Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
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- Graphic material
- Object
- Textual record
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- Source of title proper: Title based on the content of the fonds.
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Edition area
Edition statement
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Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1997-2005 (Creation)
- Creator
- Blue Metropolis Foundation
Physical description area
Physical description
0.70 m of textual records
172 photographs
1 object
Publisher's series area
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Blue Metropolis Foundation was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 1997. Its incorporation was done in conjunction with the creation of Blue Metropolis Inc., owned by Linda Leith. Initially created to help collect funds for projects like a literary magazine, the purpose of the Foundation soon became the organization of an annual literary festival. This festival, named the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, was inspired by “Write pour écrire,” an event organized in 1996 by three Montreal writers in partnership with the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ).
The first Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival took place at the Europa Hotel on Drummond Street in Montreal from April 19 to 23, 1999. In addition to readings, on-stage interviews, and panel discussions, events included the first Blue Metropolis Translation Slam, literacy programming, and community writing activities. These events took place in both English and French. Certain events were bilingual.
The second Blue Met festival took place in 2000 at the Hotel des Gouverneurs, Place Dupuis, in Montreal. During this iteration, Spanish became the third “official” language of the Festival. For the first time, the “Grand prix littéraire international Metropolis bleu” was assigned. It was in that year that CBC Radio and Radio-Canada began their involvement with the Festival. Since 2000, the Foundation has expanded its programming beyond the Festival and began organizing a wide range of educational programs for children and adolescents. The first such program was the Student Literary Program, which was first introduced at the Festival in 2000. The Foundation continues to offer year-round literacy activities.
In subsequent years, new languages were added to each iteration of the Festival. Events in non-official languages, including Italian, Dari, Farsi, later Arabic, Russian, and Chinese, were offered without translation. In order to offer programs in various languages, the Festival conducted outreach to various communities and established partnerships with different community organizations.
In 2007, the Blue Metropolis Arab Literary Prize was created, with annual funding from the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.
Linda Leith was president of the Blue Metropolis Foundation from 2003 to 2011.
Custodial history
The fonds was transferred from Concordia University's Records Management and Archives Department to Concordia University Libraries' Special Collections April 12, 2016 and June 22, 2016.
Scope and content
The Blue Metropolis Foundation fonds provides information on the Blue Metropolis Foundation from its beginnings in 1997 to 2005. The fonds documents not only the administrative organisation of the Foundation, but also includes materials related to the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival's held between 1999 and 2004. The Festival takes place annually in Montreal, Quebec. The fonds also contains information about the artists which participated in the festival in various years.
The fonds contains administrative records, minutes, correspondence, financial records, programs, publicity material, photographs, biographical information, and newspapers.
The fonds is organized in the following series:
P0232/A Administrative records
P0232/B Blue Metropolis Literary Festival
P0232/C Writers
P0232/D Year-round Literacy activities
Notes area
Physical condition
Thermal papers faded.
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
- French
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Access to some documents is restricted.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Reproduction for research or private study is permitted. Use of material in publications cannot be done without permission of the copyright holder.
Finding aids
Box listings available.
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Conservation
Documents on thermal paper have been photocopied.
Conservation
Some photographs have been placed in protective Mylar sleeves.