The creative use of archives has emerged as a common practice, raising crucial questions about intellectual property and the construction of narrative. Over two days in December, as part of a series of exhibitions and events highlighting the re-use of pre-existing material as an artistic methodology, Dazibao is hosting a conference, a screening and a party. Integrating viewing with discussion, the Special Archives Event takes both a conceptual and practical approach to examining the status of the appropriated image.

On Thursday December 3rd at 7 pm, the independent curator Vincent Bonin gives a presentation entitled “The ‘Archive’ and Altermodernity,” examining the multiplication of exhibitions and publications thematically framed around the notion of the archive since the 1990s. He discusses how this interest coincides with a reappraisal of the concept of modernity by curators and other protagonists of the art field. A special screening will follow of short films made mostly out of archival documents, selected by Jean-Claude Bustros, filmmaker and professor at Concordia University. A combination of 16mm films and original DVD’s, the featured films constitute part of the “canon” of archive-based films, and reflect different functions of the re-used image in video and film.

On Saturday December 5th as of 7 p.m., come apply what you have learnt and give new life to an undisciplined mountain of outdated images during a grand collage party, archival special, hosted by Paul Butler. After Berlin, London, Paris, Los Angeles and Venice, this event where generations, scissors, glue and paper will mix is coming to Dazibao ! In the manner of visual improvisation, the Collage Party proposes an informal context of artistic creation in an environment that stimulates exchange. Joining Dazibao, all of the organisations located at 4001 Berri Street open their doors to the public as of 4 p.m. for an evening filled with special events.

Vincent Bonin is an author and independent curator. From 2000 to 2007, he has been working as an archivist at the Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science, and Technology. He has published many articles on the cultural and social meanings of archives, and the recycling of documents in contemporary art. As a curator, he notably organized the two-part exhibition Documentary Protocols (1967-1975) at Concordia University’s Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery (2007-2008). The publication accompanying the exhibition will be released in 2009.

Jean-Claude Bustros is a filmmaker and teaches at Concordia University. He has created several internationally acclaimed experimental films (Catalogue, La Queue Tigrée d'un Chat, Zéro Gravité), a major photo exhibition (Pierre et Lumière) and a documentary feature (Reliefs). His films have been presented at Centre Georges Pompidou and Jeu de Paume, amongst others. He is involved with Hexagram, Institute for Research/Creation in Media Arts and Technologies.

Paul Butler is an artist, curator and dealer with an interest in multidisciplinary, social and alternative pedagogical practices. His practice includes hosting the Collage Party, a touring experimental studio established in 1997 and directing the operations of The Other Gallery. He has exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Hart House, University of Toronto; as well as in New York and Berlin.

These projects have been made possible through the exceptional work of our interns, Cosima Amelang and Catherine Hardy, to whom we extend our warmest thanks. Dazibao thanks Vincent Bonin, Jean-Claude Bustros and Paul Butler for their generous collaboration and its members for their support. Dazibao receives financial support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec and the Conseil des arts de Montréal. Dazibao is a member of the Regroupement des centres d’artistes autogérés du Québec.