Today Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps and Secretary of State for Latin America, Africa and La Francophonie Denis Paradis, announced the opening of the exhibition Jean Paul Lemieux - His Canada at the IXth Summit of La Francophonie being held in Beirut, Lebanon from October 17 to November 8, 2002. Canada is sponsoring this exhibit, which will feature12 works by the renowned Canadian painter created for a series of postal stamps representing each province and territory of the country. It also includes related philatelic material.

"Jean-Paul Lemieux left Canada with powerful works that express a unique vision of Canada, as well as a reflection on the universal themes of solitude and despair," said Minister Copps. "This relationship between the unique and the universal should inspire us to establish ways to protect the uniqueness of our artists and our cultural industries, while, at the same time, offering them the opportunity to become known on the world scene."

On display in Beirut until November 8 at the Poste centrale, the exhibition is presented by the National Archives of Canada, the Canadian Postal Museum-Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada.

"As initiator of this project, the Canadian government is proud to present this collection by one of the country's most significant painters, Jean-Paul Lemieux, who was renowned as a painter of the great outdoors, winter and solitude," stated Mr. Paradis. Appointed Companion of the Order of Canada in 1968, this Canadian painter, who passed away in 1990, gained recognition at home and abroad for his paintings of Canada's Far North.

National Archivist Ian E. Wilson and Victor Rabinovitch President of the Canadian Museum of Civilization joined Minister Copps and Secretary of State Paradis in making the announcement. The exhibition, created by the Canadian Postal Museum-Canadian Museum of Civilization, was first presented in 1998. This is the first time it has been shown abroad. The contents of the exhibition are held by the National Archives of Canada.

Canada was one of the founding members of La Francophonie, established in Niamey, Niger, in 1970. As a member, Canada joins an extensive network of 55 participating states and governments, representing five continents, using French as a common language.

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For more information please contact:

 

Louisa Coates National Archives of Canada Telephone: (613) 992-9361

Sonya-Kim St-Julien Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage Telephone: (819) 997-7788