November 11, 2019
Manif d’art is proud to announce that six Canadian artists from the ninth edition of the Quebec City Biennial, including three from Quebec, will be exhibiting this fall in Birmingham, in three of the city’s important exhibition centres. English audiences will discover the excellent work of Anne-Marie Proulx, Caroline Gagné and Nadia Myre at Stryx, Jim Holyoak and Matt Shane at the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), and Meryl McMaster at Ikon Gallery.
For several years now, a component of Manif d’art’s activities has involved exhibiting works abroad as part of its mission to promote Canadian artists internationally. This time, Jonathan Watkins, curator of Manif d’art 9 – The Quebec City Biennial and Director of Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, has collaborated in sending these impressive works by Canadian artists across the ocean.
Colossal drawings at the MAC
In September of this year, Canadian artist duo Jim Holyoak and Matt Shane went to Birmingham to attend the opening of their exhibit at the MAC – but they did more than that. For six weeks, they were in residence at this very same gallery, creating a new, oversize drawing. The public’s attendance during the residence gave rise to enriching conversations in both human and artistic terms, as their new work testifies. In addition to this site-specific creation, Holyoak and Shane present sections from three of their large installations, including the work shown at Manif d’art 9 at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, as well as a selection of small-scale works. The exhibit will close on November 24.
A trio of women at Stryx
Three talented artists from Quebec City—Caroline Gagné, Nadia Myre and Anne-Marie Proulx—will show the same works they presented at Manif d’art 9 – The Quebec City Biennial. Anne-Marie Proulx’s imposing photography will be shown side-by-side with the essential projection of Nadia Myre’s three-channel piece, as the public is welcomed by a multisensorial and poetic work by Caroline Gagné. This trio was chosen for their relevance to the theme of the Biennial, which proposed a reflection on our place in the natural order and our experiences as elements of the natural world in our own right. Their artistic offerings question our relationship with the earth and with each other. This group exhibit, titled Shore for the occasion, will close on December 20, 2019.
First solo exhibit in the United Kingdom for Meryl McMaster
From December 4, 2019, to February 23, 2020, Ikon Gallery will present Meryl McMaster’s first solo exhibit in the United Kingdom. McMaster, who is part of a generation of emerging indigenous artists in Canada, creates photography that explores identity and her distinct cultural landscapes with extraordinary visual impact. Comprising new and recent work, the exhibit draws on the artist’s dual heritage to examine the broader questions of existence, while focussing on the areas of social, cultural and environmental contact between her Aboriginal and European ancestors.
Manif d’art would like to thank the Entente de développement culturel intervenue entre le gouvernement du Québec et la Ville de Québec, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Quebec government office in London, and the Canada Council for the Arts for the support that made this project possible.
Manif d’art – a summary
Since its very beginnings, Manif d’art has been developing exchange and coproduction projects to promote Quebec artists on the international stage and to welcome artists from abroad in Quebec City. The mandate of Manif d’art is to foster art research and experimentation by distributing the works of artists situated in the broad currents of the visual arts in Quebec, in Canada and internationally, primarily through its flagship event, Manif d’art – The Quebec City Biennial, the tenth edition of which will be presented in the winter of 2021.
