Our public programs include artist and curator talks, guided exhibition tours, panel discussions, lecture series, concerts, and film and video screenings.

All activites are open to the public. Free Admission.

IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EXHIBITION TRAFFIC : CONCEPTUAL ART IN CANADA 1965-1980 Lecture by Jean-Philippe Warren LES HIPPIES QUÉBÉCOIS: TENDANCES LOCALES D'UN PHÉNOMÈNE GLOBAL Wednesday February 8 at 6 pm At the Gallery, in French FREE ADMISSION

Other than a few superficial generalizations, little is known about the Québec hippies of the 1970s. Although it was part of a global – mainly American – phenomenon, the Québec hippie movement was also part of a local context. In this regard, the social and political career of Pierre Vallières can serve as an example: a former editor of Cité libre who became a terrorist leader, Vallières then became involved with the counter-culture. How did this transition occur? What were the steps and the notable influences? In reconsidering this period, which was colourful – to say the least – Jean-Philippe Warren describes one dimension of a changing Québec whose place in recent history we tend to underestimate.

Jean-Philippe Warren is Associate Professor of Sociology and holds the University Research Chair on the Study of Québec in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University. In 2010-2011 he held the Contemporary Quebec Chair at the Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris 3). Author of more than 150 scholarly articles, he has published on a wide variety of subjects related to the history of Québec, including Native peoples, social movements, pop culture, youth, the Roman Catholic Church, and the arts. His work has appeared in literary, sociology, history, religion, literary, and anthropology journals. His book L'Engagement sociologique was awarded the Clio Prize and the Prix Michel-Brunet in 2003. Among his latest publications is L'Art vivant. Autour de Paul-Émile Borduas (2011).

Lecture by Nikita Choi INHABITING THE ABSENCE OF MEDIATION: ON INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICE IN CHINA Tuesday February 14 at 4 pm EV 3.760 1515 Ste-Catherine West Guy-Concordia Metro Station FREE ADMISSION, in English

This talk will outline several modalities of institutional practice in light of both the ongoing social, political and economic changes occurring in China and the history of Chinese contemporary art. The Chinese government is gradually realizing the representational potential of museums in relation to the display of power and national image. As cultural producers and institutional practitioners, how do we transform the power and capital that have accumulated in these museums into public social and cultural resources? Faced with the rapid growth of state-owned and private museums, some artists’ initiatives with defined goals and political agendas have moved toward welcoming a more general public, however, the ephemeral nature of their approaches has marginalized them and restricted their visibility in the art world. Individual practitioners, such as independent curators and critics, have initiated their own “institutions” with research-based, process-based, and archive-based programming, thus offering alternative imaginations of institutions. Without a publicly funded system of art and culture as well as consensus about mediation and representation, none of these can claim institutional status.

This lecture is presented in collaboration with the Department of Art History.

Nikita Choi is the curator at the Times Museum, Guangzhou, China, and the co-founder of Ping Pong Space, an independent and self-managed art space also located in Guangzhou. She participated in the curatorial programme at de Appel arts centre in Amsterdam during 2009-2010, where she co-curated I’m Not Here. An Exhibition Without Francis Alÿs. She has lectured at Casa Asia in Barcelona and is a regular contributor to The Independent Critique, LEAP, and www.artforum.com.cn. In 2011 she curated the exhibition A Museum That is Not at the Times Museum. Also in 2011, she initiated, along with Carol Yinghua Lu, Issues on Curating, a monthly discussion platform focussing on critical writing, context-responsive curating, and curatorial practice in China.






Booking for group tours:
Marina Polosa
mpolosa@alcor.concordia.ca
514-848-2424 ext. 4778

Bilingual Walk-in Tours available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 2:30 pm.

All events are made possible with the support of the Frederick and Mary Kay Lowy Art Education Fund.