About the Award
The award recognizes outstanding scientific work published in French, honouring researchers who choose to write and share their findings in French across the FRQ's research sectors. Beaucejour was named the July 2026 laureate in the Society and Culture sector.
A new leisure activity born from crisis
Beaucejour's winning article, "De l'émergence des programmes Car Wash à la production d'un espace collectif dans la ville de Port au Prince," was published in the journal Society and Leisure. It looks at Car Wash Party, a leisure activity that working class residents of Port au Prince created in the summer of 2019, a period marked by popular protest and public insecurity in the city.
Car Wash programs are informal street gatherings built around water games, music, and a shared dress code, usually a white bathing suit. They emerged in neighbourhoods like Bas Peu de Chose after years of decline in the city's public leisure infrastructure, at a time when unrest and roadblocks made travel to more established places like beaches and pools difficult or unsafe.
Three dimensions of a collective space
His findings point to three dimensions that shape this collective space. It is inclusive, since the events are free and open to everyone regardless of age or background. It builds sociability, creates new friendships, and reconnects old ones. Lastly, it supports social reproduction, giving participants both an outlet for stress and a small source of income for street vendors.
Revitalizing a city under strain
The article argues that these programs are helping revitalize downtown Port au Prince, turning ordinary streets into lively, festive spaces during a time of real hardship for the city. It also contributes to a growing but still limited body of research on how Haiti's working classes are creating new forms of leisure in the absence of formal public facilities.
This recognition highlights the strength and relevance of French language research coming out of the Faculty of Social Sciences.