Volume 2 MTL: Art and the Book
1-6 Oct. 2019
Conference – presentation – workshops – symposia – performances
ART BOOK FAIR 5-6 Oct. SAT (Société des arts technologiques), 1201 Saint-Laurent, 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. Free admission
This second edition of Montreal’s newest arts festival, Volume 2, showcases talents and legends in artists’ books from around the world. This uniquely bilingual international art book fair and conference is exploding after laying down roots in Montreal’s art publishing community in 2018 during Volume 1.
This year’s theme of Collaboration informs its programming with a plethora of presentations, workshops, performances, exhibits, artists’ talks, symposium and activities bringing together artists from around the world, culminating in a two-day free art book fair featuring dozens of publishers. New to Volume is a special programme of experimental music and sound art, featuring live broadcasting of n10.as streaming radio during the art book fair at SAT (Société des arts technologiques) and two evenings of performances in the Mile End and Mile Ex. Here is the full schedule:
October 1
17:00-19:00 Cindy Dumais 5 Dialogues artist talk
ARPRIM, Belgo, 372 Sainte-Catherine W. #426 (metro Saint-Laurent)
Cindy Dumais continues her research into art and its references by using reading as a way of investigating the origins of ideas, of thought and of core identity. By linking her own interrogations to the avenues for reflection and theoretical content of her reading, the artist establishes a dialogue that alternates between author and reader, casting doubt on the passive role of the latter. This written material unfolds into works whose form echoes their source documents’, creating an intertext that extends well beyond the specific boundaries of literature and visual arts as disciplines.
October 2
13:30-15:00 Mail Art And Art Zines: Anna Banana, Réjean Côté
Artexte, 2 Sainte-Catherine E. 3rd floor (métro Saint-Laurent)
A trip back through decades of mail art and art zine collaborations, featuring Canadian mail art legends Anna Banana (British Colombia) and Réjean F. Côté (Quebec), moderated by longtime mail artist and ARCMTL co-founder Billy Mavreas. Dozens of rare examples of mail art and mail-art related artists’ books and zines will be on hand, thanks to the collections at Artexte, ARCMTL and the invited artists, a rare occasion to see these unique materials and explore the intriguing milieu of international mail art, in the presence of some of the field’s most important artists! Free.
16:00-19:00 Le Dernier Cri and Valium at Foufs!
Foufounes électriques, 87 Sainte-Catherine E.
Show and tell event at the bar featuring dozens of very rare artists’ books and zines produced at Marseille’s Le Dernier Cri studio since 1993, in the presence of Director and artist Pakito Bolino and local collaborator Henriette Valium.
18:00-20:00 BCC: Blind Carbon Copy, performance + présentation, Pascaline Knight
Artexte, 2 Sainte-Catherine E. 3rd floor (métro Saint-Laurent)
Artexte is hosting artist Pascaline Knight for a micro-residency of their collection. The results of her research will be presented in a window display exhibit at Artexte, as well as during this public performance and discussion. Join the Facebook event here.
October 3
13:00-15:00 CEP x Celia Perrin Sidarous, presentation/ workshop, présentation/ atelier
Centre for Expanded Poetics, Concordia Webster Library Building, 1455 Boul. Maisonneuve W., LB 681
The Centre for Expanded Poetic’s Jess Bebenek will collaborate on this presentation and workshop with Celia Perrin Sidarous, a Montreal-based photographer working with image-based research and mise-en-scene collage works. Celia will present her work as a photographer exploring sculptural collage and introduce collage as a photographic methodology as a starting point for the collaborative workshop. Jess Bebenek is a Montreal based poet and interdisciplinary artist who works with the Centre for Expanded Poetics. Interested in printed presentation of written works, Jess’ practice is motivated by book arts and printed tradition. Both artists will facilitate a group collage work and Risograph demonstration. Materials will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring whatever they wish to work with.
15:00-16:00 Jenny Lin & Eloisa Aquino, vernissage, “Zine Scene: 20 years of ARCMTL”
Concordia Webster Library, 1455 Maisonneuve Blvd W., LB 361
Eloisa Aquino and Jenny Lin launch their exhibit at the Webster Library of rare publications selected from ARCMTL’s vast archives of artists’ books and zines. Focusing particularly on the collections related to the organization’s Expozine small press fair, its Volume art book fair and its Distroboto art vending machine network, the exhibit provides a deep dive into the wide range of publications amassed over the 20 years of ARCMTL’s existence.
With a staggering variety of techniques ranging from classic cut-and-paste photocopied zines to the desktop-designed and digitally printed, to carefully crafted hand-made objects, the attribute that connects all zines is their passion: zines are a labour of love. Seen as a collection, they offer an inspiring look into contemporary countercultures.
16:00-17:00 Anna Banana Artist Talk
Concordia Webster Library, 1455 Maisonneuve Blvd W., LB 361
Legendary mail artist Anna Banana will discuss her expansive and lengthy artistic career as a performer, writer, and small-scale publisher. The pioneer of “artistamp”, she has acted as both an innovator and a supportive structure in the history of mail art since the 1970s. In addition to producing artistamp packages and printing thousands of stamp submissions, Anna Banana also published Banana Rag newsletter and Artistamp News. In partnership with Artexte and ARCMTL, scans and physical copies of rare items of Anna’s art will be available for viewing with context given by the artist herself.
17:00-19:00 FARR Groundworks Launch
Concordia University, 1515 St-Catherine W. EV2 785
Concordia’s Fine Arts Reading Room invites you to flip through the first edition of an annual arts publication Ground Work/ Œuvre Hâchée and the textures of Haptic Iridescence. Ground Work uses art as the compass for the navigation of the collective psyche of our society.
This edition of Ground Work is preoccupied with the modern surface, the making of a collective narrative, and mutability. What does the modern collective narrative look like? In the post-internet era, which is inevitable: entropy or synchronicity? Snacks and beverages will be provided
18:00-22:00 Vernissage, “Latent See – Emerging Technologies in the Arts”
Anteism Space, 435 Beaubien W.
Latent See is an open-studio research exhibit resulting from residencies concerning AR, AI and exploratory anomalies. Artists in residence are Alisha Piercy, Frances Adair Mckenzie, David Jhave Johnston, and Jenny Lin. Additional works and publications will be presented by Adam Basanta, Anna Ridler, Casey Reas, Gregory Chatonsky, Mike Ryka, Refik Anadol, and Sofia Crespoe.
October 4
11:00-17:00 – Collage :: Books
Anteism Space, 435 Beaubien W.
Collage :: Books is a full day symposium moderated by Ric Kasini Kadour of Kolaj Magazine with invited artists Allan Bealy (New York), Stephen Schaub (Vermont), Guylaine Couture (Montreal), Chris Maddox (Pennsylvania), Jana Zimmer (California), Andrea Burgay (New York), Katana Lippart (Maryland), Karah Lain (California) and Joshua Field (Colorado).
Consider this: the book, not the gallery, may be the best place to experience collage. This sentiment has broad implications for how collage artists work and how their work is received by an art world whose orientation is decidedly fixed on the gallery wall. Can the book provide the functions that the exhibition has historically provided to artists? Unlike an exhibition where original work is on display, a book depends on reproduction for its distribution. Will the public accept a book as an experience of artwork or even as an object of art in and of itself? And if we accept the book as being on par with the exhibition, how does that affect how we think of the history of art publishing that has come before? These are the questions we will explore at the COLLAGE::BOOKS Symposium, a day-long meeting of artists and art professionals interested in the book as art practice, art work, or as a vehicle for diffusing and sharing ideas about art. The event is free, but please register in advance here.
17:30-19:30, De Montréal à Marseille, Le Dernier Cri et ses collaborateurs d’ici, co-production BAnQ et ARCMTL
BAnQ Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, 2275 rue Holt (metro Rosemont)
The BAnQ and ARCMTL will present an ephemeral exhibit of artists’ books from their respective collections that feature collaborations between artists from Quebec and France, highlighting the works of the Marseille studio Le Dernier Cri. Including a short presentation and discussion by Le Dernier Cri director Pakito Bolino, regular collaborator from Montreal Henriette Valium and guests.
20:00-01:00 END – EX @ VOLUME 2
185 Van Horne. $10 (suggested donation) Facebook event
end ex — a music presentation for Volume 2 graciously curated by Alex Pelchat.
Marie-Douce St-Jacques: Rare solo set from multidisciplinary artist and Fruit Vert luminary MD ST-J!
Moshi Moshi: Unfathomable sonic treatment carefully prepared by E. Payeur & C. Clermont.
Ensemble Habitant: Ever-changing and unreliable ensemble feat. 25 local artists playing a score for spatialized music by Bay Area composer Matt Robidoux.
Émilie Mouchous: Organic DIY ventures from the iconoclast veteran.
Voish x Geneviève Liboiron: Interstellar avant-gardiste Voish (V. Marengère) meet G. Liboiron from Wapiti on violin.
Jasmin//Bourgault: Burly sound detour from the gnarly duo of D. Jasmin & A. Bourgault.
Sarah Albu: Textile/sonic explorations by S. Albu broadcasted 4 yr ears.
Sound of the Mountain: Supra-amplified trmpt & clrntt from C. Pedersen and E. Millar for deep ears
E-Mi-Li: Power trio of mtl former newcomers with M. Hong, E. Davidovici & E. Denison!
October 5
Volume 2 Art Book Fair
SAT (Société des arts technologiques), 1201 Saint-Laurent (metro Saint-Laurent)
Volume 2, Montreal’s newest arts festival, is back showcasing talents and legends from the world of artists’ books from around the world. More than 75 exhibitors will be on hand at the fair, sharing their passion for artists’ books, art publishing and print! Admission is free! Check out the exhibitors’ list here. Music programming during the Volume 2 art book fair will be provided by our partners N10AS.
14:00-14:45 Andrea Burgay artist presentation @ SAT
New York based Andrea Burgay will present her practice as a visual artist, contemporary collagist, and publisher. Focusing on her participatory magazine Cut Me Up, Andrea will present collage as a raw material with significant collaborative value.
14:45-15:30 Whess Harmon artist presentation @ SAT
Whess Harman is from the Carrier Wit’at Nation and is a trans/ftn Indigiqueer artist and curator. Their interdisciplinary practice includes textiles, text art, illustration, zines and writing. Through their curatorial work as a part of grunt gallery on Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territory (aka, Vancouver), they have been organizing and curating with a specific focus on capacity building and dialogue in the Indigiqueer community and mediating space between their communities and the institutions that both harbour and extract from them. In this presentation they’ll speak on their work specifically with Together Apart; the original 3-day 2SQ/Indigiqueer symposium event earlier this spring that has evolved into the on-going Together Apart Zine and Together Apart Collective. This activity is part of a programming exchange with the Vancouver Art Book Fair.
15:30-16:15 OEI Magazine presentation “On OEI and Investigative Publishing in Sweden from the 1960s to today” @ SAT
OEI is a Stockholm based magazine for extra-disciplinary spaces and de-disciplinizing moments – experimental forms of thinking, montages between poetry, art, philosophy, film, and documents; critical investigations, editorial enunciations, aesthetic technologies, non-affirmative writing, new ecologies, and counter historiographies.
OEI has published 85 issues since 1999. The accompanying publishing structure OEI editör has released some hundred titles of investigative poetry, aesthetic documents, bookworks, theoretical and poetological essays. As part of its publishing practice OEI has also organized numerous events: from readings, presentations, lectures and talks to seminars, film screenings and exhibitions. OEI is run by Jonas (J) Magnusson and Cecilia Grönberg, who in addition to their work for OEI are themselves writers, translators and artists.
21:00-01:00 END EX
Anteism Space, 435 Beaubien W. $10 (suggested donation)
Infamous French outsider art collective Le Dernier Cri will be presenting a North American premiere of their new film marking their 30th anniversary, with live soundtrack by Satan Belanger, Henriette Valium + guests, and an introduction by Le Dernier Cri’s director Pakito Bolino.
Started in 1993, Le Dernier Cri have produced more than 300 limited-run artists’ books, including their collective magazine Hospital Brut. Le Dernier Cri built an international network of artists who remix the “art brut” style.
The screening will be followed by live music by:
LIAR//LIER
SOEUR ACEPHALE
DEAD DOG
October 6
10:00-12:00 Breakfast chat: Distribution: It doesn’t happen by itself
SAT (Société des arts technologiques), 1201 Saint-Laurent (metro Saint-Laurent)
Facilitated by Anne Bertrand of ARCA and in partnership with the Collectif d’éditeurs d’art contemporain (CÉAC), this informal gathering of art book publishers and artists will provide an opportunity to network and discuss common challenges facing the sector internationally.
12:00-18:00 Volume 2 Art Book Fair
SAT (Société des arts technologiques), 1201 Saint-Laurent (metro Saint-Laurent)
Volume 2, Montreal’s newest arts festival, is back showcasing talents and legends from the world of artists’ books from around the world. More than 75 exhibitors will be on hand at the fair, sharing their passion for artists’ books, art publishing and print! Admission is free! Check out the exhibitors’ list here. Music programming during the Volume 2 art book fair will be provided by our partners N10AS.
