PARCOURS PHOTO SHERBROOKE 2026-2027

The Parcours Photo Sherbrooke is on view from September 10, 2025 to August 30, 2027 along the walking path around Lac-des-Nations.
Admission is free of charge at all times.


RACONTE-MOI UNE HISTOIRE
Curators:  Frédérique Renaud and Miguel St-Laurent

Parcours Photo Sherbrooke is a major cultural and tourism event dedicated to celebrating and promoting photography throughout the Eastern Townships. Born from the initiative of passionate regional photographers, it is made possible through the collaboration of the City of Sherbrooke, the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke, the Sherbrooke Photo Club, and the Jacques-Cartier Arts and Culture Committee. The City extends its gratitude to the organizing committee, composed of the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke and the Jacques-Cartier Arts and Culture Committee.

For this new edition of Parcours Photo Sherbrooke, the works of artists Marius Mongeau, François Lafrance, Geneviève Roy and Pierre Vignau will be showcased along the scenic promenade of Lac-des-Nations.

What if a photograph could be the beginning of a story? Through their unique approaches, each artist explores photography’s narrative possibilities, inviting viewers to imagine what precedes the image, what escapes the frame, and what may yet unfold.
 

The launch of this outdoor exhibition will be held on September 10, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. at Station 1 (Place de la Gare, behind the Grand Times Hotel). Musical entertainment by David Chamberland will accompany the event, and the three featured artists will be present. Following the remarks, attendees will be invited to join a guided tour of the three photographic “stations” located around Lac-des-Nations. Comfortable walking attire and weather-appropriate clothing are recommended.
 
 

Pierre VIGNAU
Station #1 : Place de la Gare

Photo: Stéphanie Benoit

Pierre Vignau discovered photography in 1979, just before beginning studies in industrial design, during which he had access to a darkroom for four years. A self-taught photographer, he devotes his time to the practice of photographic art, active involvement in Sherbrooke’s photography community, and the sharing of his expertise through mentorship and specialized training.

With his project Unknown, Yet…, inspired by street photography, Vignau tells stories on a human scale. Through thoughtful framing and the play of light, he invites us to reflect on the journeys of these anonymous silhouettes. The still image unfolds in our minds: what happened before and after this moment? Who are these passersby, and where are they headed? Each photograph offers a simple and compassionate view of humanity, capturing people fleetingly in a moment of transition.

Geneviève ROY
Station # 2 :  Camério (near rue Vanier)

Photo: Geneviève Roy

Initially trained in architecture and later in fine arts, Geneviève Roy brings these two worlds together at the heart of her artistic practice. Whether sculptural or photographic, her works explore the relationship between people and the built environment.

Created between 2023 and 2025, the series of dioramas presented here offers an intimate examination of a place that has been central to the artist’s personal history: the family home. Drawing on memory and childhood recollections, Roy reconstructs familiar spaces in miniature, assembling objects and symbols imbued with personal meaning. The diorama, a three-dimensional medium that reproduces a place on a reduced scale, becomes an ideal vehicle for bringing together the different layers of the artist’s sensibility: her perspective on the organization of space and the lasting influence that a place can have on an individual.

Marius MONGEAU
Station # 2 :  Camério (near rue Vanier)

Photo: Marius Mongeau

Coming from a filmmaking background, Marius Mongeau discovered photography in 2020 during the pandemic lockdown. After working with moving images, he has since turned his attention to the narrative power of the still image.

Whether carefully constructed or encountered by chance during a walk, the artist is attentive to traces, however subtle, of a presence, a breath, a story. A collapsed piano still resonates with the echo of melodies once played. A gaze emerges in the reflection of headlights at night. Or perhaps a book, suspended in space, suggests the presence of an absent reader, somewhere else, immersed in a world of words.

François LAFRANCE
Station # 3 : Parc Jacques-Cartier

Photo: François Lafrance

François Lafrance is a professional photographer who lives and works in Sherbrooke. His work has been exhibited in numerous venues throughout the Eastern Townships, including Galerie Antoine-Sirois and the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke. With more than thirty years of experience, he collaborates closely with a variety of cultural organizations and partners, including the Université de Sherbrooke and the Maison des arts et de la culture de Brompton.

The series presented here recounts a pilgrimage the artist undertook to the Magdalen Islands in the fall of 2025. The photographs weave together the story of an island journey, a contemplative exploration of the region’s distinctive landscape. Through his lens, Lafrance invites viewers to pause and consider the architecture of the landscape, observing the elements that shape and define it. The use of black and white creates a cohesive visual narrative across the series, while the textures of water, sky, and earth generate visual resonances that transport us to this timeless place.