The City of Quebec’s toponymy committee is proposing to rename the Parc Lucien-Borne behind the eponymous community center to “Parc Karim-Ouellet” to pay tribute to the artist who died just over a year ago.
• Also read: ADISQ: a discreet tribute to Karim Ouellet at the Gala de l’Industrie
The Lucien-Borne Community Center, which bears the name of the former mayor of Quebec (head of the city from 1938 to 1953), retains its current name.
“Through a rigorous process with Karim Ouellet’s family, we have found a place that is dear to his heart and that could do justice to the man he was. He marked Quebec and we now want to offer him a place that will be as enduring as his work,” said a press release issued on Wednesday.
The chosen location in the heart of Montcalm seems “all indicated,” argues the toponymy committee. Parc Lucien-Borne will soon become a “privileged place to admire a mural honoring the black and Afro-citizens of Quebec” on the back wall of the community center, we recall.
Public Consultation
Last December, the City of Québec reaffirmed its intention to quickly consider how best to pay tribute to the artist’s memory.
The proposal, released today, will first be presented next Tuesday to elected officials at the local council, who will be asked to authorize an online public consultation to be held from April 5-23. The name change could be formalized a little later in the spring.
A popular artist
“Karim Ouellet will have enriched the cultural and artistic universe in his own way, offering his audience a special melody full of poetry. Its colorful music and catchy choruses will have many of us dancing and singing. Quebec was his city, the place where he composed and where his family and friends were. We want to pay him a tribute that will last through time as long as his songs,” said Executive Committee culture chief Catherine Vallières-Roland on Wednesday.
Originally from Senegal, Karim Ouellet has lived in Quebec since 2002. The singer-songwriter has received multiple awards from ADISQ and the Junos and has received numerous awards.
He was found dead in his studio in the Saint-Roch neighborhood in January 2022, but his death dated November 2021, sending a shock wave through the population and the artistic community. He was only 36 years old.
Remember that there will be a tribute show titled Bye Bye Bye Karim at the Grand Théâtre de Québec on Saturday.
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