Details

THE BASQUE AVENTURE IN AMERICA! : A PERMANENT EXHIBITION AND AN INTERPRETIVE CIRCUIT THAT HIGHLIGHT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE BASQUE PRESENCE IN AMERICA.

PRIZED EXHIBITION ! Prix du Patrimoine du Bas‑Saint‑Laurent 2014, “Transmission, interprétation et diffusion” category.

The exhibition traces the odyssey of Basque whalers who frequented Île aux Basques in the St. Lawrence River during the 16th and 17th centuries. The visiting course is structured according to the main stages of whaling expeditions of the time: leaving the Basque Country, crossing the Atlantic, whaling—the heart of the odyssey, with a replica whale to scale!—, producing whale oil and trading with the Aboriginal peoples at Île aux Basques, and then returning home in the fall. Thus, through various immersive spaces, the visitor experiences the range of emotions that the Basque sailors have likely felt when they came here to hunt whales.

To better engage visitors to this historic content, Merlicht created an evocative rather than realistic museography, with a resolutely contemporary visual signature. The wager is a success! Visitors experience their visit as if they were themselves Basque whalers, they are seduced by the visual quality of the various installations and emerge from the exhibition with a clear understanding of the communicated messages.

The exhibition is complemented by a circuit of interpretive panels on the Basque culture. Spread outside and within different public areas of the Parc de l’aventure basque en Amérique, these panels inform visitors in a succinct and attractive manner on the main aspects of Basque culture: dance, music, pelota, diaspora, etc.

Turnkey Project:

• Project management and coordination
• Artistic direction
• Concept
• Script
• Documentary, iconography and film research
• Artifact selection
• Sketches, 2D, 3D, audiovisual, lighting and soundscape design
• Plans and specifications, architectural guidelines, exhibition production, audiovisual development, Motion Design programming
• Site supervision and installation.