In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Vidéographe is pleased to announce a host of special events that will take place over the course of the year, including: a dedicated program at international festivals; a special program curated by Luc Bourdon to be presented at FIFA in March, and the launching of the Robert Forget Award.
Carte blanche given to Luc Bourdon and an anniversary program at festivals
Vidéographe is offering audiences the opportunity to (re)discover some of the works in its catalogue through a number of dedicated programs, including one entitled Les Vidéographes (The Videomakers), curated by videomaker and director Luc Bourdon (The Memories of Angels, The Devil’s Share). A pioneer of video practices with direct links to the history of the centre, the Quebec filmmaker was given carte blanche to delve into Vidéographe’s collection of some 2,300 works to put together a programme of 50 short films. The project offers a snapshot of 50 years of videomaking at Vidéographe, and bears witness to the transformation of Quebec society and the evolution of video artists’ practices, interests and preoccupations from the 1970s to today.
The anniversary celebrations began in January, with the presentation of works from Vidéographe’s collection in special programs at festivals in Quebec and abroad. These include the Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival, United States (20 – 29 January), the Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris (26 January and 2 February 2021), the International Festival of Films on Art (16 – 28 March 2021), the Festival Traverse Vidéo, Toulouse, France (autumn 2021), the Place M Film Festival, Tokyo (19 – 21 March 2021), the Ann Arbor Film Festival, United States (23 – 28 March) and the Rendez-Vous Québec Cinéma in the spring.
Launching of the Robert Forget Award and a new co-creation residency
Vidéographe is also pleased to announce the establishment of the Robert Forget Award, named in honour of the cofounder of the centre and of the CinéRobothèque. This prize will be awarded to a Quebec artist, curator or researcher who has made an exceptional contribution to the development of moving image practices in Quebec. The recipient will be announced at a reception in November 2021 to commemorate the opening of Vidéographe’s first premises at 1604 St Denis Street on 28 November 1971. The jury of this first edition of the prize will comprise filmmaker Pierre Hébert, curator Nicole Gingras and artist Paul Wong.
Alongside this new award, Vidéographe is proud to announce the establishment of a new co-creation residency, which will see the pairing of three established or mid-career artists with three emerging artists. Together, each duo will produce a work that may take a variety of forms: video art, animation, digital art, essay, documentary, or dance video.
The artist-run centre dedicated to the dissemination of experimental moving image practices will also offer audiences the chance to celebrate works from its collection through a number of special events throughout the year, such as outdoor screenings this summer. Last but not least, a new digital publication will be released in the autumn. Artists, researchers and curators will collaborate to retrace the history of the organization and of Quebec video over the last 50 years.
