8 August 2014

PRESS RELEASE – Ressac’s creator and owner Anne Painchaud-Ouellet is preparing for a unique experience. The Sherbrooke eco-designer is one of the artists invited to the International Environment Festival to take place in Kenitra, Morocco from August 23 to 30, 2014.

At this event, whose theme is “L’art récupérateur au service de l’environnement” (recycling art to benefit the environment), Anne Painchaud-Ouellet will be giving workshops to train some 200 young Moroccans aged 18 to 30. She will be sharing her creative process, as well as the work techniques she uses to create her bags from recycled bicycle inner tubes.

“I want to make these young adults aware of everything that can be made from waste material when we look at it from a new, creative angle. This is the concept behind Ressac: to start with material that at first seems unusable, explode our image of it, and turn it into a completely different object that is both practical and esthetic. Recycled materials have untapped value that must be developed to a much greater extent,” emphasized the young creator.

Anne Painchaud-Ouellet will take advantage of her trip to Morocco to visit the studios of local artists, chat with the creators, and seek inspiration for a future collection.

“The project in Kenitra is of special appeal to me because it links my different values; it combines social, artistic, and environmental aspects – this is rare in international cooperation initiatives. This promises to be a very enriching experience from both human and artistic perspectives,” enthusiastically noted Anne Painchaud-Ouellet, who participated in a similar exchange with Peruvian artists 10 years ago.

To help finance her international cooperation trip, Anne Painchaud-Ouellet has organized a draw for three signature Ressac prizes. Tickets are on sale through the Ressac Web site until August 14 at a cost of $10.

To follow Anne Painchaud-Ouellet in Morocco, go to her blog, Art et Récupération: http://prevert26.wix.com/artrecuperateur.

The first edition of the International Environment Festival will bring together about a dozen recycling artists from around the world, including three from Québec, thanks to the collaboration of the Fondation des jeunes pour un développement durable (Sustainable Development Youth Foundation) and the EcoArt organization in Kenitra.

Growing social awareness

“The international cooperation project in which Anne Painchaud-Ouellet is taking part reflects a growing trend among young entrepreneurs who want their projects to have social resonance,” noted Chloé Legris, Director – Business in the Cleantech key sector at Sherbrooke Innopole. “This endeavour involves real added value from economic, societal, and environmental points of view. By creating jobs close by and using locally available materials, Ressac is an exemplary model of an enterprise that is likely to inspire more than one person!”

The first steps in processing the bicycle inner tubes that Ressac uses for its creations are done by users at the Atelier du Nord workshop, associated with the Centre de réadaptation en déficience intellectuelle et en troubles envahissants du développement Estrie (CRDITED – Estrie Intellectual Disability and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Rehabilitation Centre). In its sewing workshop, Ressac hires three employees, who are thus developing new skills and unique expertise in a traditional trade.