MONTRÉAL, May 6, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) is proud to join with La Biennale de Montréal in co-producing the 2014 edition of BNLMTL. This association between two of the city's major institutions coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the MAC-an occasion being celebrated in a spirit of partnership and exchange. It will both help ensure the continuity of BNLMTL and boost the presence of contemporary art in the city, and for Montréal audiences. BNLMTL 2014 will run from October 21, 2014 to January 4, 2015.
THE MAC: BRINGING PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS TOGETHER
Québec and Canada's premier museum of contemporary art, the MAC works to make today's art more widely accessible and to reach new audiences by offering a diversified program and initiating projects that bring people and institutions together. It thus acts as a cultural focal point on the Montréal scene. This year, for example, the Musée has collaborated with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for the exhibition 1+1=1 (joint display of the two collections), contributed to the association of Elektra and MUTEK by hosting the EM15 festival (spotlight on digital art) and participated in presenting the second edition of the International Digital Arts Biennial (BIAN). Co-producing BNLMTL 2014 adds further to this list of initiatives that play a part in enriching the community as a whole. As John Zeppetelli, Director and Chief Curator of the MAC, observes, "more than ever, cultural organizations, just like other enterprises and corporations, are called upon to work together, and to create meaningful, unifying events."
"The innovative, strategic multiyear partnership between La Biennale de Montréal and the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal gives BNLMTL a new lease on life," notes Sylvie Fortin, Executive and Artistic Director of La Biennale de Montréal. "The MAC's contribution to BNLMTL brings us substantial complementary expertise and resources, and provides the event with a solid foundation that will enable us to position Montréal as a discovery destination for contemporary art."
One of the MAC's objectives in co-producing BNLMTL 2014 is to expand the Québec content of this international event which this year is entitled L'avenir (looking forward). The Musée is enlisting the expertise and know-how of two of its curators, Lesley Johnstone and Mark Lanctôt, who are joining with Peggy Gale and Gregory Burke, the Biennale's two guest curators. In addition to devoting all its space to BNLMTL 2014, the MAC will be the centre around which the event's many activities, scattered throughout the city, will revolve. Through its experienced curators, seasoned technical team and prestigious address in the heart of downtown, the MAC is a key player in the renewed vitality of BNLMTL.
"With its ambitious reach and content, BNLMTL is a pre-eminent international event," says John Zeppetelli. "We are delighted to be able to offer Québec artists this platform opening up to the international scene. Audiences have been fascinated to discover the works presented in the two editions of The Québec Triennial. They will now have an opportunity to see and observe, side by side, the most relevant works produced around the world today."
A NEW COLLABORATION: THE MAC AND THE QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES PARTNERSHIP
In connection with BNLMTL 2014, the MAC is pleased to once again join forces with the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership to co-produce a new piece by the internationally renowned Polish-born artist Krzysztof Wodiczko, as well as a work by Montréal artist Isabelle Hayeur. This is the second collaboration between the Musée d'art contemporain and the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership; museum-goers will remember the spectacular work by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Intersection articulée – Architecture relationnelle 18, presented as part of The Québec Triennial 2011. According to Jacques Primeau, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, "working with a leading institution like the MAC for a high-profile event like BNLMTL is a way not just to offer a quality experience for visitors to Montréal's entertainment district but also to assert its position as an arts hub."
A TOP-CALIBRE PARTNER: COLLECTION LOTO-QUÉBEC
The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal is deeply grateful for the major assistance provided by its principal partner, Collection Loto-Québec, the presenting sponsor of BNLMTL 2014. Collection Loto-Québec supported The Québec Triennial in 2011 and has continued to support the Musée annually since then through a generous acquisitions program, among other contributions. The mission of Collection Loto-Québec is to support the creation of visual arts in Québec via its art acquisition program and to promote contemporary art.
Acknowledgments
The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal is a provincially owned corporation funded by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec. It receives additional funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts. The museum gratefully acknowledges their support and that of Collection Loto-Québec, the MAC's principal partner. The MAC also thanks its media partner, La Presse +.
SOURCE: Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal
Wanda Palma, MACM, Head of Public Relations, [email protected], Tel.: 514 847-6232
Share this article