Rencontres internationales
de la photographie en Gaspésie

Mission: To have people discover and get to know photographic creation in all its forms, by means of an approach that promotes encounters between the public and artistic creation.

RENCONTRES – 2016 EDITION

Whether it involves inquiring into reality, transforming it or sublimating it, the image lies at the heart of our era, like a metaphor of events lending rhythm to our everyday lives. Our wish, for this 7th edition of Rencontres, is to make room for photographic practice and the image in motion within a constantly changing environment.

Our aim is to present contemporary topics linked to our rapidly changing society, historical projects linked to photographic archives, as well as polemical or meditative projects, the idea being to reexamine ourselves and to consider together this introspective and collective power that the image brings to daily life.

The installations and exhibitions will be held from mid-July to late September in 17 municipalities or national parks: Cap-Chat, Gaspésie National park, Marsoui, Petite-Vallée, Gaspé, Forillon National Park, Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park (Percé), Chandler, Paspébiac, Bonaventure, Caplan, New Richmond, Maria, Carleton-sur-Mer, Nouvelle–Escuminac, Miguasha and Matapedia.

At the heart of the event, from August 18 to 21, the Photographer Tour will take place, and some 30 photographers will be on hand for public get-togethers on the subject of creation in the form of projections for the general public, lecture-discussions and a roundtable. The official opening will take place at Quai des arts in Carleton-sur-Mer on Friday, August 19 in the evening.

RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE EN GASPÉSIE

In inventing Rencontres it was our duty to break ground and to stand out from other contemporary arts events. To champion photography, its language and its various esthetics, we have put in place an arrangement on over 800 kilometers (500 miles), which comprises some 20 locations (indoors and outdoors) in 17 municipalities and national parks. The exhibits and installations that we stage in the open air are integrated into the territory, into the places and the buildings. We take part in the identity of the territory while presenting a unique way of visiting it.

The concept of Rencontres resides in the interdependence of the artists and our territory, in the mutual encounter of the population and the artists, but also in the interaction among the works, the territory and the public. Each of these different players thus participates in the process of creation that we aim to foster.

Our vision: To introduce people to contemporary creation, its language, its codes and its various esthetics by occupying our territory: the Gaspé.

Our commitment: To champion the artist’s work, to increase its visibility and to promote the furthering of the discipline. Audience development and networking are at the heart of our actions.

BACKGROUND

A first photographic mission involving contact with a territory and its population titled Parcours du point de vue was created in the Gaspé in June 2009. This consisted of ten installations spread out over the territory, the result of the residencies of five guest artists. It was against this backdrop that Rencontres was launched in 2010.

Over the years we have taken important steps and concluded agreements so that our event become part of an enormous network dedicated to the visual arts, further to the objective of offering artists new platforms for creation and dissemination. We seek to support contemporary creation and to forge lasting bonds with visitors. The development of an audience and the circulation of works are at the heart of our actions.

Each edition of Rencontres is the opportunity to address different artistic approaches by way of activities such as artist residencies, get-togethers with the public, and school-based undertakings. Our contribution to the development of the discipline is confirmed at the panels and discussion forums that we organize between artists and the public.

Our 2nd edition resulted in a highly positive balance sheet, with figures to support it. According to the Étude d’achalandage, de provenance et de retombées économiques (Study of Patronage, Origin and Economic Repercussions) conducted by SEGMA Recherche, the 2011 edition attracted 113,062 visits to photographic exhibits and installations in the 13 host municipalities, generating total direct expenditures of $9,668,456 in the Gaspé. In 2015, Rencontres received visits from over 70,000 people to the exhibitions as a whole, for a total of 210,000 exhibit visits.

For 2016, we are pleased to announce two new partnerships. The first was concluded with the municipality of Caplan, and the second with Gaspésie National park. The latter becomes a partner in the event alongside three other regional national parks: Forillon, Miguasha, and Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock.