The 2-22 building on Ste-Catherine Est in Montreal / photo Jean Gagnon via Wikimedia Commons
Today, Art actuel 2-22 (a new facility occupied by the non-profit art organizations Artexte, Vox and Regroupement des centres d’artistes autogérés du Québec) and the Association pour la création et la recherche électroacoustiques du Québec, organizer of the International Digital Art Biennial (BIAN), were declared finalists for the $25,000 Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal.
According to a Conseil des arts release, Art actuel 2-22 was nominated “for having given Montreal a new, unifying space in the contemporary arts sector,” while the BIAN project was noted as “a major feat in the digital arts sector and a strong link to the city’s visual arts organizations.”
Art actuel 2-22 opened on the third and fourth floors of a new building at 2 Sainte-Catherine Est in March 2012 and has since been acclaimed as a centre for innovation in the art realm. The first edition of BIAN ran from May 28 to June 10, 2012, and featured projects by Carsten Nicolai, Ryoji Ikeda and Robert Lepage, among other creators.
In total, nine finalists deemed to have had “an undeniable impact on their discipline” were nominated for the award, which publicly recognizes either a production or artistic event that took place in Montreal during the previous year or the exceptional contribution of a Montreal arts institution.
The finalists also included Terres en vues for the festival Présence autochtone, which also has a visual art component; circus arts group 7 doigts de la main; mobile aboriginal filmmaking-training project Wapikoni Mobile; Ballets jazz de Montréal; Association des libraires du Québec; the Bozzini Quartet; and Festival TransAmériques.
Each of these finalists will receive a $5,000 prize. The winning organization will receive a $25,000 prize, as well as a commemorative work of art to be created by a young Montreal artist. The winner of this 28th edition of the prize will be announced at the Conseil des arts de Montréal’s annual luncheon on March 19 at the Montreal Sheraton.
