Papier 15 as always dedicated its art fair programme towards works exclusively made on paper, to include drawings, prints, collages, photography as well as three-dimensional paper-based objects. The annual fair opened its 8th edition between 24 and 26 April, and over the years, Papier’s reputation has risen to now feature among the top do-not-miss events on Montreal’s contemporary arts calendar. For 2015 Papier relocated to Complexe de Gaspé, which is rapidly developing into a new arts hub, housing four floors of artist studios and six artist run spaces in the hip Mile End district. The fair took over the top three floors of this 11-story building filled in natural light, to accommodate 39 galleries from across Canada. Comparatively to previous years, the somewhat leaner line-up of exhibiters did combine many regulars with first timers such as Diaz Contemporary (Toronto [TO]), Lisa Kehler Art + Projects (Winnipeg), Initial Gallery (Vancouver) and Studio 21 Fine Art (Halifax). The smaller numbers of booths were nonetheless particularly well positioned in an otherwise enormous space, circling the middle of each floor to leave a wide walkway around the window-covered external walls, for visitors to also enjoy a 360 panoramic view of La Belle Ville.
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Gesture in Collecting : In conversation with Donald Browne, art dealer at Papier 14
Donald Browne Gallery booth at Papier 14. Courtesy Galerie Donald Browne, Montreal
Papier 2014 set up its art fair tent this year on a vacant lot in downtown Montreal, one block away from the city’s centre point at corner of Ste-Catherine and Clark streets. Organised by AGAC (Association des Galleries d’Art Contemporain – The Association of Contemporary Art Galleries), the fair comprises a total of 44 commercial galleries from across Canada, exclusively selling works on paper. Donald Browne has been an exhibitor at Papier with his own gallery since its first edition in 2007, and acted as AGAC’s treasurer and member of the executive council for the past four years. He exchanges a few words with M-KOS about Papier 2014.
MKOS: Have you been participating in Papier since it started?
Donald Browne [DB]: Well, I’ve been a part of organizing the fair since the last four years, but yes I’ve been doing Papier with my gallery since seven years ago, when we were just 18 galleries at Westmount Square. We just had a table and a billboard behind us. It was very simple. But then when we started to get a little more confident, with a little grant from the Quebec government, and now it’s much more feasible to put on an event like this. In 2007 it was a very initial attempt at an art fair in Montreal, and with a snowball effect we finally arrived in a tent like this with 44 galleries. It’s really grown over the last seven years, I really encouraged that we have this kind of event here, it’s important for people, for the social interaction, as well as for people understanding that these things are for sale, and it’s an exciting event to prepare for.
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Art Marathon: Papier 13 [Slide Show]
Papier 13: Local Matters
Photo by M-KOS
Papier 13 Art Fair proceeded to hold a sixth annual installment in the city of Montreal, this year between 26–28 April. While its tradition continued in exclusively showing paper-based art works, the fair tent noticeably grew in size to occupy 15,000 square feet – a much larger surface than in previous editions – to accommodate a greater number of galleries as well as more spacious lecture and lounge areas. Montreal’s only art fair especially caught our attention this year in setting up shop right on Ste. Catherine – the city’s busiest high street – which naturally allowed for an increase in attendance.
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Art Marathon: PAPIER 12
Shayne Dark’s sculptures, Critical Mass welcome the audience at the entrance of the fair.
PAPIER offers a refreshing aspect to the widening proliferation of art fairs by featuring works exclusively produced on paper, from drawings to prints as well as photography. This year the PAPIER fair hosted its fifth edition on 13–15 April, setting up its showroom tent at the heart of Montreal’s cultural quarter to accommodate 38 exhibitors from Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax. Many of these were already members of AGAC (Contemporary Art Galleries Association), which organized the event. Although PAPIER started as an internally guarded affair, servicing only a small circle of local galleries, its reputation has been progressively expanding. From last year, some of the best Toronto galleries such as Birch Libralato and Susan Hobbs also joined in. In this edition over 400 emerging to established artists were represented, to attract more than 10,000 visitors with a total sale of approximately CA$700,000. The slightly higher income over last year included purchases from returning corporate collectors such as Loto-Quebec, Hydro-Quebec, Cirque du Soleil and so on.
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PAPIER 11: Contemporary Art Fair of Works on Paper
PAPIER 11
Contemporary Art Fair of Works on Paper / Foire d’art contemporain d’œuvres sur papier
14–17 April 2011 / 14–17 Avril 2011
English (Scroll down for French)
Contemporary Art Galleryies Association (AGAC) presents the 4th edition of Papier – Contemporary Art Fair of Works on Paper from 14 to 17 April 2011 at the Quartier des Spectacle, in the heart of Montréal.
This year, 38 galleries from Montréal, Québec, Toronto and Ottawa will participate in the fair representing over 1,000 artworks by over 400 artists which includes drawings, engravings, photographs, collages, installation and many more.
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