Celebrating a community

In 2021, Vidéographe celebrates 50 years of continuous commitment to the research and dissemination of video and experimental moving image practices. 

Inspired by the creative spirit of its founders, Vidéographe proposes a year of celebration that will bridge generations of artists, with an emphasis on creation, collaboration, and the sharing of works from its collection.

The different initiatives we have in store will bring together close to 90 artists, thinkers, curators and partner organizations, to reflect the ideal community that Vidéographe has embodied since its official opening. 

These meetings and events are orchestrated to meet the health restrictions that currently shape the social space while promoting the exchange of practices and ideas, as well as the discussion between artists, the public and video art fans.

Come, meet the artists and the team behind Vidéographe to celebrate 50 years of the moving image !

Some of the highlights of these celebrations include:

• • The Vidéographes

The cycle of new programs, Les Vidéographes, by filmmaker and video artist Luc Bourdon (La mémoire des anges, La part du diable). Closely linked to the history of our organization, he has drawn on some 2,300 works in the Vidéographe collection. Covering 50 years of video creation based on a selection of 50 works from this rich catalog, this project reflects the transformation of Quebec society, the evolution of the practices, subjects and concerns of video artists from the 1970s to the present day.

Les Vidéographes will be showing in Quebec, Canada and internationally throughout our anniversary year, while the full cycle will be presented in November 2021 at the Cinémathèque québécoise.

• • The works in the Vidéographe collection will be presented as part of various special festival programs in Quebec and internationally.

As early as January 2021, we were at the Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival (US) and the following month at the Canadian Cultural Center (Cf). In the fall, we were programmed by La Grande Rendez des Arts Médiatiques de Gaspésie, Festival 48 images sec (Fr), Cairo Video Festival (Egypt) and Traverse Vidéo (Fr).

The RIDMs will present an anniversary program followed by a roundtable with artists on November 19, 2021.

• • A new digital publication

The latter will retrace the history of Vidéographe and of Quebec video over the past 50 years. Artists, researchers and curators are involved in this production. This will be the third publication available on Vithèque.com — Videographe’s online collection — following Corps-à-corps: The Work of Donigan Cumming and Marc Paradis, an Ogre’s desire published in the spring and in the fall of 2020.

• • Robert Forget Award

Named in honour of the visionary who initiated Vidéographe as well as the Cinérobothèque, the Robert Forget Award will be presented to a Quebec artist, curator, or researcher who has made an exceptional contribution to the development of the moving image practices in Quebec.

The award will be announced on November 28, 2021, to commemorate the opening of Vidéographe’s doors on St Denis Street, which took place on November 28, 1971. The jury for this first edition was composed of the filmmaker Pierre Hébert, the curator Nicole Gingras and the artist Paul Wong. The award will then be given every two years.

• A co creation residence

Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, this residence pairs three established or mid-career artists with three emerging artists. The duets will produce a work that can take different forms: video art, animation, digital arts, video essay, documentary, video dance.

Watch our program to be the first to appreciate the fruits of these stimulating encounters!

• Outdoor screenings, roundtables, and special events will complement this year-round anniversary program

Stay tuned for more details!