Radio Arbre
BaNQ, Montréal, CA
Radio Arbre is a participatory online radio station, broadcasting hundreds of stories from Montreal’s children about the future of their city. Their stories are told by the radio host, Arbre (Tree), part humanist robot, part futuristic tree. Working around the clock, they read the children’s thoughts with devotion, humour and sincerity. The radio is broadcast online or through custom sound bleachers, facing a tree.
Documentation by Geoffrey Boulangé
Letters to Fruits and Vegetables
325 kids contributions are broadcast by Radio Arbre. Assorted within 14 different shows, such as The Good Neighbour Chronicles, Letters to Fruits and Vegetables, The Future Department, or The Love show, the stories depict the day-to-day life of Montreal’s youth, their hopes and dreams for the city of tomorrow.
Radio Arbre stories were collected during the “Tours de tables”, a project conducted by the Maison de l’Innovation Sociale for Montréal’s 375th celebrations.
© Photo par Geoffrey Boulangé
All the stories from Radio Arbre were accessible to the public on the project website for 3 years. An interactive map provided a new perspective of the city through the eyes of its young inhabitants. The Contribute section invited young Montrealers to participate in the project, adding their own stories.
Staying true to the kids’ voices, Arbre reads their contributions without any modification or rewriting. This character still has his own personality and speaks in a language inspired by real human radio shows, in his own realistic journalistic style.
The project was inspired by an African tradition called ‘l’arbre à palabres‘ (the palabre tree), where a designated tree, usually a baobab, becomes a gathering point for the entire community to spend time together, share stories, and discuss politics or everyday challenges. Radio Arbre brings children’s questions and ideas about the future to the forefront, representing an essential voice in building a better future.
Credits
- This project was commissioned by the Maison de l’innovation sociale, in partnership with the Foundation of greater Montreal, the McConnell Foundation, the Society for the celebration of Montreal 375th, the President’s choice, Montreal’s policy on children and Atelier 10.
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- A Project by Daily tous les jours
- Creative Direction
- Mouna Andraos
- Melissa Mongiat
- Interactive Direction
- Pierre Thirion
- Technical Direction
- Eva Schindling
- Industrial Design
- Rebecca Taylor
- Artistic Direction
- Anne Ouellette
- Sound Direction
- Michael Baker
- Content Direction
- Cécile Chandran
- Production
- Irène Chaudouet
- Project Coordination
- Marie-Pier Gauthier-Manes
- Studio Coordination
- JoDee Allen
- Filming, Photography and Editing
- Geoffrey Boulangé
- Manufacturing
- Double Effet
- Entrepôt du Cèdre
- Photosynthèse
- Technical Direction
- François Morin, Principal
- Programming
- François Morin, Principal
- Jules Renaud, Principal
- Speech synthesis solution
- Acapela
- Thank You
- Fatou Dravé , Hailey Turcato , Sylvain Le Beux , Patrick Paul-Hus, La Grande Bibliothèque - Espace jeunes (BAnQ), TéléCinéma Montréal and all the children who participated to the project.