Press | Press Release
The International Garden Festival Presents Author Tim Richardson in Montréal (March 9, 2010)
Grand-Métis March 8, 2010. The International Garden Festival is
presenting English author and garden historian Tim Richardson as the first
event in its 2010 program.
Tim Richardson is the leading author on contemporary
gardens and garden design in the United Kingdom. On Thursday, March 11 he will present an illustrated lecture 'What Makes American Gardens
American?' in connection with his new book, Great
Gardens of America. He will take us on a whistlestop tour across the
centuries to some of the country's most historic horticultural extravaganzas
and reveals what it is about them that makes them quintessentially American. He
will be accompanied by Andrea Jones, photographer for the book Great
Gardens of America. She will reveal some of the adventures and challenges
she encountered whilst documenting the 25 gardens across the USA and Canada.
Her talk will show photography of the gardens themselves and explain to the
photo enthusiasts in the audience how some of the results were achieved. The lectures will be presented in the auditorium
at the Faculté de
l’aménagement of the
Université de Montréal (2940, chemin
de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine) at 6 pm. Admission is free.
Great Gardens of America was published by Frances Lincoln to popular and
critical acclaim in 2009. The book presents 25 of the best gardens in America
and features a chapter on the International Garden Festival. The authors will
also be present for a book signing at the Nicholas Hoare bookshop in Westmount
(1366 Greene Avenue) on Friday, March 12
from 6 to 8 pm where books will be available for purchase.
The Festival is also presenting several other events as a prelude to the
2010 edition:
Oursins at Canada Blooms in Toronto
The Festival will
again be present at Canada Blooms in Toronto (March 17 to 22), presenting a new
configuration of Oursins (the sea
urchins) created by NIPpaysage. The Oursinswere first presented on the Place de la Dauversière in Old Montréal last summer
and will be installed on the Festival site as part of the 2010 Festival. The
garden’s chef, Pierre-Olivier Ferry and marketing coordinator, Melanie
Gauthier, will be on hand to provide information on the gardens and Festival.
A Documentary on the Gardens and a
Discussion with the Film-maker Philippe Baylaucq
On Friday, March 26 at 6.30
pm the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) is presenting the première
of “Il était deux fois un jardin”, a
new documentary on the gardens and the Festival by film-maker Philippe
Baylaucq. A roundtable discussion will follow the screening of the film
featuring the film’s director, Philippe Baylaucq, along with Alexander Reford,
members of the A4team (Claudia
Delisle, Karine Dieujuste, Sami Tannoury, Philippe Nolet), artist David Ross,
Marie-Claude Robert, General Director of the Association des
Architectes paysagistes du Québec, with moderator Claude Paquin, editor of Formes magazine. The film will be shown
at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (1920, rue Baile, Montréal). The film will also be shown on Saturday,
March 27 at 1.30 pm at the CCA (English version) and on Sunday, March 28 at
1.30 pm at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Tickets are available for purchase
from FIFA (www.artfifa.com).
2010 edition
of the Festival
The 11th
edition of the Festival will present a record 22 in situ gardens created by 65
designers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
United States and the United Kingdom. They will be exhibited from June 26
through October 3, 2010. The 22 in situ gardens include three new gardens by designers selected by a jury following an
international competition and four new gardens created by designers from Berlin
invited to take part in the Festival. The 2010 competition attracted 276
proposals by over 600 architects, landscape architects, designers and artists
from 34 countries, a record number of participants since the inception of the
Festival in 2000. The proposals submitted for the 2010 competition can be seen
on the Catalogue of Canadian Competitions (www.ccc.umontreal.ca).
About the International Garden Festival
The International Garden Festival is the leading contemporary garden
festival in North America. The Festival takes place on a site adjacent to the
historic gardens created by Elsie Reford. The only event of its kind in Canada,
the Festival is a showcase for emerging designers in all disciplines. The
Festival has attracted over 850,000 visitors since its inception. Presented since 2000, the Festival has exhibited more than 115 gardens by 200 designers
from fifteen countries as well as extra-mural
gardens in Montreal, Toronto, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
For further
information on present and past editions of the International Garden Festival,
consult the garden’s web site at www.refordgardens.com or follow news and
events on the Garden’s Facebook site.
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Source:
Alexander Reford, director
Jardins de Métis / Reford
Gardens
International
Garden Festival
418 775-2222, ext.
222
alexander.reford@jardinsdemetis.com
