Where to sleep
$100 house for the homeless
Anyone who’s been outside in Montreal lately will be able to tell you that it’s cold out there. This is obviously most relevant to the city’s homeless.
There are some in Montreal who are compassionate about their plight and others who take steps to empower them through art, namely those involved in the annual État d’urgence which held its tenth edition this past November. In addition to theatre, music, comedy and photography exhibits, this past edition saw Tokyo architect Kyohei Sakaguchi bring his $100 home, a small unit for the homeless to the festival.
When the temperature gets nicer, you might think that things get easier for the homeless, given the ample amount of parks and restful public spaces Montreal has to offer. Unfortunately in 2006 the city put the 15 public squares that were open all night under a midnight to 6 am curfew.
Last summer, UK-based activist performance collective Kinetic Aesthetic (who culture-jammed Wal-Mart with OTL) tested the legality of sleeping outdoors with their durational performance Sleep Sitting Up as part of the infringement Festival.
They brought along a camera for their 12-hour experiment and here’s a sample of what happened:
