Moncton photographer gives silent generation a voice

The faces, hands and stories of 36 women are currently on display at Moncton's Acadian museum.

Acadiennes: Voices of the Silent Generation, is the work of Stella d'Entremont, a photographer who usually focuses on landscapes and wildlife.

For this project, she wanted to tell stories with her images.

When she met with the women it became very obvious that their information was very powerful and interesting.

“I didn't intend or even expect the results or the emotions this particular project would evoke,” said d'Entremont.

She interviewed and photographed 25 Acadian women from the Maritimes and 11 Cajuns from Louisiana.

All of them born were between 1925 and 1945, the silent generation when d'Entremont said women were expected to be seen and not heard.

She wanted to give them a voice.

“They are individuals who worked very, very hard. Kept their head down. They stayed with the same employer for many, many years,” she said. “They are the first generation where the woman really entered the work force.”

Her subjects were asked about their childhood and current relationship with the Catholic church.

“Anything in between was really driven by them. I let them be the one that geared the conversation,” said d'Entremont.

Some of the women left school at a young age to get a job to help their family.

It was common to marry early and have multiple children.

The women spoke openly about their upbringing and life experiences, too openly for one family in particular.

“After we had done the write-up and everything, some of her extended family members had seen it and said, you can't write that. She can't write that. And so we had to change. So in 2024, she was still silent which breaks my heart,” she said.

Musée acadien de l’Université de Moncton curator Andrée Godin said the exhibit has been well received.

“The reaction has been very positive. People have been really enjoying it. We’ve seen people coming in and spending a lot of time in the space and really taking it in,” said Godin.

Godin said the museum is always on the lookout for more objects that speak to women's experiences.

“So having this exhibit here sort of helps us touch on part of our history that is not always seen in museums,” said Godin.

Photographer Stella d'Entremont stands next to a display at the Acadiennes: Voices of the Silent Generation exhibition. (Source: Derek Haggett/CTV News Atlantic)

During the interview process, d'Entremont discovered many of the women’s lives mirrored that of her mother, who she lost when she was 34.

The project helped her discover who her mother was.

“I think I got the energy from her, pushing me to keep going. When you look at all the panels on the wall you see the importance of their story for the next generation,” said d'Entremon.

As part of the project, d'Entremont wrote a book in French and English for people to reference.

Acadiennes: Voices of the Silent Generation, will be on display in Moncton until April 28.

After that, it will be at the Acadian Museum in Miscouche, P.E.I., and then d'Entremont will be presenting it at a woman’s symposium during the Congrès mondial acadien in southwest Nova Scotia in August.

Next fall, it will be on display at the cultural centre in Chéticamp, Cape Breton.

Ultimately, she hopes to bring it to Louisiana as well.

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