Conseil des arts de Montréal 2025

CONSEIL DES ARTS DE MONTRÉAL

February 25, 2015

Eight Arts Organizations Finalists  were announced for the 39th Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal. 

The 39th Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal Ceremony to be Hosted by Édith Cochrane on April 17, 2025, at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

Reinventing the way we see the world. Providing beauty, novelty and surprising audiences. Whether lesser known or well established, emerging talents and organizations rooted in tradition deserve to be warmly applauded for their contributions to the Montréal arts scene, the 8 finalists were announced.

HERE ARE THE EIGHT FINALISTS FOR THE 39th GRAND PRIX:

Bouge de là  

For the past 25 years, Bouge de là has successfully pulled off a bold gamble: focusing on dance for young people. Exceptional choreography, a sense of play and cross-disciplinary performances had the eyes of 24,500 children sparkling in 2024. In residence at the Maison culturelle et communautaire de Montréal-Nord, the company brings the benefits of dance right to the community. 

écH2osystème : du fleuve à la scène

The colossal socio-ecological documentary–circus spectacle ecH2osystème: du fleuve à la scène first made land in Pointe-aux-Trembles, in 2024. Creator Geneviève Dupéré interweaves 300 branches of scientific, maritime, fishing and port-operations expertise and knowledge in a circus arts spectacle staged on a one-of-a-kind acrobatic apparatus, suspended from a crane high above the St. Lawrence River. 

Fanfare Pourpour  

A worthy heir to festive avant-garde bands, Fanfare Pourpour delights Montrealers at indoor venues and parks all across the island. In 2024, during a summer of exceptional performances, Un air de fanfare, un pas de deux, created with the Schmutt sisters, won over audiences’ hearts everywhere from Pierrefonds to Anjou and from Lachine to Rosemont.   

Festival international de la littérature (FIL)  

At the FIL, literature has been claiming the title of “living art” for 30 years—three decades of tireless work from Michelle Corbeil, the woman of letters who wears a thousand hats. The 2024 edition of the FIL attracted the best of the national and international literary scene and offered opportunities to meet with 121 established and emerging writers at 78 different events.

Phénomena Festival  

The daring and iconic Phénomena Festival celebrates unconventional performances that play to packed houses. From a punk opera to Cabaret Dada Forever, from the Phénoménale parade to the contributions of the LGBTQ2SIA+ and deaf artistic communities, the event showcases new voices and leading artists alike with its inclusive, experimental lineup.   

McCord Stewart Museum  

As the keeper of Montreal’s memories, the McCord Stewart Museum captures the city’s creativity and rich diversity with its fresh new curatorial direction. Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy marked a high point in Indigenous representation. At the same time, artists in residence reappropriated raw material from the Museum’s collections to create an essential dialogue between past and present. 

Théâtre Desjardins (LaSalle)

Backed by a seasoned team, Théâtre Desjardins is flourishing as a major arts presenter across southwest Montréal. Its artistic vision alternates between familiar crowd-pleasers and new-found offerings, highlighting up-and-coming artists and delighting audiences. In 2024, it brought spectators an all-women series and a new festival of emerging circus arts. 

Théâtre Prospero

With a new management duo at the helm, Théâtre Prospero is stirring the pot, galvanizing the theatrical community and its audiences. True to its open and transformative leadership style, it welcomes emerging artists and artists from under-represented communities, dares to offer flexible pricing and is reaping the rewards of record audience numbers. Its 2024 program was packed with popular, high-profile shows and events.

VOTE FOR THE PRIX DU PUBLIC TÉLÉ-QUÉBEC  

Take a look at our eight finalists’ achievements and vote for the project closest to your heart! The organization or artist with the most votes will receive Télé-Québec’s people’s choice award along with a $10,000 prize. With every vote, you’ll be automatically entered in a draw for a $500 voucher good for cultural offerings from over 725 Montréal arts organizations. 

What’s your favourite project? Vote now!

$90,000 IN CASH PRIZES TO BE AWARDED AT THE GRAND PRIX  

The prestigious Grand Prix award comes with a $30,000 cash prize and an original work of art created for the winning artist or organization. Two other awards will be presented at the April 17 ceremony: the Prix du jury, presented by the Desjardins Caisse de la Culture, and the Prix du public Télé-Québec, each of which comes with a $10,000 prize. Generous patrons of the arts will also provide each finalist with an additional $5,000 reward.

Centaur Theatre 2025: Adventures, WinterWorks Festival

ADVENTURES

WinterWorks Festival Opening Production

February 25 – March 1, 2025 at Centaur Theatre

The plot of Adventures is partly based on a gritty-real-life story expressed through a mode of a fairy tale. This artistic device invites the audience to the roots of the “Mother Tree”, the spirit of which embodies three main characters, that of the tree itself, as well as of two teenagers PJ and Wendy who find themselves on the edge of a life-altering dilemma.

The play portrays a discordant teenage relationship which arises from the lack of basic values like respecting oneself and the other, as well as an absence of the meaning of a true friendship or love. As if such fundamental values were not present in those children’s families or in the books they read at home or at school. This is quite sad for the modern civilized North America. If one compares those two teenagers to the equally young heroes of the Shakespearean Romeo and Juliet, a play that premiered in 1597 in so to speak ‘Dark Ages’ of our collective history (as compared to our modern ‘civilized’ times), how much more poetic, purposeful, tender, loving and heroic was their relationship in a much more difficult setting than what PJ and Wendy are facing. That comparison also makes one ponder about the human and cultural values of the present humanity.

About WinterWorks:

WinterWorks is Centaur Theatre's inaugural festival that evolved from the Wildside Festival. Running from February 25 to March 15, 2025, it showcases inventive performances, daring theatre productions, immersive gallery experiences, and thought-provoking readings.

An Imago Theatre and Keep Good (Theatre) Company Collaboration at Centaur Theatre as a part of WinterWorks

Starring Ann-Marie Kerr
Directed by Christian Barry
Original Soundscape by Jackson Fairfax-Perry
Gillian Clark – Playwright
Christian Barry – Director & Lighting Designer
Andrea Ritchie – Costume Designer
Jackson Fairfax-Perry –  Original Soundscape (Sound Designer & Composer)
Julian Smith –  Stage Manager & Assistant Sound Designer
Ann-Marie Kerr – Wendy, PJ & The Mother Tree
Anthony Black – Artistic Consultant

For more information, visit the Centaur Theatre website.

McCord Stewart 2025: Andrew Jackson-Little Burgundy

Andrew Jackson: Little Burgundy

Evolving Montreal series

Black space: Resistance, resilience and the search for belonging

February 21 - September 28, 2025

The Montreal’s McCord Stewart Museum presents a new exhibition, a foray into a south-western district of the city called Little Burgundy. Over a two-year period, the photographer Andrew Jackson documented important landmarks for the Black community and met people who grew up there and still have ties to the area, and also those who live there now. The result is an exhibition featuring 61 photographs of the individuals and sites that bear witness to the urban and social transformations that have impacted Little Burgundy. In addition, three hard-hitting yet touching short films capture local residents’ lived experiences. The exhibition also features some twenty objects and images selected by Andrew Jackson from the Museum’s collection. These artefacts, juxtaposed with contemporary objects loaned by residents, create a dialogue between the past and the present.

Through this project, the photographer exposes the duality involved in designating a place or neighbourhood as a “Black space.” For Black people, it invokes a sense of security, freedom and belonging, while for non-Black persons it conveys a negative image. Andrew Jackson elaborated:

“When city spaces, such as Little Burgundy, are designated as Black spaces, there are profound implications for Black occupants. This is especially true in North America, where historically, in non-Black minds at least, Black spaces have not existed as places of acceptance or celebration of difference. Rather, they have been linked to notions of failure – notions that become catalysts for urban renewal, gentrification and the ensuing erasure of Black communities.”

Black space: a pilgrimage site

As part of his research carried out for the Evolving Montreal photographic commission, Andrew Jackson investigated how Black spaces – both physical and discursive – are experienced by Black communities. He is especially interested in how these sites are created and maintained, whether tangibly or symbolically, as historically occupied physical spaces. His work highlights how these spaces continue to exist in collective memory and how attachment to them endures long after they have been obliterated by urban renewal and the new communities moving in. As Andrew Jackson stated: “This is so powerful that long after Black residents have left, involuntarily or otherwise, they continue to make the pilgrimage of return.”

Little Burgundy

Although the Black population today makes up only about 18% of the neighbourhood’s 11,000 inhabitants, Little Burgundy remains an important historical site for the community. As one of Quebec’s first Black neighbourhoods, it offers a unique perspective on the impact of urban renewal and gentrification on historic populations, as experienced in Montreal and throughout North America in the 20th century. While certain important gathering places like the Union United Church – the oldest Black congregation in Canada – now find themselves outside the neighbourhood’s contemporary borders, they remain intimately linked to the history of the community that founded and animated them.

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson is a British-Canadian photographer based in Montreal since 2019. His practice is developed at the intersection of photography and text and, most recently, focuses on notions of family, transnational migration, displacement, trauma, war and collective memory. He recently published the monograph From a Small Island, the first chapter of his ongoing series Across the Sea Is a Shore, a collection of works that explore the inter-generational legacies of migration from the Caribbean to the UK. Jackson has a history of developing platforms that provide opportunities for traditionally excluded groups to engage with photography. In 2021 he created a public engagement project in collaboration with the DESTA Black Youth Network, located in Little Burgundy, which resulted in a group exhibition shown at the PHI Foundation. His works are held in public collections that include the United Kingdom’s Government Art Collection, the Permanent Collection of the New Art Gallery Walsall and the Autograph ABP and Light Work collections. His photographs have also appeared in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, the Financial Times and The New Statesman.

Curatorial and production team

An exhibition produced by the McCord Stewart Museum.

Artist: Andrew Jackson

Curator: Zoë Tousignant, Curator, Photography, McCord Stewart Museum

Project management: Eve Martineau, Coordinator, Exhibitions, McCord Stewart Museum

Design: David Martin

Audiovisual production: Tomi Grgicevic

Programming related to the exhibition

Round table: Occupying Space, Shaping Community

Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 6 to 7p.m. – At the Museum – Free In collaboration with Art Souterrain

Little Burgundy: Conversation with artist Andrew Jackson and Zoë Tousignant Wednesday, May 28, 2025, 6 to 7p.m. – At the Museum – Free

Discussion workshop on Black spaces in Montreal: Speaking Up, Speaking Out Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 6 to 7:30p.m. – At the Museum – Free

Evolving Montreal series

McCord Stewart Museum’s President and CEO Anne Eschapasse stated:

“After Robert Walker, who photographed Griffintown, and Joannie Lafrenière, who captured Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, we’ve commissioned Andrew Jackson to explore the urban transformations that have occurred in Little Burgundy, as well as its residents’ experiences and memories of such transformations, as part of our Evolving Montreal series. The resulting exhibition is an opportunity to discover Montreal’s Black communities and a neighbourhood whose identity was irrevocably altered in the name of ‘urban renewal’ in the late 1960s and 1970s.”

Consult the previous 2 Evolving Montreal Series exhibitions:

1. Robert Walker, who photographed Griffintown, here.

2. Joannie Lafrenière, who captured Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, here.

All photos @ Nadia Slejskova

The dedicated internets address of this article or click on the title above the first photo at the top. 

For more information about current exhibitions and special evens associated with this exhibition, visit the McCord Stewart Museum website.

MMFA 2025: Joyce Wieland

JOYCE WIELAND: HEART ON

A tribute to the radical art-making of one of the most influential

Canadian artists of her time

February 8 - May 4, 2025

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) presents the world premiere of Joyce Wieland: Heart On. The exhibition brings together some 100 works that reveal Wieland’s (1930-1998) breadth and uncommon originality of her multifaceted practice that spanned five decades. Organized in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario, it highlights the predominant themes of the artist’s work – feminism, social justice, politics, the environment – as they emerged in her paintings, assemblages, textile works, films, prints and drawings. Heart On is the most ambitious retrospective of Wieland to date that brings to the forefront this major 20th-century international figure of art and cinema.

EXHIBITION NARRATIVE

This retrospective is presented as a themed chronology in eight parts. It begins with her earliest paintings and drawings, when Wieland was associated with a generation of Torontonian artists whose work, like hers, was formed by a background in graphic design, film and animation. It was in this dynamic artistic milieu that she met her future husband, Michael Snow. Her works from this period, which spanned the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, trace her early engagement with international abstract art movements, when she experimented with the materiality of paint, including the incorporation of collage elements.

The exhibition then also examines Wieland’s forceful paintings from the early 1960s, demonstrating how she challenged dominant ideologies of the avant-garde visual art scene by using feminist strategies of subversion, often inserting female motifs into her works.

The 1960s were a significant decade in Wieland’s career, during which she established her reputation as an experimental filmmaker in the avant-garde milieu while also producing paintings, assemblages and textiles that she exhibited regularly in Toronto. This section of the exhibition juxtaposes her experimental films with what she called her “filmic paintings,” highlighting the parallels between her visual arts and cinematic practices. Her work in this period was permeated by overt political content reflecting the artist’s preoccupation with the issues facing her time.

Wieland produced between 1966 and 1967. These works consist of sequences of stitched-together pieces of pliable, translucent plastic pouches stuffed with traditional quilting batting. Within these bright forms, she inserted an array of images showcasing current affairs and events as well as personal references. Moreover, the choice of plastic allowed Wieland to evoke her interest in film’s formal properties, both in terms of its texture and translucency (which is akin to celluloid) and its sequential format.

Wieland’s political engagement during her time in New York sharpened her awareness of Canadian identity politics, particularly regarding the overwhelming influence of the United States, as well as in the relationship between Quebec and Canadian identities. While making works for a major solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada, she invited different craftspeople to work with her as a way to appropriate and feminize the country’s official symbols, including flags, anthems and political slogans. This exhibition features a significant selection of her textile works – quilted, embroidered, knitted – that underscore Wieland’s leadership in incorporating these techniques into the visual arts, which has contributed to their resurgence in contemporary art today.

One section of the retrospective is dedicated to the artist’s interest in the Arctic and her concern about the preservation of its ecology. While, in the Southern imagination, the region has often been perceived as barren and inhospitable, Wieland’s work about the Arctic is always fully alive and plentiful. This is certainly the case in her quilts Defend the Earth (1972) and Barren Ground Caribou (1978) – the largest quilts she ever produced – which are monumental and very public declarations of the ecological urgency to protect the planet.

The theme of love is woven throughout Wieland’s career, from the mid-1950s through to the early 1990s. It takes on an exquisite form in “The Bloom of Matter,” an extensive series of delicate, coloured pencil drawings that the artist began producing in late 1979.

The exhibition concludes with a presentation of Wieland’s late paintings, made after over a decade devoted to filmmaking and textile works. They poignantly recall Wieland’s early stained and colourful canvases, and have the same pulsating inner charge that first established her as a critical painter in Canada.

ABOUT JOYCE WIELAND

Born and raised in Toronto, Joyce Wieland was one of Canada’s most prominent and prolific 20th-century artists. By 1960, Wieland was represented by the celebrated The Isaacs Gallery (Toronto), with whom she continued to exhibit until the late 1980s. Beginning in 1962, she spent a decade in New York City where she became an active member of the burgeoning experimental film scene. Her time in the American metropolis heightened her ecological, political and feminist consciousness.

Wieland’s practice expanded to textile works, film and plastic assemblages in 1966 and 1967, challenging the notion that art functions apart from politics and daily life. She began making her signature quilts, collaborating with craftswomen from across Canada in a celebration of their artistic heritage.

She was the first living woman artist to have a retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada (1971) and the AGO (1987). In the 1980s, her films were shown in the United States, Japan and throughout Europe. She died in Toronto in 1998 from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. Her work has been collected by MoMA, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the National Gallery of Canada, among other major institutions.

Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Chief Curator at the MMFA. Stated:

“The MMFA is proud to be presenting the most comprehensive retrospective ever dedicated to Joyce Wieland and to pay tribute to this major Canadian artist, whose commitment to the environment, social justice, and gender equality is truly inspiring. We hope this exhibition will bring this pioneering artist the renewed attention she so rightly deserves.”

CREDITS AND CURATORIAL TEAM

An exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Art Gallery of Ontario. It is curated by Anne Grace, Curator of Modern Art at the MMFA, and Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Joyce Wieland: Heart On is the culmination of a close collaboration with Cinémathèque québécoise, on Wieland’s films, as well as with the National Gallery of Canada, which has generously loaned a significant number of the artist’s major works. The AGO and MMFA extend their deep appreciation to the conservation specialists at the Canadian Conservation Institute for their curiosity, insights and assistance in the care of Wieland plastic works.

Art Gallery of Ontario

Joyce Wieland: Heart On opens at the Art Gallery of Ontario from June 21, 2025 to January 4, 2026.

All photos @Nadia Slejskova

This article's dedicated internet address or also click on the title above the very first photo in this article.

Visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts website to check on the opening hours and to purchase your tickets online.

Musée des Hospitalières 2025: Jana Sterbak

CORPUS INSOLITE: JANA STERBAK

Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal

29 January 2025 - 24 August 2025

The Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, renowned for its unique collections of historical, medical and religious artifacts, presents a new exhibition, Corpus Insolite: Jana Sterbak.This exhibition invites visitors to experience Sterbak’s thought-provoking works in dialogue with the museum’s collections.

Jana Sterbak is a globally acclaimed, Montreal-based artist. She explores in her works the themes of power and desire, often incorporating unconventional materials. Her works explore the themes of mortality, transcendence, and transformation, which in this exhibition are brought into dialog with the medical and religious artifacts from the museum's collection.

For this exhibition, Jana Sterbak and curator Johanne Sloan worked closely together to integrate Sterbak’s artworks into the museum’s exhibition spaces, while also selecting objects to be brought out of storage for the first time. 

For example, Sterbak’s internationally recognized Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic, (the so-called meat dress), which was first shown in 1987, has been re-made for this exhibition, and is displayed in the proximity of anatomic models and holy relics. This offers a unique opportunity to re-discover the work of Jana Sterbak in dialog with the exhibits from the museum’s collection.

In addition to the two works Sylvanus and Hot Crown, which have never before been shown in Montreal, Jana Sterbak's internationally acclaimed Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic, first exhibited in 1987, was remade for this exhibition, contrasted with the museum's anatomical models and sanctified relics. It is a long, white feminine dress with the real male chest-hair woven into it.

The sculpture of a crown which lights brightly every 80 seconds also seems to reflect on both the worldly and spiritual powers.

Also of interest are the skeleton bones displayed under the glass and looking very much like real human skeleton bones, especially in contrast with other bone remain in the same room, are actually made of chocolate. 

The Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de MontréalThis offers a unique opportunity to rediscover the work of Jana Sterbak while, at the same time, discovering the museum's collections through an artistic imagination.

Sterbak's pieces also reflect on the human stages of life, like the closed circle and the spiral-like progression.

The top-most image in this article, curtesy of the the Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal.

All other photos @Nadia Slejskova

For more information visit the museum's website.

About the Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal

The mission of  the Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal is to transmit the history of Montreal and its foundation, to publicize the history of the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, to exhibit the tangible and intangible heritage of the Hospitallers of Saint Joseph, and to explore the history of healthcare and the health sciences.

Four centuries of history can be traced through the museum’s unique collection, which is linked to the development of Montreal, to hospital, medical and pharmaceutical practices, and to religious art.

Located within Mount Royal’s protected area, in a special natural setting, the museum is a part of one of the city’s best preserved convent complexes, home to the Hospitallers of Saint Joseph. The ensemble, built in 1861 to plans by the architect Victor Bourgeau, includes the order’s original monastery and garden, the hospital, three chapels, a crypt and the museum itself, housed in the former chaplains’ residence.

Centaur Theatre 2025: Strawberries in January

Centaur Theatre / 56th Season

STRAWBERRIES IN JANUARY

A MUSICAL FANTASY

Based on the play by Evelyne de la Chenelière 

Des fraise en janvier

The World English Language Premiere 

In Collaboration with Théâtre Advienne que pourra

January 21 - February 9, 2025

Montreal's Centaur Theatre is presenting a new play with a fitting title and timing for the present cold month of January: Strawberries in January - A Musical Fantasy. For Centaur, it is also a fruitful and joyous collaboration with the Théâtre Advienne que pourra, located in Repentigny.

This new English-language musical version of a Québec's classic was adapted by a talented director Frédéric Bélanger and a songwriter Audrey Thériault and features original music by Ludovic Bonnier, Eva Foote and Habib Zekri.

It is based on the award-winning play Des fraises en janvier by Evelyne de la Chenelière. This new adaptation is a vibrant exploration of love, serendipity, and human connections, set against the wintry backdrop of Montreal. Its lovely music and singing add additional vibrancy to the original play. Strawberries in January - A Musical Fantasy offers a fresh perspective on the interwoven lives of four single people searching for meaning, love, and laughter amidst their daily routine and trials.

Centaur's musical adaptation of the play features eighteen toe-tapping tunes, arranged by Nick Carpenter and Habib Zekri, that add additional layers of emotion and melody to this modern romantic tale.

The Director Frédéric Bélanger expressed it very precisely when stating:

"Strawberries in January invites audiences to reflect on the power of chance and the beauty of human connection, all while immersing them in a world of song and storytelling. It’s a show that warms the heart and brightens the soul, perfect for the cold winter months.”

Eda Holmes, Centaur Theatre Artistic & Executive Director, also added:

“I am thrilled by the opportunity to introduce the English community to the exceptional talent of director Frédéric Bélanger. He has nurtured the musical adaptation of Strawberries in January since 2016. We began working together on it just before the pandemic and being able to bring it to the stage at last is a testament to the resilience of the artists of the Montreal theatre community. It is a play that celebrates the power of love and imagination to overcome every obstacle and that is a story we all need right now.”

This is an exceptionally heart-warming play that portrays people's straggles to find in their lives love, meaning, happiness, as well as true friends and life partners.

Creative Team

• Original Playwright: Evelyne de la Chenelière

• Translator: Morwyn Brebner

• Adaptation / Director: Frédéric Bélanger

• Adaptation / Original Music: Audrey Thériault

• Original Music: Ludovic Bonnier

• Original Music: Eva Foote

• Original Music / Arrangements: Habib Zekri

• Musical Direction / Arrangements: Nick Carpenter

• Song Translations: Alexis Diamond

Cast

• Eloi ArchamBaudoin

• Ryan Bommarito

• Métushalème Dary

• Madeleine Scovil

Musicians

• Khalil Bouaziz

• Quinn Dooley

• Tobias Kimmelman

• Christophe Papadimitriou

Performance Details:

Dates: Tuesday, January 21 to Sunday, February 9, 2025
Times: Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8:00 PM, with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 PM

French surtitles: January 30 and 31 at 8:00PM; February 1 at 2:00PM

Location: Centaur 1, Centaur Theatre, 453 St. Francois-Xavier, Montreal

Tickets: Prices range from $22 to $68, with subscription rates, group rates, and student/senior discounts available. Tickets can be purchased at www.centaurtheatre.com or by phone at 514-288-3161.

All images in this article courtesy of Centaur Theatre, Photographer Andrée Lanthier.

For more information about Centaur Theatre visit the Centaur Theatre website.

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