Telling the Story of Change

From D’Arts et de rêves to DesPrés: A Natural Evolution

Since its founding, D’Arts et de rêves has established itself as a unique place rooted in Sutton, where contemporary arts, nature, and community resonate.

This founding vision, passionately championed by Nicole Côté, Henri Lamoureux, and Joanie Leroux-Coté, laid the groundwork for a deeply human, sensitive, and meaningful project. After eleven years, the organization continues its journey, proud of the expansion of its activities and the vibrant relationship forged with the territory and its inhabitants.

Like all organizations, brand identities evolve over time and must continue, over the years, to reflect their mission, positioning, and values.

After the initial name Collectif d’art et de rêves, which became D’Arts et de rêves, and subsequently Studios DAR, the time had come to address our brand identity, with a focus on clarity and accessibility (which is part of our values).

The name change from D’Arts et de rêves is therefore the result of a long reflection process that has been ongoing since 2021. As part of the 2024-2026 strategic planning, a structured approach was initiated to review the D’Arts et de rêves identity, with the aim of increasing the organization’s distinctive and attractive notoriety, and ensuring better recognition; among other things, to avoid frequent confusion with nearby entities such as l’École d’art de Sutton, Arts Sutton, and the nursery Rêves et Jardins in Lac-Brome, which had become problematic in basic communications.

Key steps in this initiative included hiring specialized communication and creative consultants, as well as holding discussion groups in Montreal and Sutton with members, to gather perceptions and expectations from our various audiences.

After these numerous consultations and analyses, the decision was made by its members that a new brand identity was necessary for D’Arts et de rêves; concerning the name, logo, and visual environment. This does not mark a change of direction, but rather clarifies and makes more legible a vision already at the heart of the organization’s actions.

The mission remains the same: to support the creative journey of professional artists with creative spaces and residency programs that combine art and nature. Encounters with the public, the integration of education into activities, and the holding of the Pour la suite du monde festival are still part of the adventure, more vibrant than ever.

In this spirit of continuity, faithful to the initial vision while opening up to new horizons, the identity change is seen as a natural and respectful metamorphosis, born from on-the-ground experience.

The name Espace DesPrés emerges from this transformation.

It refers to both the territory and local history:

Our barn, which stands in a meadow, belonged to Mr. Henri Després, who arrived in Sutton in 1919, where he built a mill, a grain business, and a grocery store.

This nurturing past aligns with the very definition of a meadow: “a meadow is meant to be grazed. Animals eat the grass directly there… A meadow is a fertile environment, one that cares, that shelters.”

In this meadow, village children once went sledding in winter, and today’s public is invited to stroll, nourish themselves, graze.

In the wake of this natural evolution, our Cultural Park is thus renamed Cultural Meadow.

Rooted in its physical and historical landscape, Espace DesPrés’ new identity is a continuity between rural heritage and creative vitality.

The new descriptor “Creative Space” refers to both the built space (the barn, the workshops) and the surrounding meadow; while the expression “Art and Life” affirms that contemporary creation can be a sensitive artistic practice in all its dimensions: human, plant, animal, invisible.

Our logo is inspired by both a ceramic work by Nicole Côté, whose research around the circle and connection to nature nourished our imagination, and a reflection by Bruno Latour and Frédéric Aït-Touati in La trilogie terrestre, which invites us to shift our perspective: no longer mapping the world flat, but entering this thin layer above the Earth where the relationships of living things are woven.