About

Mission of the organization

Manif d’art is a not-for-profit organization and a recognized charitable organization. Its mission is to promote contemporary art by local, national, and international artists, a mission it fulfills by providing unconventional platforms for creation and exhibition.

Manif d’art brings together artists at varying stages of their careers to take advantage of these innovative opportunities, and in so doing offers them a rare degree of artistic freedom and exposure through activities created and managed exclusively by the organization. These include Manif d’art – The Quebec City Biennial, the Winter Garden, exhibits of their work abroad, the Première Ovation visual arts, media arts, and applied arts program, and the Videre Awards in visual arts.

History

2000: Born of a need in our arts community for an international visual arts event in Quebec City, the first edition of Manif d’art – The Quebec City Biennial (formerly known as Manifestation internationale de Québec) sees the light of day. Claude Bélanger, director at the Oeuil de Poisson centre, is the driving force behind the launch.

2002: The Manif d’art organization is founded by Claude Bélanger to ensure the event’s continuation and development.

2003: Manif d’art 2 - The Quebec City Biennial takes place.
2004 :

• • Manif d’art begins coordinating the Prix Videre awards as well as exhibit tours for recipients of the Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas.
  • Manif d’art provides a Canadian video component for the Semana Francofona in Chile, marking its entry into the international arts scene.

2004 – 2005: Manif d’art supervises the Québec-PACA (Provence, Alps, Côte d’Azur) exchange for two years in a row.

2005: Manif d’art 3 – The Quebec City Biennial takes place.

2005 – 2006: Manif d’art helps showcase exhibits by Jocelyne Alloucherie in three European cities.

2007:

• Quebec videos are presented in the 8th edition of the Bienal de Video y Nuevos Medios de Santiago in Chile.
• Repérage, an exhibition and sale of a collection owned by Loto-Québec, is presented. The event is intended to raise the profile of artistic production in Quebec and stimulate the Quebec arts market.

2008:

• Manif d’art 4 – The Quebec City Biennial takes place.
• Vue sur Québec, a Quebec-created exhibit, is included in the programming of Liverpool Biennial in England, one of the most important and prestigious European biennials.

2009: Manif d’art collaborates in the grand premiere presentation of L’équation de l’eau (A equação de água) by Jean-Yves Vigneau during the fifth edition of Vento Sull in Brazil. Pascale Bureau from Manif d’art gives a talk on The Quebec City Biennial at Paço da Liberdade in Curitiba.

2010:

• Manif d’art 5 – The Quebec City Biennial takes place.
• The exhibit Tactful Rituals is presented at the Liverpool Biennial.

2012:

• Manif d’art 6 – The Quebec City Biennial takes place.
• Group exhibit Candide/Candido is presented at the Festival Cultural de Mayo in Guadalajara, Mexico.

2014 : Manif d’art 7 – The Quebec City Biennial takes place.

2015: Artists from Quebec and Nantes, France, take part in a visual arts exchange project.

2017: Manif d’art 8 – The Quebec City Biennial is produced in collaboration with the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.

2017-2018: Group exhibit Sans réserve? is shown at MAC VAL in France.

2019:

• Manif d’art 9 – The Quebec City Biennial, is produced in collaboration with the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
• Three exhibits are shown in Birmingham and London, England.

2020 : The Winter Garden (1st edition)

2021 : The Winter Garden (2nd edition)

2022 :

• Manif d'art 10 - The Quebec City Biennial, produced in collaboration with the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (curator: Steven Matijcio)
• Presentation of an exhibition at Canada House in London, England

2023: The Winter Garden (3rd edition)

2024: Manif d'art 11 - The Quebec City Biennial (curator: Marie Muracciole)

Awards and Distinctions for Manif d’art

2017: Winner of the Prix Ville de Québec for excellence in arts and culture.
Awarded by the City of Quebec, this prize recognizes Manif d’art 8 – The Quebec City Biennial for showcasing of hundreds of artists.

2010: Finalist for the Prix Coup d’éclat! in the promotional brochures and flyers category.
Awarded by Festivals et événements Québec.

2008: Finalist for the Prix Coup d’éclat! in the promotional poster category.
Awarded by Festivals et événements Québec.

2007: Finalist for the Prix Coup d’Éclat! in the category for websites with budgets under $500,000.
Awarded by Festivals et événements Québec, this prize highlights the excellence of promotional campaigns for festivals and events in the province of Quebec.

2006: Winner of the Grand Prix du tourisme québécois for the Quebec City region in the category for festivals and tourist events with operating budgets of under $1 million.
Awarded by the Office du tourisme du Québec, this prize honours the commitment of companies in the hospitality sector for positioning Quebec as a leading tourist destination.

2005: Winner of the Prix Ville de Québec for excellence in arts and culture (Prix d’excellence des arts et de la culture).
Awarded by the city of Quebec, this prize recognizes the excellence, dynamism and originality in the work of an organization or professional cultural and artistic group working in Quebec City who enjoyed remarkable success during the year 2004-2005.

2004: Finalist for the Prix Ville de Québec for excellence in arts and culture (Prix d’excellence des arts et de la culture).