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In the years following the opening of the NAC in 1969, one of the joys of attending a performance in the Opera (now called Southam Hall), was to sit and quietly marvel at the sight of the breathtakingly beautiful Beauchemin Curtain. It was said that the curtain was the first work of art presented at the NAC to get a standing ovation.
This massive piece was designed by the renowned Canadian textile artist Micheline Beauchemin and fabricated by Kawashima Selcon Textiles in Tokyo for the opening of the Centre. It is made of colourful nylon filament measuring 40 feet high by 75 feet wide and weighing 3,500 pounds.
At the end of it stage life in 2018, almost 50 years after its unveiling, the curtain was taken down and put into safe storage.
Now it’s back in a new, modern incarnation.
A New Digital Life
Starting on December 9, 2024, the Beauchemin Curtain will be featured in a series of colourful, digital animations on the NAC’s five-storey Kipnes Lantern.
When the curtain was temporarily installed in 2021 for cleaning and repairs, high-resolution images were taken in 2021 by photographer Justin Wonnacott and the NAC’s Digital Experiences and Design Team.
The NAC also partnered with Professor Stephen Fai of Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism’s Immersive Media Studio (CIMS) to produce a digital 3D model of the curtain. Professor Fai’s students used 3D metric surveying techniques such photogrammetry and laser scanning to create a high-fidelity digital model of the curtain. This still-developing project will benefit the textile and public art communities as well as make the NAC’s history available through a virtual model and interactive gameplay.
Future Generations
This season, the NAC is celebrating the Beauchemin Curtain by making it accessible to future generations through its Kipnes Lantern and CIMS projects.
“The Beauchemin Curtain is a beloved National Arts Centre landmark,” said NAC Archivist and Curator Robert VanderBerg. “Throughout her career, Micheline Beauchemin was dedicated to exploring how technology could be integrated into her work. It is fitting to use technology to find new ways present and share her beautiful artwork with all Canadians.”
