Many public places in Montreal have been named in honor of important personalities of Quebec’s cultural and social history. There is, however, a group of artists who still await such a highly deserved recognition: the Automatists. During the years 1940-1955 in particular and thereafter, these artists left their mark in visual arts, literature, dance, design, theater and psychoanalysis.
The Refus global manifesto, published on August 9, 1948, was signed by: Madeleine Arbour, Marcel Barbeau, Paul-Émile Borduas, Bruno Cormier, Marcelle Ferron, Claude Gauvreau, Pierre Gauvreau, Muriel Guilbault, Fernand Leduc, Jean-Paul Mousseau, Maurice Perron, Louise Renaud, Thérèse Renaud, Françoise L’Espérance-Riopelle, Jean Paul Riopelle, Françoise Sullivan.
Recently, the city of Montreal has launched an international competition for the development of lot no. 066 in the Quartier des Spectacles / Place des Arts.