After rubbing shoulders in spring and autumn, it is in the heat of summer that Papier, the contemporary art fair, settles in for a 15e editing. The event, which each year attracts thousands of art lovers, first time buyers or collectors, opens this Friday at the Grand Quai of the Old Port of Montreal.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
Usually held in April, Paper had landed in November last year, a change explained by the pandemic. “It was a little too tight to come back in April [cette année]so we cut the pear in half, then went back to our normal range [l’an prochain] “explains the general manager of the Association of Contemporary Art Galleries (AGAC), Julie Lacroix. “This allows us for the first time to have a terrace where there will be an installation by artist Dean Baldwin. »
The event returns to the Grand Quai, an open, majestic and luminous place that it adopted in 2019. A total of 39 Quebec and Ontario galleries will present the works of more than 400 artists during this edition, including Claude Vermette, Caroline Monnet, Manuel Mathieu, Nadia Myre and Marc Séguin. A selection of works under $2,000, or even under $1,000, will also be offered.
The challenge for Papier, which opened up to all mediums in 2019, is now to reconcile its original mission – to reach first-time buyers and the general public – with the desire to establish itself as a must-have for major collectors, says Julie The cross.
“Now, we have works of museum interest, in large format, the best known artists or the most collected by institutions, we find more and more of them at the fair. Today, Papier is a really good portrait of the excellence of Canadian art. »
Novelty and continuity
The fair opens its doors this year to four newcomers, namely the galleries Central Art Garage (Ottawa), Lalani Jennings (Guelph), Parc Offsite (Montreal) and Jano Lapin (Montreal), who will make his debut as a virtual exhibitor. . Legacy of the pandemic, the virtual offer of Paper remains with a web platform as well as an application, Collectwhich uses augmented reality.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
The Press got a preview of the Papier fair, which opens this Friday.
“We opened the gallery in 2020, during the pandemic”, underlines Eli Kerr, founder of Parc Offsite, met during the assembly of his kiosk, Wednesday. “It was a good time to build a community with friends, artists, the public. To be here two years later shows that things are going well. Accustomed to presenting solo exhibitions in its Mile End location, the gallery will combine the work of three Montreal artists on the walls of its booth.
“The three days here are not necessarily the most important [en termes de ventes]but we sow seeds for the rest of the year,” says gallery owner Pierre-François Ouellette, who will present the works of some twenty artists, including Ludovic Boney (Drowned memories) and Chih-Chien Wang. “In 2019, 11,000 people came. That’s a lot more than the people who come home to me in a year. To have this public that wants to see art, it’s extraordinary. »
The event aspect contributes, according to him, to attracting a large audience.
It allows you to break down barriers and realize that ultimately, we are not in New York. The people who welcome you to the galleries are not people who are behind the counter doing their business. We are welcoming in Montreal!
Pierre-François Ouellette, director of an art gallery
In 2019 and 2021, sales of $1.5 million were made at the fair.
Five special projects will punctuate the space this weekend. These large format art installations were created by emerging artists: Karen Kraven, Nicholas Crombach, Dexter Barker-Glenn, Clara Cousineau and Michelle Forsyth. Also a Canadian premiere will be the video work bring me To Heal (Saint George)by English artist Amartey Golding.
The women’s place
The AGAC continues its educational program by addressing issues of contemporary art through six guided tours and nine round tables, including one on the place of women in contemporary art, which will be led by the instigator of the project. Post-Invisibles, Mylène Lachance-Paquin. Launched last March, Post-Invisibles aims to give back their rightful place to women in the visual arts.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Mylène Lachance-Paquin, instigator of the Post-Invisibles movement
In Canada, approximately 34% of artists represented in galleries are women, depending on who has a master’s degree in museology. However, 10% more women than men obtain a diploma within the framework of university studies.
“To be museumized, you have to have a gallery owner who sells you in the middle, explains Mylène Lachance-Paquin. If you are not seen in the gallery, your rating will not rise and you will not be acquired, collected. It may be the impression that things are going well, but sometimes it just takes a little observation of the situation to readjust. »
Things are changing, however, believes Juliana Zalucky, director of the Toronto gallery Zalucky Contemporary, five of the seven artists represented at Paper are female. “I’m part of a generation of gallery owners that is much more sensitive to gender equality,” she says. A movement has begun. »
From August 26 to 28 at the Grand Quai in the Old Port of Montreal. Admission to Paper is $15. Tickets, timestamped, must be purchased online.