This text is part of the special section Culture Montérégie
Zocalo is an artist-run center dedicated to the production of printed art, which offers its members specialized equipment in its traditional engraving printing workshop (intaglio and relief) and in its digital printing workshop. This year, the center has 70 members, all professional artists or artists in the process of professionalization.
Supporting the evolution of printed art, Zocalo offers training activities, a residency program and a mentoring service. Without being a distribution center, Zocalo nevertheless makes its members known through exhibitions in the studio or outside its walls. Funding permitting, the center also documents the evolution of print art practices and the hybridity of practices, which mixes print art with other media.
To underline Zocalo’s thirtieth anniversary, the exhibition The fair at workwas inaugurated on May 5. This exhibition-sale, which runs until June 2, will support the center, since half of the profits from the works sold will be given to the Center (and the other half, to the artists). Forty current and past members have agreed to participate. May 5 was also the occasion to launch an original fundraising campaign: an annual subscription program for works of art. Subscribers will receive three works, by three different artists, in the next year.
Showcasing local artists
A second exhibition underlines the anniversary: the exhibition Face-to-face brings together artist duos who have created works of public art. The works of the duos, on the theme of intergenerationality, will be visible in four public places in Longueuil until May 29.
Zocalo has also developed a cultural mediation program with mental health NPOs, schools, etc., which allows diverse populations to discover the printed arts.
With its 30 years of existence, the center occupies an important place in the artistic landscape of the region. “We remain the only artist-run center for printed art in the Montérégie,” says coordinator Celia Destemberg. Zocalo must therefore continue to interact with community stakeholders and partners, while raising awareness among the population of the Montérégie region. “It’s important to connect with the community, beyond dissemination, because art is good for the soul!” » she underlines.