What is the Symposium?
Founded in 1982 by Françoise Labbé under the name “Symposium de la jeune peinture au Canada,” the Baie-Saint-Paul International Symposium on Contemporary Art is a unique event in Quebec, recognized both in Canada and abroad. Over the past four decades, the Symposium has welcomed more than 580 artists from 34 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
Each year, for one month, twelve artists from different generations and diverse disciplines are invited to create a work in front of an audience based on a theme chosen by a curator. The key to the event lies in the direct encounter between visitors and artists, as the creative process takes center stage. This interaction helps democratize art, as the event takes the artwork out of the museum and instead focuses the public’s attention on the creative act.
In addition to these open workshops, there are lectures, creative workshops, and other opportunities for discussion centered on the theme.
