Presentation of projects (part 1)
June 1, 2021 – 10:50 AM
Marcelle Dubé is a retired professor of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC). Researcher at the Observatoire des médiations culturelles (OMEC) and member of the Cellule régionale d’innovation en Médiation culturelle du Saguenay Lac-St-Jean (CRIMC), her interests in the arts, culture and social intervention have led her to develop research that more specifically addresses cultural mediation practices from the perspective of social inclusion and diversity. She co-directed the book Expériences critiques de la médiation culturelle (PUL, 2017).
Hélène Duval (Ph.D. in Education) has been a professor of pedagogical practice studies in the Department of Dance at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) since 2005, and teaches in undergraduate and graduate programs. Previously active as a stage performer and teacher, she has created many innovative pedagogical projects in dance at the secondary level. As a member of the second axis of the Chair art, culture et mieux-être and an associate researcher at the Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la formation et la profession enseignante (CRIFPE), she combines the concepts of professional identity, reflexivity, creation and inclusive pedagogy in research and training. She is currently involved in three funded studies (FRQS-CRSH) on arts education, particularly on dance as a means of academic and social inclusion, and more specifically on the notion of inclusive action in the dance classroom.
Sylvie Fortin was a professor in the Dance Department of the University of Quebec in Montreal from 1986 to 2020. As part of funded research projects, she has worked with both dancers and non-dancers with various body issues. Within research teams in hospitals and community organisations, she has used dance and the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education to support children and adults in vulnerable situations (fibromyalgia, depression, eating disorders, neuromuscular diseases, stroke, drug addiction). Her research work has been the subject of more than 100 scientific publications and numerous practical workshops in Europe, South America, Asia, Australasia and Africa. In 2009, she received the University of Auckland Distinguished Visitor Award and in 2019 her research work was selected by UQAM as one of 50 projects that have had a significant impact on Quebec society.
Maryse Gagné is a professor at UQAM’s School of Visual and Media Arts since 2014. Previously, she has worked for twenty years as a visual and media arts teacher in public schools of the Commission scolaire de Montréal. Her research interests focus on creative teaching, the didactics of visual and media arts, the professional identity of arts teachers and the meaning of learning.
Noémie Maignien is a Ph.D. candidate in Museology, Mediation and Heritage at the University of Quebec in Montreal under the supervision of Ève Lamoureux (UQAM). She has worked in the cultural and community sectors in Montreal (Exeko). Her research focuses on cultural audiences and cultural institutions through the prism of cultural accessibility. She is a student member of the Centre et laboratoires de recherche – Cultures-Arts-Sociétés (CELAT), as well as of the Observatoire des Médiations Culturelles (OMEC) and ARTENSO, for which she has also carried out research and coordination mandates.
Dominique Rey is a multidisciplinary artist whose work has been exhibited across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Her art appears in numerous collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Scotiabank, and Province of Manitoba. Rey is the recipient of numerous awards and honours, notably she was awarded the Canada Council for the Arts International Artist Residency at La Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2016. She holds a MFA in Photography from Bard College (NY) and a MFA in New Media from the Transart Institute (Berlin). She is an Associate Professor at the School of Art at the University of Manitoba. Percevoir/Couper/Rassembler was a cultural mediation project where contemporary art acted as a bridge and instigator in the creation of a participatory artwork. Through writing, photography and collage, participants explored their experiences as Francophones of various origins living in Manitoba.
Congratulated by the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, graduated with honoursfromthe Villa Arson in Nice and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, Simon Zagari is building his own artistic practice. Videographer and visual artist, he is one of the founders of Atelier W in Pantin, France, an artistic production and exhibition space dedicated to young creators. After working for several years as museum technician in renowned contemporary art galleries, he left France in 2015 to settle in Montreal, where he worked as an artists’ assistant. In September 2018, he joined Les Impatients as Collection Manager.
Presentation of projects (part 2)
June 2, 2021 – 9:30 AM
Nathalie Casemajor is a professor and researcher at the Centre Urbanisation Culture et Société of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS, Montreal). Her work focuses on cultural development, citizen mobilization and digital culture. She is the coordinator of the Observatoire des médiations culturelles (OMEC) and co-edited the book Expériences critiques de la médiation culturelle (PUL, 2017). She has also conducted research projects on cultural institutions and Wikipedia, as well as on the blockchain and circulation of artworks on the Web. She was a member of the board of directors of Wikimedia Canada.
Engrenage Noir is a private and independent non-profit organization dedicated to the development of community action art in Quebec, particularly through the support and development of projects aimed at transforming Quebec into a fairer society. The projects consist of a group process where members of a community organization, a mediator and an artist mobilize and act around an issue common to the members (people directly affected by the same unjust situation). The process aims to put forward a specific claim that has an effect on the unjust situation, by using art and promoting democratic participation in the decisions required for the project. Esther Filion coordinates the organization.
Louise Giroux joined the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1998 where she first worked as a museum mediator. Possessing a sense of hospitality, a passion for sharing encounters around works of art and a great capacity to adapt to all audiences, this experience convinced her that art is a vector of social cohesion and contributes positively to the fulfillment of the individual. In 2012, she was promoted to be in charge of educational programs in wellness where she coordinates projects in collaboration with various community, university and school partners whose primary objective is to improve the overall health of each participant. Holding a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from McGill University, a Bachelor’s degree in Arts Education with partial studies in Art Therapy from Concordia University, her interests have clearly focused on the multiple connections that participants develop through artwork.
Eva Sandri is a lecturer in information and communication sciences at the University Paul Valéry Montpellier 3 (LERASS and GRIPIC research teams). Her research focuses on the current issues of cultural mediation and the imaginary of digital devices in museums. She has recently published the book Les imaginaires numériques au musée, by Edition MkF (2020). She also coordinated the section “Les injonctions dans les institutions culturelles: ajustements et prescriptions” in the journal Les Enjeux de l’information et de la communication, in 2019.
Margaux Szuter is a Ph.D candidate at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) and the University of Paris Nanterre (UPN) as well as a member of History of the Arts and Performances Laboratory. Her studies focus on politicized artistic practises initiated in non-democratic regimes. Her thesis, directed by Yves Jubinville (UQAM) and Emmanuel Wallon (UPN) is about the political dissent that artists organize on the theatrical stages in Russia and Belarus, regarding more specifically the experiences of the Belarus Free Theater and Teatr. Doc. She has also participated in the scientific journal MIRANDA of the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès (France) and does ongoing work with artists and theatrical institutions across the world.
Mona Trudel is a professor at UQAM’s School of Visual and Media Arts since 1999 and holds the UQAM Research Chair for the Development of Innovative Practices in Art, Culture, and Well-being. She simultaneously pursues two fields of research: artistic and pedagogical practices with a social purpose in the community with vulnerable and marginalized people and the integration of the intercultural and inclusive dimension in the visual arts classroom. Her interest in the transformative aspects of art echoes her university teaching practice at all levels. She is currently co-authoring a follow-up book to the research La contribution de l’art au rétablissement et à l’inclusion sociale de personnes marginalisées (SSHRC-2016-2019) involving women researchers in the arts, urban psychiatry and addiction medicine. She is a member of the research group ArtEspaceSocial.
Presentation of projects (part 3)
June 3, 2021 – 9:30 AM
Elisabeth Otto is an art historian and independent curator based in Montreal. She is a Ph.D. candidate in art history at the University of Montreal where she was a lecturer in art history and museology. She is currently finishing her thesis entitled Art histories of unlearning: Emily Carr and Gabriele Münter. In addition to her doctoral research on female artists and primitivism at the beginning of the 20th century, she is interested in the relationships between art and society, and more specifically studies the issue of migration amongst artists, academics and aesthetic concepts from the end of the 19th century until today.
Natasha S. Reid is the Executive Director of the Visual Arts Centre in Montreal. She holds a Master’s and Doctorate in Arts Education from Concordia University and a Bachelor of Art History from the University of Toronto. In addition, she completed postdoctoral studies at New York University and the University of Quebec in Montreal, supported by a grant from the Government of Quebec. Prior to her current position at the Visual Arts Centre, she was Assistant Professor in Art and Visual Culture Education at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on the narratives of museum educators and participants, social justice art education, and socially engaged art. Natasha has worked with a variety of art centres and galleries including the University of Arizona Museum of Art, FOFA Gallery and La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse.
Melissa Smith is the Assistant Curator of Community Programs at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her responsibilities include inclusive public programs for adults and accessibility advocacy. Motivated by a sustained commitment to exploring the unique relationship between art and audiences, she was awarded the Royal Ontario Museum Visitor Engagement Award in 2014 and one of Smith’s AGO programs was awarded the 2016 People’s Choice for Quality Improvement by the City of Toronto Long Term Care Homes and Services. She holds a Master of Arts in Art History from Western University and a Master of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto. She is also a Sessional Instructor in the Inclusive Design Graduate Program at OCADU and sits on the Board of Directors at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre.
Joanne Waxman, CFRE has 25 years of not for profit experience. In her leadership role as Vice President, Strategic Partnerships at BC Children’s Hospital Foundation (BCCHF), she has the opportunity to lead and participate in unique and incredibly impactful initiatives and projects that help fulfil the Foundation’s mission to transform child health through excellence in philanthropy. The Children’s Healing Experience Project created inspirational healing experiences that engage and comfort children, youth, family and staff and support health outcomes by integrating curated, purposeful arts to improve patient care and the physical environment. Her involvement in the Children’s Healing Experience Project is a career highlight.