The Symposium is a nationally recognised event focusing on contemporary visual arts. It is one of the regular activities of the Musée d'art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul, which is responsible for its organisation. For over forty years, the Symposium has been showcasing contemporary artists from here and abroad, who come in residence to present their work to visitors. Interaction and encounters between the artists and the public are an integral part of the event's identity.
Theme
The Art of Maintenance
Every day, the world is repaired. Actions are taken to maintain, restore and give new life not only to objects, but also to places and relations. In an era which promotes innovation, deterioration and dust are nevertheless everywhere. They invite us to think about what needs care.
In the 1970s, the American artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles carried out a major series of performances on the work of maintenance. Mop or dust cloth in hand, she cleaned in order to reveal the sum of tasks which make it possible for life to perpetuate itself, like the power relations which structure the division of these tasks in society. Fifty years later, the concept of maintenance remains as relevant as ever: urban infrastructure must be maintained, software updated, bodies cared for and ecosystems preserved. As the anthropologist Shannon Mattern points out, maintenance is now a part of numerous disciplines as a theoretical, ethical and methodological framework and as a political cause. Let us add that it can also be an aesthetic.
Repairing a broken appliance by oneself, conveying know-how or contributing to sharing communities fosters emancipation. Not everything must be saved, but that which has value deserves to be maintained.
Without limiting themselves to these topics, proposals could address the following:
- Environment: recycling, reusing, preserving ecosystems, fighting against extractivism;
- Architecture and development: restoring buildings, converting our heritage, salvaging materials, maintaining rather than developing the land;
- Work: rest, fallow periods, degrowth, the role of workers in the Global South in maintaining countries in the north, reproductive labour, care professions, solidarity and concern.
An event that goes beyond walls
Since 2024, the Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul has been engaged in a process of reflection on the years ahead. Experiments have already been conducted during the 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions, prompting the organization to rethink certain aspects of the event, particularly its footprint in the city. Artists wishing to carry out their projects outside the walls of the main pavilion are invited to mention this in their application. It is also possible that, following the selection committee's decision, another work location may be proposed to the artists. The Symposium will thus extend beyond its walls and cover the entire territory of the city of Baie-Saint-Paul.
Submit an application
Before accessing the online form:
- Check out the Terms and Conditions page;
- To avoid losing your answers in the event of a connection problem or user error, we do not recommend typing your answers directly into the online form. We suggest that you prepare your long answers separately in a document;
- You can apply for two types of projects:
- A one-month creative project
- A one-week cultural mediation project
- If you have any questions or concerns, please email Imane Landry here : coordo@macbsp.com
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE ONLINE FORM
