"It's very important to pass on what you know, to pass on new things, things you found out. If I tell my 'secrets' very quickly, then I have to find some new secrets. And so, it keeps me always on the edge — always trying something else. Passing on information is one part of your obligation of being a professional; you have to give back to your milieu."
Louise Genest
Louise Genest began her artistic career when she signed up for a bookbinding course while in Paris on a year's sabbatical. Returning to Montreal, she continued to improve her skills, studying, then spending another six years in Canada and New York, improving her techniques in both book restoration and conservation.
In 1983, she founded the Association des relieurs du Québec (Quebec Bookbinders' Association), created the ARQ Journal, and served as the Association's president for three years. Genest is an active participant and guest speaker in the international bookbinding community. She has lectured and attended workshops in England, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and the United States.
Her work and reputation have earned her the title of Master Bookbinder, granted by the German-based International Meister der Einbandkunst Association. Genest has won many awards including the Grand prix des métiers d'art du Québec, and the Canadian Bookbinders' and Book Artists' Guild Design Award. In 1995, Genest staged an exhibition of design bookbinding and miniatures, representing 2,000 years in the history of bookbinding, at the Galerie des métiers d'art du Québec. This was the first solo exhibition of bookbinding in Quebec since 1979.
Selected works
