Launched during the pandemic, when it seemed that the world had shrunk to what was taking place on our personal screens, this section enabled Ciel variable to report on what was being disseminated and created in other places. These archived essays give a glimpse at a period that, though turbulent, snuffed out neither creativity nor solidarity.
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Authors: Ciel variable
[May 13, 2020] Revenues are falling, but expenses aren’t. Even though they’ve closed their spaces, galleries must keep paying their rent. And other costs. Of course, the situation is not unique to the art field, as all retail tenants have to deal with this reality. Given the scope of the problem, the federal government has […]
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Authors: Ciel variable
[May 12, 2020] No more galleries, theatres, movies, bookstores … for now, anyway. Digital platforms are no longer just one alternative; they are the only means of dissemination. Artists, however, have not been left entirely to their own devices (so to speak). To stimulate creativity and support the shift to the immaterial, the Canada Council […]
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Authors: Ciel variable | Artists: Alberto Giuliani
[May 7, 2020] The nurse, her lips pursed, looks beaten down. But it is the marks on her skin that reflect the impact of the days spent at the front in a mask. All of Italian photographer Alberto Giuliani’s portraits taken at the San Salvatore hospital in Pesaro, a city on the Adriatic, testify to […]
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Authors: Ciel variable | Artists: Donigan Cumming
[May 6, 2020] They say that he has an unrelenting eye and a creative fervour, that he is inspired by the desire to “destabilize and draw unremittingly from the margins of society, the watchable, and his own works.” He is Donigan Cumming, image artist, celebrated with a digital box setcontaining his twenty-six videos, as well […]
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Authors: Ciel variable | Artists: Benoit Felici
[May 5, 2020] Forty-eight hours of virtual reality, headset included – sound good? PHI gives you the opportunity to experience it in the comfort of your home. Although the centre in Old Montreal must remain closed, it is mobilizing to make accessible “the best virtual reality films and documentaries,” delivered to you by bike, “ready […]
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Authors: Ciel variable | Artists: Michelle Forsyth
[April 29, 2020] Usually, May is the month for the CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto. Cancelled since early in the health crisis, the 2020 edition may eventually be held at another time and in another form that doesn’t involve bringing together all of the city’s disseminators. Things will take place case by case. Nevertheless, it’s […]
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Authors: Ciel variable
[April 28, 2020] The first Paris Photo New York fair didn’t take place as planned in early April. It’s been postponed, though, not cancelled. In the meantime, until April 30, the 1,200 works in the catalogue are available online. The images can be consulted gallery by gallery or via different search engines (photo book, for […]
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Authors: Ciel variable
[April 23, 2020] Even the huge Les Rencontres de la photographie in Arles is in limbo. Is the summer festival to be held, delayed, or cancelled? All scenarios are being reviewed and we are promised an answer before the end of the month. But “Les Rencontres d’Arles at home” is already underway. There’s something for […]
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Authors: Ciel variable | Artists: Geneviève Cadieux
[April 22,2020] The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal wants to do its part: it has announced that it will devote its entire 2020 acquisition budget, $300,000, to Quebec art. Even better: it wants to double that amount. To reach this goal, the Fondation du MAC is inviting the museum’s major partners, collectors, and the public […]
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Authors: Ciel variable | Artists: John Latour
[April 22, 2020] The Toronto online sales platform FFOTO, active since 2015, is rising to prominence in this time of physical distancing, as a certain virus is forcing the closure of galleries and the cancellation of fairs. FFOTO is doing more, however, than purveying an inventory of forty thousand photographs. Since early April, “FFOTO’s Five […]
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Authors: Ciel variable | Artists: Yasuyoshi Chiba
[April 16, 2020] They say the world will never be the same again. But will gatherings – happy and less happy, carnivals and demonstrations – really disappear? Year after year, the World Press Photo competition takes stock of what brings life and death on the planetary scale. The 2020 edition, the winners of which have […]
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Authors: Ciel variable
[April 14, 2020] Sent to the front to find evidence of the effects of the novel coronavirus, photojournalists were among the workers most exposed to the virus. Physician Jenell Stewart, specialist in infectious diseases and in a couple with a photographer, published a guide for image professionals. The list of things to do and not […]
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Authors: Ciel variable
[April 1, 2020] COVID-19 makes all cultural programs futile. MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image is nevertheless turned to the future, as “going forward with the next edition is a way of engaging in dialogue and interaction.” MOMENTA is therefore announcing that the 2021 edition will be organized by German curator Stefanie Hessler. The title of […]