Quebec City’s well-loved public art celebration. From June 22 to October 9, the province’s largest public art event will feature a retrospective route and four distinct circuits to discover the work of 40 artists from Quebec and around the world. Conceived by EXMURO arts publics, and presented by the Ville de Québec, PASSAGES INSOLITES promises to once again leave a lasting impression!
Prominent names this year include internationally renowned artist Felice Varini, who will present a monumental work blending into the iconic architecture of Place Royale. With massive-scale installations like Varini’s alongside miniaturist works, like the playful installations of Swedish collective AnonyMouse, contrasting scale is a leitmotif of this year’s event.
Visitors to the PASSAGE EXTÉRIEUR outdoor art circuit can view 18 public artworks in spaces ranging from the Old Port to Place Royale and Petit Champlain. New for the tenth-anniversary edition, the itinerary features the Retro Circuit, a “walk down memory lane” with photographs paying tribute to iconic works from past years.
The PASSAGE INTÉRIEUR indoor exhibitions unfold at the PASSAGES INSOLITES “epicentre” at 27 Rue Notre-Dame, where five site-specific installations are in dialogue with the architectural and heritage context of the historic Maison Hazeur, on Place Royale.
Opening August 12, the PASSAGE MURAL mural circuit will bring fresh life to a longstanding graffiti spot, Îlot Fleurie, as 13 muralists create art on the pillars of the Dufferin-Montmorency overpass. This joint project between Street Art In Action, Québec Nova Murale, and EXMURO will extend beyond the closing of PASSAGES INSOLITES 2023 in order to give as many people as possible the opportunity to visit.
The PASSAGE ÉPHÉMÈRE ephemeral interventions is a series of public art performances running from June to October 2023. Once a month, pop-up street performances and participatory installations will dazzle and delight visitors with an immersive experience in the wonderment of PASSAGES INSOLITES.
“This tenth-anniversary represents a turning point for EXMURO,” says Vincent Roy, Co-Executive and Artistic Director of EXMURO Arts Publics. “First, it is an opportunity to celebrate what PASSAGES INSOLITES has accomplished over the last decade by reflecting on how the event has evolved over ten iterations. But it is also a chance to celebrate the many projects that lie ahead for us, and the event’s unlimited, and still untapped, creative potential! In the end, what these ten years have taught us is that locals and visitors in Quebec City crave the surprising and the extraordinary. And we at EXMURO have many more years worth of invigorating surprises in store!”
With a programming philosophy that values parity and diversity, the talents of Indigenous artists figure prominently in PASSAGES INSOLITES 2023, with six Wendat artists and one Atikamekw artist.
The 2023 tenth edition started with an opening ceremony on June 22 at Place Royale, with Andicha n'de Wendat, an all-women drum collective from Wendake, performing traditional song and dance along with a smudging ceremony in front of Quebec City’s Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church. Coming the day after National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, this emotionally resonant collective gesture represents a moment of celebration of Indigenous joy and decolonial reconciliation in the public space.
PASSAGES INSOLITES 2023 provides a wealth of opportunities to gather. Guided tours run every Thursday and Sunday from 2 to 3 p.m. Tours give groups of 10 to 30 an opportunity to discover PASSAGES INSOLITES and experience the works in a new and sometimes unexpected light. The Happy Hour Talks are events for the public to meet artists from PASSAGE ÉPHÉMÈRE. Invited experts will also be on hand to lead discussions on topical issues. These friendly evenings take place on Fridays (July 21, August 4, and September 8), starting at 5 p.m.
As always, PASSAGES INSOLITES 2023 promises an extraordinary art experience with surprising installations and poignant artworks. With its extraordinary interplay of scale, the tenth edition of the well-loved art event is sure to broaden perspectives and spark dialogue and reflection on the social issues of concern to all of us. And its many festive and artistic gatherings will make the 2023, tenth-anniversary PASSAGES INSOLITES one for the history books.
The PASSAGES INSOLITES public art event is on in Quebec City until October 9, 2023.
