Boundaries of memory

Photo hiroshima mon amour
© Valérie Remise

As the keynote speaker for the recent Under the Radar Symposium, Rwandan artist Dorcy Rugamba spoke about the need to break down the boundaries of memory. More specifically, Rugamba was reflecting on our tendency to believe that certain events are specific to the region or the peoples or the person they happen to. They happen “over there” or “to that person,” they don’t happen over here or to me. Because of this compartmentalization, we don’t learn from the fullness of human experience, and we lose out on the incredible possibilities of universal memory. Our memories become individual, at great cost. Does creation and performance have a role to play here? I think so…

For this reason (and so many others), we’re excited to join the Festival TransAmériques as they announce that Hiroshima mon amour will be part of their 2025 festival, by sharing that the National Creation Fund will be investing in this great new work!

With Hiroshima mon amour, three incredible companies—Carte Blanche, Chants Libres, and Quatuor Bozzini—collaborate to create a production that only they could make together.

It is a moving and provocative meditation on the impact of war, and the long arm of conflict and trauma. It reflects on memory, who is able to forget, and our struggle to make sense of what we’ve experienced—both on a personal and collective level. It brings up profound ideas of witnessing, particularly around geopolitical events, the slipperiness of truth, and the desire to know someone through their secrets. Suffice to say, I’ve been thinking about it ever since. 

“With the current state of politics around the globe, we felt it was of the utmost importance to do a piece about memory. We want to remind people that artists can help spark an international dialogue on peace.” 
– Christian Lapointe, libretto and director (Carte Blanche)

“With a dream team of designers and three established companies, we're planning on really digging into this piece as much as possible.”
– Isabelle Bozzini, musical co-director and cellist (Quatuor Bozzini)

“The idea of bringing the movie's text, story and characters to stage, as well as the images from the film itself, and turning it all into a musical production—it’s such fertile ground for really respectful innovation and multidisciplinary collaboration.”
– Marie-Annick Beliveau, musical co-director (Chants Libres)

The National Creation Fund is proud to invest $105,000 in Hiroshima mon amour, supporting a creation residency, a design residency, additional rehearsal time, and increasing the set budget. 

More to follow very soon… including a milestone announcement!

For a full list of upcoming shows supported by the Fund, visit our Season page.


Join our email list for the latest updates!