Program

Dr. Demelza Kooij presents three short films she has made, each exploring the concept of the "more-than-human". She shows how Graminoids (2014) and Wolves From Above (2018) both attempt to establish a visceral, empathetic connection between the viewer and non-human organisms (grass and wolves). She will also present The Breeder (2017), which addresses how our appetite for all things cute can lead to the disfigurement of pets.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session with the artist, in English.

BIO Dr. Demelza Kooij is a filmmaker and academic. Her cinematic and research interests focus on the representation of other worlds: marine, terrestrial and celestial ecologies, and the exchanges between the two. She holds a PhD in Practice-Based Film Production (2020, Liverpool John Moores University) focusing on animal empathy in documentaries. She also holds a BA in Archaeology (University of Amsterdam, 2008), an MA in Philosophy (University of Amsterdam, 2009), and an MA in Documentary Filmmaking (Royal Holloway University of London, 2010). Her films have been shown at renowned film festivals, conferences, and museums worldwide. Highlights include the Jury Prize at the 57th Ann Arbor Film Festival in 2019 for Wolves From Above, as well as screenings at Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, the Hamptons IFF, the Edinburgh IFF, the Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki, Liverpool's FACT and Seoul's National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art [MMCA]. Until recently, she was an Associate Professor of Film Production at Edinburgh Napier University. She resigned from this position to complete her first feature-length documentary, Wolf Park, shot in Quebec at Mahikan Park.

During the Apéros Artistiques, you'll be invited to discover the world of the Symposium's artists. Drawing inspiration from their work, we'll work together to create works in line with the evening's theme.

This evening's theme: Plants

With the artists: Andréanne Le. Hudon, Élisabeth Perrault and Rudy Nzongo Kumbu.

This series of short films highlights different visions of our relationship with nature and the environment, from the indigenous vision of Mother Earth to nature as a source of poetic inspiration. There is also talk of technological and climatic drift. A glimmer of hope shines through in the evocation of a desired return to harmony. The film presentation, hosted by Anne Beauchemin, will be followed by a discussion period.

• Aski, la mère de tous (2022), Canada, 4 min. Directed by Amélie Courtois. In French.
• Ce que la rivière m'a appris (2022), Canada, 14 min. Directed by Félix St-Jacques, Martin Léon. In French.
• Forêts (2022). Canada, 16 min. Directed by Simon Plouffe. In Innu-Aimun, with French subtitles.
• Interior da terra. (2022). France, Brazil, 18 min. Directed by Bianca Dacosta. In Portuguese with French subtitles.
• Marée noire (2024), Canada, 12 min. Directed by Chantal Caron. Video-dance.

A co-presentation of the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) and the Symposium (SIACBSP).

During the Apéros Artistiques, you'll be invited to discover the world of the Symposium's artists. Drawing inspiration from their work, we'll work together to create works in line with the evening's theme.

This evening's theme: The Animal Kingdom.

With lagomorphhh, Léa Boudreau and Lorraine Simms.

Planting trees is a powerful act of creation that was traditionally left to the foresters. Today, mathematical models are used to predict tree growth and yield. We've become very efficient at meeting our wood fiber needs. But forests provide us with much more than wood fiber. They meet a multitude of needs that are important to our quality of life. Trees reduce urban heat islands and filter the air. Forests, essential to our mental health, are allies in our fight against climate change by sequestering carbon.

At this conference, we'll be looking at the planting of forests from the angle of their ecology and the challenges they face, but also with a view to integrating art into the act of planting. The beauty of flora is fascinating, with its diverse forms responding so perfectly to a vast range of functions, and with the complex and effective links woven between the different organisms that make up a forest. How can we recreate this complex beauty, so difficult to quantify?

Bio

Isabelle Aubin is a researcher with the Canadian Forest Service and associate professor at the Université du Québec en Outaouais. Her research explores the impacts of disturbances on forest ecosystems. Using a comparative ecology approach, she addresses various forest management issues with the aim of improving the way we assess and adapt to the impacts of global change on forest integrity. Her research also focuses on the restoration of disturbed landscapes.

For several years now, Angela Marsh has been observing urban wastelands and their myriad evolution, which seems to defy the conformity and toxicity of perfect lawns and concrete landscapes. In a patient temporality, life recolonizes monoculture lawns and post-industrial sites with dazzling creativity, thanks to complex processes such as phytoremediation and interspecies collaboration. At the Maison Mère site in Baie-Saint-Paul, she proposes a new layout that converts an area of mown lawn into a garden wasteland with the addition of native perennials, in order to initiate a process of passive rewilding with the aim of creating a perennial country place for all living things, human and otherwise. During this presentation, the artist will explain his approach within the work itself.

_Bio

Originally from Montreal and Toronto, and now based in Quebec City, on the unceded Huron-Wendat territory of Nionwentsio, Angela Marsh creates artistic-ecological-relational projects centered on learning to live. Her wasteland project It's really just a love story (MNBAQ, 2021-2023) earned her the title of finalist for the Prix Videre Création en arts visuels and the David Suzuki Foundation Rewilding Art Prize. She holds degrees in visual arts (MA, Université Laval, 2019) and education (MA, University of Toronto, 2004). She is the recipient of grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Two artists will be presenting their travel stories, an integral part of their artistic practice. First, Symposium 2024 artist Atsuhide Ito ran from Hiroshima to Nagasaki this spring. Along the way, he will be collecting radiation data on his route, which will then be used to activate kinetic sculptures at the Symposium.

Next, Éloïse Plamondon-Pagé will embark on a 100 km journey on foot, from Quebec City to Baie-Saint-Paul, along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. Looking to the sky, she will capture the trajectories of the birds she meets along the way through drawing and words.

The presentation of these travel stories will be followed by a creative activity based on maps.

The connections and history of the ecological and ecologic arts are almost sixty years old. How did this convergence between scientific ecology and environmental activism come about? Why revisit these pioneering works and approaches? Because it's less a question of plunging into the past than of marveling at the great relevance of these artistic positions and noting the extent to which these artists have left their mark on the modalities of action. These men and women paved the way for current practices and were visionaries when it comes to the more inclusive conceptions that are now taking nature to the side of a better understanding and conception of living things.

At this conferences, we'll present  Rivages et Boisés, a project that takes the MACBSP and Symposium outside its walls. Artists Jean-François Lettre (Les Éboulements) and Catherine Arsenault (Baie-Comeau) will be creating works linked to two omnipresent natural elements in our landscape: the river and the forest. These creations will take place in mobile studios near the Baie-Saint-Paul wharf, where the river meets the forest, thanks to the presence of a wooded area.

Come and meet the artists from August 14 to 25, Wednesday to Sunday, from noon to 5 pm.

On several occasions, we'll also be pleased to welcome guest speakers from GUEPE and the Charlevoix Biosphere Region, who will share their knowledge of the river and the forest. Stay tuned on social networks!

A documentary on the green architecture projects of Emilio Ambasz, a pioneer in the climate impact debate. The film highlights how Ambasz has redefined the relationship between humans and their environment, creating emotionally resonant architecture capable of improving daily life and addressing urban and climatic challenges. The presentation is followed by a discussion period.

Green Over Gray: Emilio Ambasz (2023), Italy, 55 min. V.O. English/Italian, English/Italian. Sous-titres/Subtitles: English/English. Réalisation / Director : Mattia Colombo et/and Francesca Molteni

A co-presentation of the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) and the Symposium (SIACBSP)

Join us at Placette Desjardins for an immersive evening in the world of Symposium artists François Quévillon, Adam Basanta and Jeremy Herndl.

Drawing inspiration from their creative approaches, we'll work together to create works in line with the evening's theme. For this evening, we'll be creating transformed landscapes using linocuts.

The 42nd Symposium opened with the question of art and ecology. In the context of climate change, the survival of species has become a major challenge of our time. For several years now, artists have been responding to this concern by inventing different ways of creating, drawing our attention to the organization of ecosystems, and overturning our understanding of living things. How can we inhabit the world differently? This is the central question explored by this year's artists. What are the avenues, the visions, and the means embodied in their works? How can an ecological approach to art contribute to changing our vision of the world?

Dans le cadre du 42e Symposium de Baie-Saint-Paul, l’artiste mexicain Gilberto Esparza présente son prototype d'œuvre flottante, Symbiont Island. Découvrez comment cette installation innovante contribue à la biodiversité des milieux aquatiques de Charlevoix et participe à la dépollution de ces environnements. 

L’artiste proposera également une visite exclusive de son atelier, incluant une présentation approfondie sur les défis de la pollution aquatique et le rôle crucial de Symbiont Island, alliant ainsi art et écologie.