Annie Roy speaking at the opening of ATSA’s new store CHANGE
The other day, we went to shoot an important event involving ATSA (Action Terrosite Socialement Acceptable). To commemorate their 10 years of doing art interventions, they opened a new store, CHANGE. The name has a double meaning, referring to both the spare change they hope to make by selling some of the franchise products, spinoffs from their major art installations over the last ten years, an social change. We got the chance to catch Pierre Allard and Annie Roy in the middle of bustling last-minute preparations (our film isn’t called CREATIVE EMERGENCY for nothing!) and what’s more, we got to see them interact with the crowd attracted by the press conference and the launch activities. Now I’ll let my intern Jorge Bustos-Estefan say a few words to fill you in:
“When I first heard about ATSA, I was intrigued by the name (ATSA is the French acronym for Socially Acceptable Terrorist Action). Then, as I read on and learned that it is really an art-driven venture, things started to make a little more sense; yet, it wasn’t until I got the chance to attend one of their events and be exposed to their art firsthand that I really caught on to the drive behind ATSA. Being the artists/activists that they are, they seek to engage the community in a number of topics through their art and events; and their agendas change over time, based on the issues they deem need to be dealt with most urgently at a particular moment.
The opening of CHANGE (ATSA’s new store on Saint-Laurent, corner Marie-Anne) was part of their 10-year anniversary celebration. There, Annie Roy presented a new book titled ATSA, Quand l’art passe à l’action, in which a variety of writers and artists participated. She also explained that ATSA’s main motivation these days is to galvanize people to prevent Stephen Harper and the conservatives from winning the upcoming federal election. With this in mind, the book launch was followed by an outdoor gathering at the Park of Portugal across the street, where the artists’ latest interventions treated the politicians and all the political parties as the main subject (and object). These interventions, which were of the street-festival type (shooting galleries, a magician’s stand, a sandbox, etc.) invited the public to take part and make a statement with them. Both the store opening and the outdoor event were successful in attracting a lot of people and turned out magnificently. I am looking forward to their next event. In the meantime, you can come and visit the store in Montreal or go the CHANGE website here.”
The politicians and the political parties were the main subject at the outdoors event.
Video by Jorge Bustos-Estefan and Isabelle Kostecka [in French]
