2nd International Digital Arts Biennial (BIAN) Complete Programming

Press release
For immediate release
2 nd International Digital Arts Biennial (BIAN)
Complete Programming
Montreal, April 9, 2014 — With only three weeks until the launch of this second edition of the International Digital Arts
Biennial, the creators of the event are extremely proud to finally unveil the complete program. From May 1 to June 19, 2014, the
digital arts will take place throughout exhibition venues, public spaces and cultural institutions across the island of Montreal.
United under the theme PHISICAL/ITÉ, local and international artists have been selected to showcase a vast selection of the best
and most audacious current trends in contemporary digital arts.
"The theme PHYSICAL/ITÉ enables us to approach two extremely contemporary issues, namely the place of the body and the
return to materiality in the digital" - Alain Thibault, Artistic Director at Elektra/BIAN
40 projects, 90 artists, 30 partner venues
Propelled by the desire to reveal the effervescence of digital arts at the center of the metropolis, the International Digital Arts
Biennial has partnered with over thirty hotspot venues for the creation and exhibition in Montreal to present more than forty
artworks, which is the combined effort of ninety local and international artists. Immense digital waves unfurling upon the Musée
d'art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) are to be expected, as the Musée will host for part of the installations by the BIAN,
namely a cluster of French-speaking Belgian creators from the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. The MAC continues its
collaboration with the BIAN via the presentation of C4i, a film by renowned artist Ryoji Ikeda. At the Montreal Museum of Fine
Arts, the exhibition Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon (QC-CA) — Dreamscapes. 30 Years of Innovative Performances celebrates
transdisciplinarity and the collapse of boundaries between the different mediums. Evolved from a partnership between four
major festivals from Quebec and France, Eotone, a monumental installation by Herman Kolgen and David Letellier will overlook
the Place des Festivals, and will present a poetic discourse inspired by the presence and strength of the wind. Vox, Centre de
l'image contemporaine, new partner of the BIAN, makes a remarkable entrance onto the program with The Unmanned, an
exhibition entirely dedicated to video by the French artists Fabien Giraud and Raphaël Siboni. Chris Salter, a renowned artistresearcher is presenting n-Polytope at the Fonderie Darling, an immersive experience inspired by the work of Xenakis showcased
at the French Pavilion during Expo 67. In addition to these names, a wide range of projects and partners are collaborating to
broaden the spectrum of the presentations of the digital arts, encapsulated through a multitude of hybrid manifestations and
artworks transcending traditional disciplines.
EXHIBITIONS
• From May 1 to August 31, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts presents Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon (QC-CA) —
Dreamscapes. 30 Years of Innovative Performances. This retrospective immersive installation commemorates the 30th
anniversary of the company 4D art.
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The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) presents C4I by the composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda (May 6 to
June 15). The MAC is also collaborating with the BIAN for a 3 part exhibition presented under the theme PHYSCAL/ITÉ
(May 23 to June 1). The first facet of this triptych takes form in the eponymous exhibition, PHYSICAL/ITÉ, which
presents the work of distinguished local and international artists convened by the curator and artistic director of the
BIAN, Alain Thibault. Works by Ryoichi Kurokawa, Bill Vorn, Louis-Philippe Demers, Robyn Moody, Pippin Barr and Bart
Hess are exhibited. Hedonistika Montréal will also be sharing the exhibition space of the museum. Questioning the
relationship between nutrition and technology, the artists recruited by the curators Jane Tingley and Simon Laroche,
the latter also participating as an artist, are Nathalie Doonan, Ken Gregory, Stephani Bardin and David Szanto. Finally,
La Nouvelle alliance gathers artworks where sciences and culture interact, thus completing the already extensive list
of artists exhibiting at the MAC. This project, co-presented by the Digital Arts Department of the Ministère of the
Federation Wallonia-Brussels and the BIAN showcases 7 French-speaking Belgian artists: the collective Lab[au], Laura
Colmenares Guerra and Todor Todoroff, Sébastien Lacomblez, Cédric Sabato and Félix Luque Sánchez.
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Vox, Centre de l'image contemporaine will show The Unmanned, an exhibition by Fabien Giraud and Raphaël Siboni (FR)
that takes a critical look at the evolution of technology through a series of video installations. See it from May 2 to
June 28.
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From May 1 to June 29, festival-goers can visit the Cinémathèque québécoise to explore the immersive video
installation by South Korean artist HeeWon Lee (FR/KR), Infinity III, which had its Paris premiere at the last Némo
festival.
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The BIAN is partnering with DHC/ART, Foundation for Contemporary Art, in welcoming the microrobotic installation
Power 2: Heart Lake as seen through the eyes of Manley Natland, by Alberta artist Robyn Moody (May 5 to 31) at the
Phi Center; a critical look at hopes for the tar sands. The two partners collaborate once again on the presentation of
the project Milieux associés (May 5 to 22) by the artistic research organization Ælab. This ambitious project combines
exhibitions, performances and a film/performative video program.
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The urban, kinetic, sound and generative installation EOTONE by the Quebec artist Herman Kolgen and French-born
artist David Letellier overlooks the Place des Festivals of the Quartier des Spectacles from May 23 to 30. This
monumental public artwork fosters a reflexion on the meteorological notions of distance and time.
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Still at the Quartier des Spectacles, Project EVA presents the installation Spectron, mounted binoculars overlaying
socio-historical data to the surrounding landscape. See it from May 17 to June 1 on the Esplanade.
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The Office national du film du Canada and the Quartier des Spectacles sets in on the outer walls of downtown Montreal
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with McLaren Wall to Wall, video-projections which will be visible from April 11 to June 1 in celebration of the 100
anniversary of the famous canadian filmaker.
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From May 1 to 11, Radiabolus, a robotic, interactive and sound installation from the duo Saucier and Heys will allow
spectators to experience the war machine, in a rhetorical sense, at the Agora Hydro-Québec (HexagramUQAM).
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The audiovisual installation Plasm from the Amsterdam-based artist TeZ will be on view at La Boîte noire HexagramConcordia from May 1 to 10, immersing the spectator in organic patterns generated according to the mathematical
principles devised by Alan Turing.
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As part of the Sight & Sound Festival, Eastern Bloc presents the exhibition Science Faction: Machine Takeover from
artists Erin Sexton (QC-CA), Darsha Hewitt (QC-CA), Christian Faubel (DE) and Ally Mobbs (JP), which runs from May 20
to 25. These artworks engage the viewer in a universe where man and machine naturally coexist.
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The Society for Arts and Technology welcomes to the Satosphere the artist Bérengère L. Marin-Dubuard [beewoo] and
her installation Turcot: la route devenue architecture, from May 28 to June 27, an immersion in the representation of
this concrete structure, surrounded in controversy.
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OBORO opens its rooms to Touching Ambiguity/Toucher l'ambiguïté, a series of kinetic and reactive installations by the
German artist Kerstin Ergenzinger, from May 3 to June 7.
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Kerstin Ergenzinger will also be present at the Goethe-Institut with the video installation Visages insondables which
will be displayed for passersby in the windows of the institution from May 9 to August 10. The Goethe-Institut also
welcomes //////////FUR////, a german duo which will be exhibiting, from May 13 to June 19, a piece conceived within
the project with the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM).
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Galerie B-312 presents the disquieting Nuage Vert, Ivry by the collective HeHe (FR), from May 8 to June 14, an artwork
which stems from a artistic intervention aiming to literally shed light on the fumes produced by industrial chimneys.
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n-Polytope: Behaviors in light and sound after Iannis Xenakis by Chris Salter offers a contemplative experience where
senses are submerged in a light and sound environment. See it at the Fonderie Darling, from May 1 to 13.
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Studio XX welcomes Zoe Bacchus (QC-CA) and her installation using the SANDDE software How many miles can the
body take? from May 4 to 16.
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Verticale - Centre d'artistes takes over the area surrounding the Montmorency metro station with the synesthesic –
sound and laser installation …of the trace by the artist Alexander Wilson (QC-CA), from May 14 to June 11.
Nine Accès culture locations will take part in the BIAN by presenting nine exhibitions and as many innovative cultural mediation
projects for youth and for public participation. To explore the exhibitions, four new circuits around the city are available for free
upon registration: blogueaccesculture/bian
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De choses et d'autres, an exhibition by Samuel St-Aubin (QC-CA), is at the Maison de la culture Marie-Uguay from May
1 to June 8 and at the Maison de la culture de Côte-des-Neiges from June 19 to August 23.
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The Maison de la culture Pointe-aux-Trembles welcomes the interactive installation Lungta by Patrick Saint-Denis (QCCA), from May 1 to 25.
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Line Nault (QC-CA) presents 2012, a contemplative, interactive video installation, at the Maison de la culture du
Plateau-Mont-Royal from May 8 to June 8.
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At the Maison de la culture de Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, from May 8 to June 15, Emmanuel Lagrange Paquet (QC-CA)
presents the exhibition Histoires d'interactions.
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The Maison de la culture de Côte-des-Neiges presents the exhibition Dans l'intervalle by the duo IvanovStoeva (QCCA/BG), from May 10 to June 15.
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Blur Rouge installation Carmin by Manuel Chantre (QC-CA) is presented at the Maison de la culture AhuntsicCartierville from May 16 to June 20.
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The Maison culturelle et communautaire de Montréal-Nord presents Soleil by Jean-Ambroise Vesac (QC-CA) from May
22 to June 22.
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In Rivière-des-Prairies, the collective Audiotopie (QC-CA) presents Idéogrammes, a participative sound piece in
cooperation with the Comité de revitalisation du boulevard Gouin, beginning May 25.
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On May 30, visitors can see the result of mediation workshops in Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension conducted by
the collective Agit P.O.V. (QC-CA), which is organizing an unprecedented bike parade in the neighbourhood and
downtown.
STUDENT SECTION: UNIVERSITY EXHIBITIONS
• Immanences, an exhibition by students from the École des arts visuels et médiatiques de l'UQAM, curated by Alexandre
Castonguay and Jean Dubois, will be at the Maison de la culture Frontenac from May 1 to June 7.
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Correlate/Corréler showcases the works of the students from the Department of Design and Computation Arts of
Concordia University. The exhibition and several related events will take place from May 1 to 3, at the Phi Centre.
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The multiscreen video Derme.0 conceived by 3 students from the École des arts visuels et médiatiques of the
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) will be presented on the mosaic screen of the Espace culturel Georges-ÉmileLapalme of the Place des Arts, from May 23 to June 19.
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ArtnUM 2014 is the 2 edition of a multidisciplinary event dedicated to research-creation in digital arts at the
Université de Montréal (UdeM). The exhibition will run from June 2 to 13 at the Carrefour des arts et des sciences of
the UdeM.
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SPECIAL EVENTS
• As part of the serie Formats X, the Formats library invites Lynn Hughes and Jean Dubois to conceive a selection of
publications which will be exhibited as a literary installation. Numérique_Post-Numérique? will be presented from May
16 to June 19, at Formats, with a presentation from the artists on May 16 with special guest Jean-Paul Fourmentraux.
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On May 1, the Cinémathèque québécoise will host the launch of the publication (GR)ONDES, the result of a creative
residency in schools carried out by Étienne Grenier (QC-CA) initiated by the Centre de création pédagogique Turbine.
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Arts numériques : Réactivation du projet moderne? is a study day at the Carrefour des arts et des sciences of the
Université de Montréal which will be hosted on June 5, from 9 am to 4:30 pm.
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Hexagram-CIAM offers the international seminar Edging Over & Into Something Else as part of the series Syncretic
Transcodings on May 7 at the Phi Centre.
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The Centre des arts actuels Skol welcomes Art-Act (FR) for its Journée paroles et manoeuvres: Playdown on May 18.
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The ACREQ/ELEKTRA would like to thank the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Ville
de Montréal’s Festival and Cultural Event Office, Canadian Heritage, Quebec’s Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the Ministère des Relations
internationales, de la Francophonie et du Commerce extérieur and the Consulat général de France à Québec as part of the Fonds franco-québécois pour la
coopération décentralisée (FFQCD) as part of the Commission Permanente de coopération Franco Québécoise (CPCFQ), the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, the
Délégation Wallonie-Bruxelles au Québec, Wallonie-Bruxelles International, the Délégation générale du Québec à Paris, Filaction, FRIMAS, and the Goethe-Institut
Montréal for their financial support. The ACREQ/Elektra receives financial support from the Support for First Work Experiences in Arts-Related Positions program,
made possible by the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Forum jeunesse de l’Île de Montréal, Service Canada and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ as part of ORAM
(Outiller la relève artistique montréalaise).
The ACREQ/ELEKTRA would like to thank Baillat Cardell & fils and its partners Folklore and Simon Duhamel, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée d'art
contemporain de Montréal, MUTEK, Lemieux-Pilon 4D Art, the Accès Culture network, The Quartier des spectacles Partnership, Vox, Centre de l'image
contemporaine, the Casino du Luxembourg - forum d'art contemporain, the Cinémathèque québécoise, the Society for Arts and Technology, DHC/ART,
Foundation for Contemporary Art, the Phi Centre, OBORO, Productions Recto-Verso / Mois Multi, Stereolux / Festival Scopitone, Association Electroni[k],
Hexagram-UQAM, Hexagram|CIAM, Hexagram-Concordia, the Darling Foundry, the Galerie B-312, Eastern Bloc and the Sight & Sound Festival, Studio XX, Centre
des arts actuels Skol, Verticale - centre d'artistes, Place des Arts, UQAM’s École des arts visuels et médiatiques, the Institut Arts, Cultures et Technologies (IACT)
and Université de Montréal’s Carrefour des arts et des sciences, Concordia University’s Design and Computation Arts department, Librairie Formats, the Centre
de création pédagogique Turbine, Manif d'Art: The Québec City Biennial, Neural magazine, HOLO Magazine, MCD-Magazine des cultures digitales, Art 2 Machine,
Digitalarti, Infopresse, ETC Media, Punctum arts visuels, ATUVU, Inter magazine, esse arts+opinions, Maisonneuve, DOTS, Le Lien mutlimédia, Qui fait quoi, Ciel
Variable, Galeries Montréal, Symposium ix, C2-Mtl, La Vitrine, the Regroupement des centres d'artistes autogérés du Québec, Gridspace, Motto, ELEKTRATEK,
MOOG Audio, Massivart, Art Souterrain, the Hyatt Regency, the Holiday Inn Select, the Auberge alternative and Global Reservation. This event is part of Montreal’s
Printemps numérique, 2014.
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