Invalidation of female talent, marginalization of female artists’ works, lack of resources and hard to access artistic trainings : women had to innovate, work harder and stand out in order to work their way in the art world. While we live with a premise of a progressive art community, the low representation of active and renowned women remains constant in the field.
At a time when marches for gender equality are multiplying, when the #MeToo movement is finally getting media coverage and when feminist actions are growing, the art world must also question itself and think of effective initiatives to finally achieve equality. During this conference, our speakers, who are active in the art world, will discuss these issues and share their personal and professional experiences.
Caroline Monnet is a multidisciplinary artist from Outaouais, Quebec. She studied in both Sociology and Communication at the University of Ottawa (Canada) and the University of Granada (Spain) before pursuing a career in visual arts and films. Her work has been programmed in exhibitions and festivals internationally, including the Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Cannes Film Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art (Montréal), Arsenal Contemporary NY, and the National Art Gallery (Ottawa). In 2016, she was selected for the prestigious Cinéfondation residency in Paris. Her work is included in numerous collections including Quebec Museum of Fine Arts, National Art Gallery, Heritage Manitoba, Museum of Contemporary Art Montréal. She is based in Montréal.
Félixe Bouvry is an emerging artist and curator from Montreal. Over the last couple of years, she has been showing her work in a variety of contexts across the city. In 2017, she founded a platform to promote emerging art called “art.art” which specializes in ephemeral vernissages. She is currently completing a BFA in studio arts, art history and women’s studies at Concordia University.
Marie Gautier is an exhibition curator and has been working with the freelance curator Ami Barak since 2011. A former student of the Ecole du Louvre, she has taken part in the production of many exhibition projects in France and abroad, among which Role-playing – Rewriting Mythologies – Daegu Photo Biennale, South Korea (2018), What does the image stand for? De quoi l’image est-elle le nom? – Momenta Biennale of contemporary image Montreal (2017), Julião Sarmento The Real thing – Fondation Gulbenkian Paris (2016), Taryn Simon, Rear views, star-forming nebula and foreign propaganda bureau – Jeu de Paume, Paris (2015), Stuttering – Melik Ohanian, Crac, Sète (2014), Off to a flying start – Nuit Blanche, Toronto (2013), I am also... Douglas Gordon – Museum of Art, Tel Aviv (2013). She coordinates art projects, and works on and organizes the production of various programmes with collectors and artists, throughout the world.
Feminist struggles and social issues are at the heart of Saphia Arhzaf's political and artistic concerns. Born in Montreal, she is active in militant and artistic circles, she involved throught Underpressure, FreshPaint Gallery, CFF Concordia and Collectif Cousines, and she will be a panel mediator for this edition as a part of Chromatic.