The Bloc de dessin is an arts organisation in Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada.
Mission, structure, objectives
The mission of the Bloc de dessin is to encourage the appreciation and production of figurative art by the greatest possible number of people, to encourage the circulation of ideas and to encourage the development of knowledge, in the absolute respect of individuals, cultures, and societies.
The Bloc de dessin at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières is an accredited community service offered to all students frequenting the University and to any person wishing to be a member. A Board of directors of four members governs its activities. The ultimate financial objective of the Bloc de dessin is to redistribute to the student community of the University its gains in pursuit of its objectives.
The objectives of the Bloc de dessin at UQTR are:
1. To provide training to the public in all aspects of the practice of figurative art, in the name of its members.
2. To provide a workspace where the public can practice and improve their abilities in figurative art.
3. To privilege research into new forms of figurative art.
4. To educate the students of UQTR, other francophone teaching institutions in greater Trois-Rivières, and to all those wishing to attain and maintain connections to the university community by way of the practice of, and research in, drawing.
5. To rent, buy, exploit, or otherwise use whatever equipment necessary for the production and promotion of figurative arts workshops.
6. To encourage the participation of its members in the process of production of promotion of figurative arts workshops.
7. To encourage the circulation of ideas in the absolute respect of individuals, cultures, and societies.
8. To encourage interest and development of knowledge and of understanding through the production and promotion of figurative arts workshops that are varied, cultural, informative, instructive, fun, or purely for leisure.
Weekly life drawing workshops
The Bloc de dessin currently achieves these objectives principally by way of drop-in life drawing workshops offered at the University and the Cégep de Trois-Rivières on a weekly basis. At the University, the workshops are held in the Benjamin-Sulte pavilion. At the Cégep, the workshops are held in the Sciences pavilion.
Workshops are only available to members. That said, membership is open to the public at a cost of five dollars.
The two-hour life drawing workshops are at a cost of five dollars per attendance. One can also attend on a semesterly basis, paying 40 dollars for attendance at all workshops offered at the University or Cégep, or 80 dollars for attendance at both.
There have been several drawing sessions with two models, with models in interesting costuming, and with pregnant women.
Occasionally, portraiture sessions are held free of charge.
Nu chez soi
The Bloc de dessin works with the community organisation Please Please Please to organise monthly weekend salon events that incorporate supper, life drawing, music, and socialising.
Attendance at these events costs 10 dollars.
Other activities
The Bloc de dessin organised a series of events during the University’s week-long arts-and-sciences event entitled Anatomies, including a visit to the university morgue and plastination lab, life drawing at a tango presentation, and free life drawing events in the University’s main hall.
The Bloc de dessin at the Cégep organised a life sculpting session, where participants were provided with clay and the long poses involved rotating the model’s stand.
Chronology
The first weekly life drawing events of the Bloc de dessin at the UQTR started on September 13, 2007.
The first annual general meeting of the Bloc de dessin was held at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières on October 16, 2007.
The first weekly life drawing events of the Bloc de dessin at the Cégep started on February 19, 2008.
The first Nu chez soi event was held on August 8, 2008.
The second annual general meeting was held on November 11, 2008.
The third annual general meeting was held on December 1, 2009.
Contact
The e-mail address of the Bloc de dessin is dessin3r@yahoo.ca
The web site of the Bloc de dessin is http://dessin3r.blogspot.com
The twitter name for the Bloc de dessin is "dessin3r"