September 28th – October 7th 2012
In the Millenium Ecological Park and the City of Moncton
The third edition of the Symposium d’art/nature : Moncton 2012 showed a variety of public art: land art, intervention, sculpture, installation and performance pieces by a dozen artists. The Symposium also offered a conference series exploring the theme of energy, and weaving links between art and ecology. As early as the first edition in 1999, this event stressed the importance of the Petitcodiac River and riverside through artistic trails promoting the rediscovery of this neglected space in need of a rebirth. In 2004, for its second edition, the Symposium established a partnership with the Parc écologique du Millénaire (Millenium Ecological Park), an alliance that continues with this new edition. The artistic projects will be presented at the Millenium Ecological Park located on the Université de Moncton’s campus, as well as throughout Moncton on random and sporadic treks.
Energy is the heart and the motor of life. Energy, through its production, transformation, consumption, is central be it for agriculture, transportation, construction, or urban development. Every action’s need for energy must be addressed : technical development, exploration and extraction of natural resources, while also noting the progressive destruction of nature and its ecosystems. Through thought provoking actions and ideas, artists and ecologists find common ground with the theme : energy. The symposium strives to promote encounters and collaborations between the artists, the ecologists and the public.
The Arts Component
Ned Bear (New_Brunswick)
Danyèle Alain (Quebec)
Michael Belmore (Ontario)
Jean-Denis Boudreau (New-Brunswick)
Paul Griffin (New-Brunswick)
Gilbert LeBlanc (New-Brunswick)
Rose-Marie E. Goulet (Quebec)
Christopher Varady-Szabo (Quebec)
Ensemble Deschênes/Gibson (Nouveau-Brunswick)
While putting forward a great diversity of works created by professional artists, the Symposium also attracted the public’s attention to pressing matters: the importance of artistic action linked to our ecology, the necessity of preserving our public spaces, as well as the awareness of the impact our actions have on the environment. To this effect, a series of conferences was presented during the Symposium.
The Conference Component
Addressing territory – a meeting of strategies art + environment
Serge Fisette (Quebec)
Denis Lanteigne (New Brunswick)
Bénédicte Ramade (France)
Rose-Marie E. Goulet (Quebec)
Danyèle Alain (Quebec)
Ibrahim Ouattara (New Brunswick)
Bill Vazan (Quebec)
Caroline Loncol Daigneault (Quebec)
A Moncton Pecha Kucha featuring the Symposium’s artists and other guests was presented on October 4th at 8:20PM (doors open at 7:30 PM) at the Centre culturel Aberdeen.
The Permanent Artwork component
During the Symposium, the artist Bob Verschueren (Belgium) proceeded with the installation of his permanent art piece Renaître which was an addition to the Millenium Ecological Park’s growing collection of works along side those of Nils Udo and Francine Larivée. Renaître’s inauguration took place October 7th at noon.
The Gallery component
The Galerie d’art Louise et Reuben Cohen will, for its part, presented Lieux inusités/ Uncommon Ground with Magali Babin, Scott Rogers and Scenocosme from September 26th to November 4th, the opening of which was held on September 26th from 5PM to 7PM.
Guided tours open to the public during the Symposium were held on Saturday September 29th, as well as on Saturday October 6th between 1PM and 5PM. The event’s launch was held Friday September 28th at 10 AM in the Park. The Symposium was open to the public every day from 11AM to 6PM. Free admission.
The Symposium d’art/nature: Moncton 2012 is an initiative of the Université de Moncton’s visual arts department, the Galerie d’art Louise et Reuben-Cohen, the Association acadienne des artistes professionnel.le.s du Nouveau-Brunswick, and of the Parc écologique du Millénaire committee (Millenium Ecological Park).
The organizing committee: Ronald Babin, Jean-Pierre Caissie, Herménégilde Chiasson, Nisk Imbeault, André Lapointe, Marie-Noëlle Ryan.
This event along with the conferences would not have been possible without the following partners: the Université de Moncton, Canada Council for the Arts, the City of Moncton, the Arts Development Branch of Culture, Tourism and Healthy living New-Brunswick, the Sécrétariat aux affaires intergouvernementales canadiennes of Québec, Heritage Canada, and the Consulat général de France dans les Provinces atlantiques with the Société Nationale de l’Acadie through l’Entente Wallonie-Bruxelle. Thanks to our sponsors : McArthur’s Nurseries and Price Contractors.
