40e ANNIVERSARY

of the creation of

Les Cent jours d’art contemporain de Montréal (1985–1996)

and its exhibition

AURORA BOREALIS

A production of the Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal (CIAC MTL)

1985 marked the first public event by the Centre international d’art contemporain de Montréal, which was founded in October 1983 by Claude Gosselin. After serving as Director of Exhibitions at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal from 1979 to 1983, Claude Gosselin curated the visual arts program for Québec 84, the public corporation responsible for commemorating the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s arrival in Quebec.

At the end of 1984, back in Montreal and drawing on his experience in Quebec City, he sought to create a visual arts event akin to the city’s thriving festivals in theatre, film, and dance. He then launched Les Cent jours d’art contemporain de Montréal, a national platform for visual arts.

Visual arts manifestations generally take the form of an exhibition. Claude Gosselin had one in mind, involving numerous artists. He invited René Blouin and Normand Thériault—two major figures in Montreal’s contemporary art scene—to join him. Together, the three curators selected thirty established Canadian artists. The exhibition’s title, AURORA BOREALIS, was chosen by Normand Thériault.

“30 contemporary questions on who I am,
me and my surroundings, me and the objects of the world”[1]
Normand Thériault

Taking over vacant commercial spaces in La Cité residential complex at the corner of Du Parc and Prince-Arthur streets, AURORA BOREALIS sent shockwaves through the cultural scene. Media outlets unanimously described it as the most significant contemporary art event in Canada that year: “the most important Canadian contemporary art exhibition ever presented in Montreal” [2] wrote Yves Bernier in the newspaper Le Soleil from Quebec City. In Toronto’s Globe and Mail, John Bentley Mays praised the curators’ bold vision and the impressive range of national artists. [3].

Presented from June 15 to September 30, 1985, this inaugural CIAC exhibition aimed high—and did not miss the mark. It gathered 20,000 visitors. Achieved through great effort and a modest $350,000 budget, it set a major precedent for future iterations of Les Cent jours d’art contemporain de Montréal.

But what made AURORA BOREALIS a landmark of Canadian art history?
Let’s revisit the unique character of this artistic event through three key points.

Making Contemporary Art Accessible

Claude Gosselin’s intentions were always clear: “My goal is to create an international contemporary art event that is popular, while maintaining a high level of quality.” [4]. Les Cent jours d’art contemporain de Montréal initiated the public into the codes of contemporary art, giving the space needed to engage with this self-defining and avant-garde art form.

Installation: A Distinctly Contemporary Medium

In AURORA BOREALIS, the exhibited artwork consisted of various elements assembled within a space to form an autonomous whole: an installation.

“installation continues to offer an unlimited number of possibilities,
and one of those is precisely that unlimited number of possibilities” [5]
René Blouin

The commercial galleries of La Cité gave artists the chance to spread out in large spaces and emphasize installation’s critical response to the art object and its traditional modes of presentation. AURORA BOREALIS was one of the few group exhibitions worldwide to showcase so many installation works.

Visitors wandered through the spaces, engaging with(in) the artworks. For a summertime in Montreal, Canadian contemporary installation found a fitting frame.

Taking Over Place du Parc and its Mall

Les Cent jours d’art contemporain de Montréal offered the public a space to experience contemporary art on their own terms. To stroll freely, speak in front of artworks, not understand, finally understand, doubt, ask questions, give up, have realizations, resist, question again, deny—and ultimately, as a final aesthetic act, repress it… until later. And that “later” is real, as the legacy of AURORA BOREALIS has never been forgotten.

Everyone had some personal connection to such a place—a memory, a story. A mall doesn’t discriminate. It provides an unbiased space for presenting artworks, especially for those unfamiliar with such experiences.

The unconventional exhibition site is clearly evoked by the visible air ducts, emergency sprinklers, and exposed plumbing seen in the event’s abundant photographic documentation. The installations appeared both dwarfed and enhanced by the raw architecture that surrounded them. By occupying Les Galeries du Parc premises, the CIAC sought to present works outside traditional institutions. What made Les Cent jours d’art contemporain de Montréal so original was this commitment to an event that was neither commercial nor museological, right in the heart of the city.

AURORA BOREALIS reflected the vitality and excitement driving curators René Blouin, Claude Gosselin, and Normand Thériault. Through this ephemeral event, the CIAC and its collaborators gave the Canadian public the opportunity to engage with contemporary art.

For more details on the first iteration of Les Cent jours d’art contemporain and the works exhibited, consult the AURORA BOREALIS exhibition catalogue available on our website (only in French):
https://ciac.ca/aurora-borealis-1985/

Nicolas Vignola-Goyer n.vignolagoyer@ciac.ca
Intern at CIAC MTL
April 2025.

Notes

[1] https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2790978?docsearchtext=aurora%20borealis%20ciac

[2] Bernier, Y. (1985, 22 juin). Grande exposition d’art contemporain « Aurora Borealis ». Le Soleil. https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2912971?docsearchtext=aurora%20borealis%20ciac

[3] Bentley Mays, John, B. M. (1985, 15 juin). « Northern lights shine in installation show ». The Globe and Mail. https://res.banq.qc.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/northern-lights-shine-installation-show/docview/386312306/se-2

[4] Delagrave, M. (1986, 9 août). « Lumière : perception-projection » à Montréal, Un événement d’envergure avec des artistes vivants. Le Soleil. https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2920035?docsearchtext=aurora%20borealis%20ciac

[5] Blouin, 11