The Biennale d'art performatif, a accessible funny thing

Artists from the region, but also from Toronto, London, Montreal, Calgary, Berlin and Regina meet in Rouyn-Noranda in October. The public is invited to artistic performances. Every two years, the Biennale d'art performatif de Rouyn-Noranda is the meeting place of the curious. To appreciate the event you must be ready to open up to new experiences. Here is why and how to enjoy the Biennale d'art performatif de Rouyn-Noranda.

The Biennale performative art, it is addressed to who?

"The event is for everyone who wants to discover. Don’t think it’s just for a certain community. You have to arrive with an open heart." Said from the outset Audrée Juteau, behind the programming of the Biennale d’art performatif.

"The event is for everyone who wants to discover. Don’t think it’s just for a certain community. You have to arrive with an open heart."
Audrée Juteau

Audrée Juteau explains…

Catapulted from the world of contemporary dance, Audrée Juteau is the artistic director of l'Écart, Self-managed Artists' Centre for Contemporary Art, for the last four years.The dancer and choreographer has a profile as a director forged thanks to her audacious and DIY side. Upon his return to the region, after 20 years in Montreal, Audrée founded Annexe-A. Annexe-A is, among other things, a reception place with a studio near Baie Caronin Rouyn-Noranda. The place welcomes artists who wish to create or explore a project under incubation conditions. We asked her why not miss the Biennale d'art performatif, but how to prepare for this experience? Let’s be honest, the concept of performative art may seem "accessible" to ordinary mortals. And yet.

Listen to what is emerging in us

"You just have to be curious, not be impressed. The biennial is open to many forms of art, it’s interdisciplinary. We are not purists, there are no codes to know. You have to go there with a curiosity and get out of your head that you have to understand something." Explains at the outset Audrée Juteau, directrice artistique de l’Écart.

Then she adds : It’s not just random, but sometimes the way it is shared is more sensory. There is no one way to receive a work. Sometimes it’s stressful for people to know if they understand. You have to let go and listen to what comes out of us.

The Biennale d'art performatif is a festive event

Of course, for those who absolutely need a program to guide them in this experience that may be new, there is a guide. In the program, we find the schedule of festivities, but also the explanation behind the performance steps.

"It’s a festive event. Evenings are meant to be enjoyable. It’s a celebration of an art that we don’t know much about. It breaks down prejudices."
Audrée Juteau

To this, Audrée adds: "It’s a festive event. Evenings are meant to be enjoyable. It’s a celebration of an art that we don’t know much about. It breaks down prejudices. In other words, the Biennale d'art performatif is not a formal event where only doctoral students in arts can enjoy it!"

Audrée adds "It’s four days with performance evenings, it starts at 7 pm and there are often 2 or 3 performances per evening. On Friday the performance is at Musée d'art de Rouyn-Noranda. There is also an event at Cabaret de la dernière chance. There will even be a rave for children on Saturday afternoon.

A moment of encounter

In addition to the performance evenings, there are also talks and dinner-talks with artists as well as a workshop. This one is about the use of voice in performance, it looks like a master class. The biennial brings together artists from different places. Among them, some already know each other, but others meet for the first time.

Moreover, l'Écart invites artists to spend the whole event here. In this way, the biennial becomes an opportunity for encounters at several levels. The artist Aisha Sasha John, is one of Audrée Juteau’s artistic favorites, but she hastens to specify "I believe deeply in all programming. There is no random choice in this." Audrée continues "Aïsha Sasha John, it’s both spoken word and physical. She is a strong performer. She has an affirmative energy. She knows how to contain the place and the people."

Depuis 11 édition, la Biennale d'art performatif a lieu à Rouyn-Noranda. — Photos taken in previous editions of the Biennale d'art performatif - Courtesy of l'Écart

At the Biennale d'art performatif de Rouyn-Noranda, we discover a diversity of strong and engaged artistic voices. These are voices that carry which will be in performance from 16 to 19 October 2024. You can buy a passport for four days or an evening pass. So, let yourself be tempted by discovery and adventure?