Theme
31st INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART OF BAIE-SAINT-PAUL
TO ACT
In our XXIst century, virtually all western societies experience turmoil caused by antagonism that is often firmly linked to visions and values which, at first glance, appear to be so different as to be forever irreconcilable. Are there really only two ways to conceive today’s world? One that places the individual at the very heart of his destiny, and another that considers the community as the only territory for the human adventure? In Québec, as elsewhere, we have experienced the tensions caused by visions that are in constant opposition. This can occur in our individual, everyday interaction with other people, as well as in a more global context that is political in the broadest sense. Following the publication of Refus global, Québec artists have proposed a model that hinges on the transformation (by art) of society. These artists are responding to a summons which implies that “this must be done”.
Artists are dynamic actors within their society. Not only are they sensors of the rumblings that occur underground and in the air, but they are also the ones who will go forward to check the air in tomorrow’s weather. Often, they strive against the prevailing current, and they challenge and give names to the head winds, the ones that shake up our certainties. The commitment of the artists toward themselves as well as toward their society is an accepted fact. Their works often tell it like it is and, more often still, they challenge directly our beliefs and our certitudes. The works can throw us off balance and even instil in us a feeling of anxiety or of insecurity. But they can also open yet unexplored byways and thus contribute to our self-fulfillment.
TO ACT in order to take part in and to enrich the social debate, whether by direct intervention or, in a more subtle manner, with works that promote awareness that is enlightening and beneficial for all. The subject matter could be, for example, issues related to politics in a broad sense, to religious or spiritual concepts, to feminism, to popular or queer culture, to the defence and safeguarding of one’s own identity or to any other question which interrogates the presence of men and women in a social context.
The 31st International Symposium of Contemporary Art of Baie-Saint-Paul invites artists from Québec and other parts of Canada and other countries, who place their personal quest at the very heart of society and whose works frequently take the form of questions rather than answers, to send in their applications in response to this call.