc of invention, to explore the conditions of literary production, and to see Maria Chapdelaine not as an endpoint but as a point of departure.