Centre culturel Aberdeen Photo: Bill McCarthy

While the establishment of Centre culturel Aberdeen demonstrates its solidarity with the community and respect for the collective heritage, it is resolutely oriented to a contemporary vision of Acadie. Rebuilt in 1916 following a fire, the building housed Moncton’s first high school for a time. As it gradually emptied during the 1970’s, this alma mater of the late lamented Northrop Frye was preparing for an entirely different fate.

A group of artists in the community began appropriating the building by installing their studios and offices in the school, which was gradually being decommissioned by the province. They shared the space with a daycare facility that continues in operation to this day, providing numerous children with the benefits of an environment supportive of the arts and of culture. In 1986, the occupants decided to create a cooperative under the name Centre culturel Aberdeen. They eventually acquired the school from the province and set out to restore it.

Rehabilitated in its new vocation, the Centre culturel Aberdeen building is home to some twenty organizations active in arts, culture and education. Among the regular members of the co-op, several arts and culture professionals as well as businesses have garnered recognition at the local level and also nationally and internationally. The school’s former auditorium, usually identified as “Grande salle du Centre culturel Aberdeen”, has been a cornerstone of the Centre. This multifunctional hall has a unique cachet that is much appreciated by a variety of artists. It was managed and used as a venue by the Théâtre l’Escaouette for over a decade. In addition to the many theatre productions that were developed and presented in this performance space, members of the co-operative and many friends of the Centre have used it as a springboard for numerous productions, right up to the present. Whether through dance and visual arts events, staged productions in literature, drama, music and cinema, or receptions related to arts and culture, the “Grande salle” has always served the arts community and the general public.

Since the departure of Théâtre l’Escaouette in May 2004, management of the Grande salle has reverted to Centre culturel Aberdeen. It has worked to fully revitalize this multifunctional space as a venue for the expression of a modern and contemporary culture.

In 1999, as part of the Sommet de la Francophonie held in Moncton, the Aberdeen Garden was developed in front of the building as an “Art Park”. This green space contains public art and is also an enhancement to the quality of life in the entire neighbourhood.

Centre culturel Aberdeen is often referred to as an “incubator” and “an open window of the world of creation”.

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