The residency project is organized around a series of photo, video and sound recordings. The first work will be geared to a series of images and sounds relating to recordings made in Le Havre, France, with a view to a diptych (a two-part work), in particular in the territory of the town of Gaspé and around point of latitude 49.49 degrees north. The work will then continue in “road movie” fashion. The project will conclude with a triple exhibit:a return to the Gaspé for Rencontres in 2016, an exhibit at Joyce Yahouda Gallery in Montreal in 2016-2017, and an exhibit at Galerie Françoise Besson in Lyon, France, in 2017.

Saturday, May 16 and 30, 2015: events with the artist in attendance. The public can observe the melting ice of the letters ANTGCAC in the work Now Melting Here and chat with the artist.

The exhibit Middle of Nowhere, meanwhile, displays the photographs from the six phantom centers established by Laurent Mulot on the six continents, along with a large sculpture, Now Melting Here. The latter was created following the installation of the sixth phantom art center, in Antarctica. Connected to the completion of the project, the letters ANTGCAC (Antarctic Ghost Contemporary Art Center), molded in ice, melt above an oval mirror, referring to global climate concerns. Saturday, May 30, 2015, the public will have the chance to observe the melting ice of the letters ANTGCAC in the work Now Melting Here and to chat with the artist, in attendance for the occasion at the gallery.

More information on Laurent Mulot: mofn.org 

“Our associations with French and German organizations, as well as with events, artist centers and gallery owners from Québec and abroad, have all borne fruit,” states executive and artistic director Claude Goulet. “These activities have made it possible to inscribe Rencontres and, because of that, the Gaspé itself, in an enormous network at the service of artists and of creation.” Rencontres truly took its place this year among the great photography events, nationally and internationally. “We’re collaborating with among others the gallery C/O Berlin (Germany), FotoFest in Houston, Texas, the gallery Le Réverbère in Lyon, France, but also, in Québec, with Joyce Yahouda Gallery and Maison de la culture Frontenac in Montréal, and with Espace F in Matane.”

The artists, researchers and other professionals in the visual arts who took part in the roundtables of the Photographer Tour, which ran from August 15 to 19, also proved to be excellent ambassadors for Rencontres and for the region. More and more recognized artists from around the world have positive echoes of the event and are happy to travel to the Gaspé to take part in it. “Some of them carry out creation residencies here,” Mr. Goulet reminds us. “The result of their work is then disseminated not only in the Gaspé but elsewhere in the world as well.”

The standing of Rencontres was also heightened thanks to a broadened media coverage, notably in the major daily Québec newspapers, in addition to magazines and specialized websites like L’Œil de la photographie (Paris, France), Profession Photographe (Le Mans, France), Actuphoto (Paris, France), Ciel variable (Montreal), Vie des Arts (Montreal) and Photo Solution (Québec City). Moreover, record traffic was recorded on the website – with 34 percent of visitors hailing from abroad – as well as on the Facebook page and the Rencontres Vimeo account.

Towards the 6th edition…

The artist residencies held as part of Rencontres allow the Gaspé territory to be used in the service of creation all year long, above and beyond the summertime activities. From September 20 to October 3, photographer Bogdan Konopka – Polish-born, based in France – will carry out a residency in Gaspé territory. His work will be exhibited in the region during the summer of 2015 at the 6th edition of Rencontres, and the same season in France, at Promenades photographiques in Vendôme.

It will be recalled that for six years, Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie has undertaken, with artists and with their partners, the major project of establishing itself throughout the territory and creating each year a true circuit devoted to contemporary art. In championing photography, its language, its codes and its various esthetics, the event has put in place an organization stretching over 800 kilometers, in 21 sites distributed in 14 host towns.

At the heart of Rencontres, the Photographer Tour is a one-of-a-kind event that brings together visitors, photographers and the local population on the Gaspé territory. It offers public get-togethers on the subject of creation in the form of photo projections, lecture-discussions and roundtable discussions. Each day of the Tour will be an opportunity to meet artists at their exhibit sites in the presence of Rencontres personnel. The choice to act on five consecutive days ensures the attendance of all the guest artists on the Gaspé territory.

AVIGNON // The Tour will begin on Friday, August 15, at 4:30 p.m. at Parc du Vieux-Quai in Maria with a visit of the exhibits Pastoral Monuments and Inside the View by Helen Sear (Raglan, Wales, U.K.) and a get-together with the artist. At 6:00 p.m., the public will be invited to the Carleton-sur-Mer municipal beach (Carleton sector) to visit The Sensor by Bertrand Carrière (Longueuil, Québec) and to meet the artist. Afterwards, at 6:45 p.m., the official Photographer Tour launch evening will be taking place at the Vaste et Vague artist center in Carleton. On this occasion there will be a visit of the exhibit Ice by Flora (Paris, France), the result of a residency in the Gaspé in the winter of 2013, with the artist in attendance. Finally, towards 9:00 p.m. (after dark), the public will be invited to return to the Carleton beach, this time for a projection of the project “A Bridge over the Atlantic” and a get-together with the participating artists from Québec and France, as well as a visit of the video installation Volatile Slide and Other Disorders by Maryse Goudreau (Miguasha, the Gaspé) in the company of the artist.

On Saturday, August 16, at 10 a.m., the public will be able to attend, at the Vaste et Vague artist center, the roundtable discussion “Artwork acquisition: the market for photography,” hosted by Alexis Desgagnés (exhibition curator, artist and researcher). Guest panelists will be: Stéphane Aquin (curator, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts), Jo-Ann Kane (curator, National Bank art collection), Joyce Yahouda (director, Galerie Joyce Yahouda, Montreal), Bertrand Carrière (artist) and Maryse Goudreau (artist). The roundtable will be followed at 12:30 p.m. by a visit of the exhibit Changing the World by Gilbert Garcin (Marseille, France) at Saint-Joseph school.

HAUTE-GASPÉSIE // The Tour will continue on the north coast of the Gaspé late in the day on Saturday. At 5:15 p.m. there will be a visit of Micronations by Léo Delafontaine (Paris, France) at the municipal rest stop in Cap-Chat, followed by a visit of the exhibits in Marsoui: Tiksi by Evgenia Arbugaeva (Yakutsk, Russia) at Parc A.-Couturier and Heliotropes #7. Northbound by Laurent Villeret (Paris, France) at the Couturier building. At &:00 p.m., a get-together with the two French artists and a projection of their work is scheduled at Parc A.-Couturier (or at the recreation center in case of rain).

CÔTE-DE-GASPÉ // On Sunday, August 17, at 11:00 a.m. there will be a visit of the exhibit 132 by the collective Kahem, made up of Québec photographers Charles-Frédérick Ouellet, Christian Lamontagne, Nicolas Levesque and Yoanis Menge, on the promenade towards the Galipeault covered bridge in Grande-Vallée. At 5:00 p.m., at the Musée de la Gaspésie in the town of Gaspé, the roundtable “Publications as a means of exposure” will take place with panelists Alexis Desgagnés (exhibition curator, artist and researcher), Serge Allaire (exhibition curator, researcher and autor), Rozenn Quéré (artist) and Bertrand Carrière (artist). In the same place, at 7:30 p.m., there will be a get-together with as well as a projection of the work by both Yoanis Menge (L’Étang-du-Nord, Magdalen Islands) of the collective Kahem and Linda Rutenberg (Montreal, Québec), who is exhibiting The Gaspé Peninsula: Land on the Edge of Time at the Museum.

ROCHER-PERCÉ // On Monday, August 18, at 3:00 p.m. the Tour continues in Percé with a get-together with artists Patrick Dionne and Miki Gingras (Montreal, Québec) near the dock and on the promenade along the sea, in the presence of the residents of Percé who took part in their project Story Gatherers, which resulted from a creation residency in the spring and summer of 2014. A visit of the exhibit Eyes on the Collection Loto-Québec, showing 35 years of Québec creation through the works of 23 photographers, is also scheduled at the same location.

BONAVENTURE // On Tuesday, August 19, at 3:00 p.m. the public is invited to Chandler, on the Parc du Souvenir road and the Circuit des bâtisseurs bridge, for a visit of the exhibit The Girl Who Sees the Verses by Rina Vukobratovic (Novi Sad, Serbia). That will be followed, at 6:00 p.m., by a visit of the exhibit Possible and Imaginary Lives by Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh and Rozenn Quéré (Brussels, Belgium) at the LeBoutillier & Brothers warehouse on the Banc-de-Pêche-de-Paspébiac historical site in Paspébiac and by a projection of the work of these artists. Rozenn Quéré will be on hand. Finally, at 7:30 p.m., at the Centre culturel in Paspébiac, there will be a projection and get-together evening with a number of artists: Jean-François Bérubé (Montreal, Québec), who is presenting Bonum iter Compostellam (Have a good trip to Compostela) in Bonaventure and in Gaspé; Michael Flomen (Montreal, Québec), whose project Higher Ground is on exhibit in Maria, Estelle Marcoux (Caplan, the Gaspé), who is presenting Tia’Mugwet (Moose Hunt) in Gesgapegiag (Maria); and Isabelle Hayeur (Rawdon, Québec), who is exhibiting Mirages at Paspébiac.

A reminder that Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie is an invitation to come out and meet artists in a region where photographs and landscapes come together around an artistic project. For more details: photogaspesie.ca.

Media relations in the Gaspé : Marie-Ève Forest, 581 886-1479, meforest@globetrotter.net

Media relations in Montréal and Québec City : Patricia Lamy,  514 912-7443, lamypat@videotron.ca

 In the course of that residency, which took place in the spring of 2014, the  two artists’ interest came to focus on Bonaventure Island and its history.  Seeking out former residents of the island, today transformed into a  national park, they examined the past based on the stories that people  related to them. Through those narratives they explored and interpreted the life of this circumscribed, limited and isolated space…

Last week they were back in Percé to offer a photographic interpretation of the accounts they collected. Rencontres wanted to let you take a look at these artists’ creation work by means of a video interview.

Production: Fleurdelise Dumais, graphic designer and in charge of video for Rencontres

This year’s theme – “Visible. Invisible.” – gives free rein to the interpretation we bring to the photograph, to what it embodies in our day-to-day life, in our relationship with the real and our perception of the world. It also serves as a pretext to present the body of work of the different artists taking part in this 5th edition of Rencontres.

AVIGNON // In Matapedia, in Saint-Laurent-de-Matapédia church, the exhibit Nomad by Kitra Cahana (Montreal, Québec) will be held. In Miguasha, on the site of the national park, Donald Weber (Los Angeles, California) presents the exhibit Quniqjuk, Qunbuq, Quabaa. Carleton-sur-Mer will play host to four exhibits: Ice, by Flora (Paris, France), the fruit of an artist residency in the Gaspé in the winter of 2013, will be staged at the Vaste et Vague artist center; Changing the World, by Gilbert Garcin (Marseilles, France), at Saint-Joseph school; and also Volatile Slide and Other Disorders, by Maryse Goudreau (Miguasha, the Gaspé) and The Sensor, by Bertrand Carrière (Longueuil, Québec), on the municipal beach. In Maria, at Parc du Vieux-Quai, Helen Sear (Raglan, Wales, United Kingdom) will be exhibiting Pastoral Monuments and Inside the View, while Michael Flomen (Montreal, Québec) will be presenting Higher Ground. The Gesgapegiag reserve, meanwhile, will be hosting Tia’Mugwet (Moose Hunt) by Estelle Marcoux (Caplan, the Gaspé).

BONAVENTURE // In New Richmond, Pointe-Taylor park will present Fallen Princesses by Dina Goldstein (Vancouver, British Columbia). In Bonaventure, at the Saint-Bonaventure church, Jean-François Bérubé (Montreal, Québec) will exhibit part of the works of Bonum iter Compostellam (Have a good trip to Compostela). In Paspébiac, at the cultural center, Isabelle Hayeur (Rawdon, Québec) will present Mirages, while the warehouse LeBoutillier & Brothers on the Banc-de-Pêche-de-Paspébiac historical site will host Possible and Imaginary Lives by Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh and Rozenn Quéré (Brussels, Belgium).

ROCHER-PERCÉ // Chandler will offer The Girl Who Sees the Verses by Rina Vukobratovic (Novi Sad, Serbia) on the Parc du Souvenir road and Circuit des bâtisseurs bridge. Percé will be hosting, near the dock and on the promenade along the sea, Eyes on the Collection Loto-Québec, showing 35 years of Québec creation through the works of 23 photographers. On Bonaventure Island, Patrick Dionne and Miki Gingras (Montreal, Québec) will present Story Gatherers, the result of a creation residency in Percé during the spring and summer of 2014.

CÔTE-DE-GASPÉ // The town of Gaspé hosts another part of Bonum iter Compostellam (Have a good trip to Compostela) by Jean-François Bérubé (Montreal, Québec) on the Rue de la Reine. Linda Rutenberg (Montreal, Québec) has been presenting, since June, the exhibit The Gaspé Peninsula: Land on the Edge of Time at Musée de la Gaspésie (admission fee of $5 for Museum non-members). In Grande-Vallée, on the promenade towards the Galipeault covered bridge, the collective Kahem, composed of Québec photographers Charles-Frédérick Ouellet, Christian Lamontagne, Nicolas Levesque and Yoanis Menge, is presenting the exhibit 132.

HAUTE-GASPÉSIE // In Marsoui, at A.-Couturier park, Evgenia Arbugaeva (Yakutsk, Russia) is presenting her series Tiksi, which enjoyed great success in Bonaventure last year. Laurent Villeret (Paris, France) presents Heliotropes #7. Northbound at the Couturier building. And finally, at the municipal rest stop, Cap-Chat will be hosting Micronations by Léo Delafontaine (Paris, France).

A reminder that Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie is an invitation to come out and meet artists in a region where photographs and landscapes come together around an artistic project. For more details: photogaspesie.ca.

In the context of that collaboration, Tendance Floue (a French collective) will be presenting Carrefour 0 h 00 GMT (0:00 GMT Intersection) at the Centre d’artistes Vaste et Vague in Carleton-sur-Mer, a video installation using 10 screens and projectors: 10 looks, 10 esthetics, of 10 cities around the world. Photos taken from the video will also be projected on the Quai des arts. Furthermore, French artist Beatrix von Conta will bring her critical gaze to bear on the Gaspesian landscape through a reflection on the contemporary landscape in mutation with Le Grand Écart (The Great Divide), in Paspébiac. In France, the public will get to know the work of three Quebecers: Gabor Szilasi with L’éloquence du quotidien (The Eloquence of the Everyday) – the result of a residency in the Gaspé – Christian Lamontagne and Doreen Lindsay.

As far as 2013 residency projects go, Quebecers Jean-François Bérubé and Maryse Goudreau will be in Vendôme this summer, while France’s Laurent Villeret and Flora will visit Gaspesian territory. The outcome of these projects will be presented in 2014.

Lastly, in the framework of the partnership between Rencontres and the Conseil général de la Vendée, in France, the results of Gaspé native Guillaume D. Cyr’s artist residency in Vendée and of Vendée photographer Frédéric Merlet’s in the Gaspé last fall will be presented this summer in the two locations.

For details on all those photographers: photogaspesie.ca/en/photographes.

Photo : Tendancefloue_Mat_Jacob_00h00_GTM-Argentine