History and Mandate
VOX is a centre for presentation of the contemporary image that provides a setting conducive to public access, research and experimentation by providing experienced or emerging artists, writers and curators an opportunity to take part in a permanent forum for reflection andartistic creation in the various practices of contemporary image-making such as photography, video, multimedia and film.
In the spring of 1985, an artists’ collective founded Vox Populi, a non-profit organization devoted to communication and multidisciplinary artistic practices. That same year saw the inception of Atelier VOX, a space for creation and exchanges by the collective’s members.
The year 1989 would prove decisive for VOX, as it organized the first edition of the Mois dela Photo à Montréal, at the time Canada’s only photography biennale. In 1990, the organization founded the VOX Information Systems division, as a means of combining emerging new technologies with photography. In 1998 the Musée virtuel, an innovative research and dissemination tool bringing together some 3,000 images by about 60 photographers, went online. In 2005 the Musée virtuel was restructured extensively and became the Fonds documentaire de la photographie québécoise, which makes works by 126 Quebec artists accessible free on the Web; it currently holds approximately 6,500 images dating from 1950 to the present.
In 1992 the organization inaugurated Galerie VOX, home to permanent exhibitions of contemporary photography. At the same time, VOX expanded its activities to present exhibitions nationally and internationally. The Centre has since circulated exhibitions in Germany, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Mexico and other countries.
Between 2001 and 2004, VOX cemented a partnership with the Bonsecours Market in Old Montreal, which enabled it to operate a large exhibition space and develop more rigorous programming. In the fall of 2002, the Mois de la Photo à Montréal became a separate entity, allowing each organization to focus on expanding its respective fields of activity.
In 2004 VOX moved its presentation operations to new premises on Saint-Laurent Boulevard and further refined its mandate, becoming a centre dedicated to the dissemination of contemporary image practices.
VOX has developed a structured program of internships that allows young workers in the art field to familiarize themselves with the operation of artist-run centres and the organization of exhibitions.
VOX is currently collaborating in the setting up of Imago, a grouping of four visual arts and media arts centres that will move their operations into a contemporary art complex in downtown Montreal, on a permanent basis.
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TEAM
Director Marie-Josée Jean
Assistant to the Director Claudine Roger
Coordinator Simone Lefebvre
Assistant Coordinator Amélie Laurence Fortin
Exhibition Technician and Head of Logistics Simon Gaudreau
Assistant Curator and Coordinator of International Programs
Louis-Alexandre Douesnard
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President Jean Dubois (2005)
Vice-President Jocelyn Robert (2005)
Treasurer Jo-Ann Kane (2007)
Administrators Marie-Josée Jean (2002) and Marie-Jeanne Musiol (2010)
The Board of Directors is made up of a minimum of five people, most of whom are artists with management experience. Chosen by VOX's active members, the directors share various responsibilities, including discussion of the centre's management, developing organizational strategies and defining the centre’s future goals.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Vincent Bonin author, curator and researcher
Barbara Clausen professor, curator and researcher
Angela Grauerholz artist and professor
Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen artist
The advisory committee actively takes part in the development of VOX’s programming. Its members contribute their experience, knowledge and views on art practice, as well as art theory, to the artistic director's planning and research. They also develop specific projects such as exhibitions, Web experimentation, conferences, publications or educational projects.
COLLABORATORS
Copy Editing and Translation Micheline Dussault, Michael Gilson
Photographic Documentation Michel Brunelle
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VOX welcomes volunteers to participate in various events and activities (mailing, exhibition installation, openings, conferences, etc.). We can assign you with different tasks depending on your interests and aptitudes. VOX is looking for dynamic and autonomous people with basic exhibition installation skills.
As a volunteer at VOX you benefit from the following advantages:
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The possibility of becoming a sustaining member of VOX with its benefits - Working towards the dissemination of the contemporary image - Being a part of a dynamic contemporary photography center
Want to become a volunteer? Send us a copy of your curriculum vitæ along with a presentation letter describing your field of interests and your availability at vox@voxphoto.com.
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Become a member at VOX and support a center whose objectives are:
- To promote various forms of expression that images, experimentation, innovative points of view and critical discourses can take;
- To provide a propitious setting for public access, research, and experimentation by providing experienced or emerging artists, curators, and scholars an opportunity to participate in a continuous laboratory of reflection and artistic creation;
- To facilitate and promote exchanges among professional artists, curators and researchers;
- Render accessible contemporary art to diversified public through dissemination projects interpretative activities
- Increase the number of collaborations it undertakes with distributors, universities and research centres in Canada and on the international stage.
CATEGORIES AND BENEFITS
Student Member \\ 20$ Receive the Journal VOX - Receive invitations to openings and other events - Obtain a 30% discount on all VOX publications
Supporting Member \\ 30$ Receive the Journal VOX - Receive invitations to openings and other events - Obtain a 30% discount on all VOX publications
Educational Member \\ 50$ Receive the Journal VOX - Receive invitations to openings and other events - Obtain a 30% discount on all VOX publications - Enjoy free drinks at openings
Contributing Member \\ 100$ Receive the Journal VOX - Receive invitations to openings and other events - Obtain a 30% discount on all VOX publications - Enjoy free drinks at openings - Receive a charitable tax receipt
Benefactor \\ 500$ Receive the Journal VOX - Receive invitations to openings and other events - Obtain a 30% discount on all VOX publications - Enjoy free drinks at openings - Receive a charitable tax receipt - Honorable mention at the entrance to our exhibition space and on our documents - Receive VOX publications
Associate Member \\ + 1000$ Obtain all of the benefits above plus private guided tours.
If you wish to become a member, please fill out the membership form and return it to us by mail. Subscriptions are valid for one year. Download the form (PDF)
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VOX, centre de l'image contemporaine programming is elaborated by the artistic direction in collaboration with a committee consisting of individuals from within the photography and visual arts communities. Further more, VOX’s team, made up of artists and researchers, works together with the selected artists, curators and researchers to carry out their projects under professional and stimulating conditions, as well as to promote their work.
Please note that we are not accepting project proposals at the moment. We ask that you wait for the next call for submissions before sending us your proposals by mail. The information will be posted on our website. Thank you.
Technical specifications:
Main space 1: gypsum ceiling / wall height 144 in (3.65 m)
Main space 2 (projection room) : technical grid / wall height 152 in (3.85 m)
Project room: technical grid / wall height 152 in (3.85 m)
Film room:
concrete ceiling (with ventilation ducts) / wall height 136 in (3.45 m)
Halogen and metal-halide lighting, concrete floor
Download the Floor Plan (Main space)
Download the Floor Plan (Project and Film Rooms)
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VOX would like to thank for their support: the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canadian Council for the Arts, the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Ville de Montréal, the Brasseurs du Nord and the Hôtel ZERO 1.
VOX is a member of the Regroupement des centres d’artistes autogérés du Québec (RCAAQ).
PARTNERS
Le
Mois de la Photo à Montréal
Ciel
variable
Vidéographe
Artexte
Les
Brasseurs du Nord
Le
Quartier des spectacles
Hôtel ZERO 1
Canada
Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal
Dazibao,
Montreal
Gallery
44, Toronto
Gallery
TPW, Toronto
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa
PLATFORM,
Center for the Photographic and Digital Arts, Winnipeg
Presentation
House Gallery, Vancouver
Séquences,
Chicoutimi
Vu,
centre de diffusion et de production de la photographie,
Quebec
United-States
Center
for Creative Photography (CCP) The University of Arizona
FotoFest,
Houston
George
Eastman House International Museum of Photography and
Film, Rochester
International
Center of Photography (ICP), New York
Europe
Forum
de l’image. Galerie et Festival, Toulouse
Maison
européenne de la photographie, Paris
Neuer
Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin
Latin America
El
Centro de la Imagen, Mexico
Organizations
CARFAC,
Canadian Artists’ Representation / le Front des artistes
canadiens
RAAV,
Artistes en arts visuels du Québec
RCAAQ,
Regroupement des centres d’artistes autogérés du Québec
SODART,
Société des droits d’auteur en arts visuels