DAZIBAO, CENTRE DE PHOTOGRAPHIES ACTUELLES

Dazibao is an artist-run centre dedicated to the dissemination of contemporary photography and its related art forms. By specializing in one discipline, the centre is able to engage in a more profound and critical reflection upon image-based media and consequently, foster a discourse that can define as well as defy the very notion of photography. In a context where we speak increasingly about the image within a wider framework, one that now extends over several art practices, this focus allows us to discuss important developments within the contemporary arts.

Dazibao supports artistic projects and theoretical explorations that offer innovative approaches to photography or that propose fresh links with other disciplines. As an organization, we are committed to exhibiting a broad spectrum of work ranging from work with a strong conceptual basis, to installation, to work that embraces the most recent technological advancements in the production and diffusion of images.

Dazibao welcomes artists from Quebec, from elsewhere in Canada and abroad. The centre serves as both a launching pad for young artists and as an ideal space for more established artists to initiate and present exhibitions with a more experimental approach. As well, in order to continually offer differing views on contemporary photography, Dazibao annually invites an artist to curate an exhibition. This event, Carte grise, provides an opportunity to discover, through an exhibition and publication, one artist’s particular view on contemporary photography.

Since its inception in 1980, Dazibao has organized more than 300 events including exhibitions, performances, readings, conferences, concerts and discussions. The centre acts as a link between artists, curators, theorists, authors, critics, the university and college communities, the artistic milieu and the general public.

In its publishing ventures, Dazibao sees the book as a space or site that provides an additional forum for exhibiting photography. To accomplish this, the centre harbours three collections: DES PHOTOGRAPHES, les essais and LES ÉTUDES. DES PHOTOGRAPHES offers a space where genres can intersect, a site where photography and writing can come together in a single work with two points of entry. Les essais offers a site for reflection where different trends of thought about photography can engage in debate. LES ÉTUDES allows an author to investigate in depth a subject or an artist's practice. In addition to these collections, we occasionally publish texts to accompany individual exhibitions.

In order to nourish the effervescence that is currently stimulating and redefining contemporary photographic practices, Dazibao encourages intellectual and aesthetic initiatives that come directly from artists. As a result, the centre acts as a link between artists, curators, theorists, authors, critics, the university community, the artistic milieu and the general public. Dazibao, in sum, defines itself as a site for exchange and research, a gallery, a distributor and publisher, and an archival information centre.

Director: France Choinière
Assistant to the director : Lina Shoumarova
Exhibition Coordinator: Amélie Brault
Technician: Martin Schop

Board
Sophie Bélair-Clément, Vincent Bonin, Jean-Claude Bustros, France Choinière, Pavel Pavlov, Alana Riley and Michèle Thériault.

External Board
Penny Cousineau-Levine, Tim Lee, Kelly Mark

Dazibao thanks its members and supporters. Dazibao is funded by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal et le Service de la culture de la Ville de Montréal.

Dazibao is a member of the Regroupement des centres d'artistes autogérés du Québec.

The works that appear within this site are protected by copyright and their reproduction is strictly forbidden.