BNLMTL – L’avenir (Looking Forward) 2014

Curators: Gregory Burke, Peggy Gale, Lesley Johnstone and Mark Lanctôt

La Biennale de Montréal is pleased to announce the list of participating artists for L’avenir (looking forward). Co-produced with the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, BNLMTL 2014 combines a multi-sited exhibition, a dynamic series of performances, film screenings, talks, tours, publications, conferences and other special events at the Musée d’art contemporain and at other cultural institutions and public spaces throughout the city.

L’avenir (looking forward) examines how contemporary artists give form to the question of “what is to come?” Shifting between assessment and anticipation, clearly grounded in the “now,” and informed by echoes of the past, the exhibition looks towards the future and strives to unveil a range of possibilities and rekindle some that may have been prematurely extinguished. Through a broad range of works and media, including film and video, sculpture, photography, painting, installation, performance and new media, L’avenir (looking forward) promises viewers powerful experiences: moments for contemplation, invitations to wonderment, occasions for exchange and calls to action.

“Working from different histories, artistic traditions, cultural contexts and mobility, the artists of BNLMTL 2014 inevitably propose vastly different futures,” says co-curator Gregory Burke. “Many works address geopolitical concerns, insinuate ethical questions and hint at economic alternatives. Others point to the ‘what is to come’ of art, that is, how effective is it and what will it become?”

The 2014 edition of BNLMTL has been completely reimagined with new executive and curatorial leadership and vision. L’avenir (looking forward) was conceptualized by co-curators Gregory Burke and Peggy Gale, and developed in tandem with co-curators Lesley Johnstone and Mark Lanctôt of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. All four curators worked in close collaboration with Sylvie Fortin, Executive and Artistic Director of La Biennale de Montréal. BNLMTL 2014 is co-produced with the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.