CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
PASSAGES INSOLITES 9th edition (2022)
Public Arts Festival in Quebec City

Deadline: Friday October 15, 2021, at 4:59 PM ET.

As the eighth edition of PASSAGES INSOLITES is still in full swing, the EXMURO arts publics team is preparing the next iteration of its flagship event in ephemeral public arts. The ninth edition of PASSAGES INSOLITES will take place in Quebec City over the Summer of 2022. The organization is launching a call for proposals inviting professional artists from Quebec, Canada, and the World to submit work of temporary public art to be included in the 2022 programming of the circuit, whether they are new projects or existing works.

PASSAGES INSOLITES is a public arts festival featuring a circuit of temporary artworks as well as artistic happenings in public space. Presented by EXMURO arts publics and the City of Quebec, this accessible event has been taking place every summer since 2014, for several months, in the historical and central neighbourhoods of Quebec City.

For 8 years now, PASSAGES INSOLITES has been helping Quebec City embrace the unexpected and the unusual by weaving public art into the urban and social fabric of its central neighbourhoods. Ephemeral artistic interventions propagate and amplify a true culture of the strange throughout the city. By bringing new vitality to downtown neighbourhoods and redefining available entertainment experiences, PASSAGES INSOLITES injects a dose of magic and poetry into the often-rigid context of a functioning city. Temporary passages created in the urban landscape divert traditional uses, shift conventional perspectives, and break up the monotony of everyday life.

For the 2022 edition, EXMURO is looking for ingenious and daring proposals that will generate singular encounters with the strange, the eccentric and the surreal. Local, national, and international artists are invited to take over urban space with artistic projects that will incite reflection, produce sensations, or offer extraordinary experiences. Thanks to the organization’s circulation component, many works from PASSAGES INSOLITES are subsequently presented in other cities in Quebec, Canada, and the World.

An Adaptative Moment, Nicole Banowetz. Credits: Stéphane Bourgeois/EXMURO

EXMURO arts publics is a non-profit organization whose mandate is to design, create, and disseminate contemporary art projects in public space. Since 2007 EXMURO has constantly explored new avenues for presenting public artworks in the city. The organization works to expand the artistic possibilities of public space by reaching out to audiences to spark dialogue and foster critical thinking.

For EXMURO, public art affords a freedom of experimentation and expression that is a necessary counterweight to the forces of standardization and pragmatism that govern so many facets of urban life, by creating original and surprising experiences and encounters.

TERMS

Works: The concepts can either be new (not been produced yet or never presented) or existing (already produced, provided they have never been presented in Quebec City).

Installation context: The submitted project may be designed according to a specific site (in situ) or be adaptable to several potential locations. The work can occupy a specific location or be fragmented in several places. It is not mandatory to propose a specific site, but it is recommended to define the type of context being considered (park, sidewalk, roof, facade, public square, basin, etc.).

Location: The planned location must be within the predefined perimeter in the Petit-Champlain, Place-Royale, and Vieux-Port areas or in the Saint-Roch district (Click here to view on Google Maps).

• It should be noted that the sites used in previous editions of PASSAGES INSOLITES may be considered. It is possible to contact the EXMURO team to validate sites before project submission.

Budget: No minimum or maximum amount is imposed, but it should be noted that EXMURO usually offers between $ 5,000 and $ 25,000 per work (depending on its value, scope and complexity). EXMURO accepts the participation of other financial partners.

• The budget for a new work must include all the costs associated with its production and presentation (exhibition rights of around 10% of the total budget, materials, production costs, professional fees, shipping, transportation, assembly, and disassembly).
• The budget for an existing work must include exhibition rights, restoration costs (if necessary), as well as costs and fees related to shipping, transportation, assembly, and disassembly.

Production: It is possible to arrange full or partial outsourcing of the production process with the EXMURO team of technicians. The budget would therefore be reviewed and modified following the acceptance of the proposal.

Durability: The proposed work must be durable (three and a half months), safe, and autonomous (not requiring special monitoring or maintenance). Although not required, the jury will pay particular attention to the potential of subsequent presentations of the work.

The Sculptor Herself, Valérie Potvin. Credits: Stéphane Bourgeois/EXMURO

CRITERIA

• Impact and artistic quality of the project
• Relevance in relation to the artistic vision of the event
• Technical feasibility and reliability
• Realism of budget projections
• Sensitivity to the ecological footprint of the project
• Potential reuse of the work for subsequent presentations

APPLICATIONS

Submission packages must be sent via the online form on PASSAGES INSOLITES’ website by Friday October 15, 2021, at 4:59 PM ET.

SUBMISSION PACKAGE (TO BE INTEGRATED TO THE FORM):

• Curriculum vitae (PDF, abbreviated)
• Artistic approach (250 words max)
• Project intention (500 words max)
• Visual folder – recent work (JPG, 2 MB max, 5 images max)
• Visual folder – proposed concept (JPG, 2 MB max, 5 images max – photomontage, drawing, image, plan, sketch, 3D models, etc.)
• Preliminary budget (PDF or worksheet)

It should be noted that the realization of this project is conditional on the granting of the necessary financing.

For all questions concerning this call for submissions, please contact EXMURO at programmation@exmuro.com or 418-529-0909.