La nuit des idées – Proches : l’humanité dans la proximité

28 January 2021, 12 h 10

Online on the Consulat général de France à Québec’s Facebook page
In French
Free admission

Guests:
Rima Elkouri, journalist and author, Montréal
Anouche Kunth, researcher in history, Paris
Véronique Leblanc, curator, Montréal
Sonia Recasens, curator, Paris
Kapwani Kiwanga, artist, Paris
Gaëtane Verna, curator and museum director, Toronto

Video works:
Leila Zelli, artist, Montréal
Isabelle Kanapé, director, Pessamit

Host: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne, writer, editor and journalist, Montréal

Curator of the event: Louise Déry, director of Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal

On January 28, Galerie de l’UQAM and the Consulat général de France à Québec will present a new Montréal edition of La nuit des idées (Night of Ideas), with a variety of inspiring guests ready to discuss and reflect on major issues of our time.

An unexpected year was bound to bring about an even more surprising edition of La nuit des idées, this time entirely virtual. The event’s 15 Québec partners will in turn present each of their programs, from 9:45 a.m. until late in the evening. The discussions curated by Galerie de l’UQAM will more specifically be broadcasted during the day, from 12:10 to 2 p.m. All of La nuit des idées activities in Québec will be available on the Consulat général de France à Québec’s Facebook page.

This year’s theme, “Closer” (“Proches,” in French), speaks to our shared sense of isolation and seeks to explore new means of fostering community and togetherness. Evoking the new forms of solidarity that our economic and social crises call for—as well as our changing relationship to space and mobility—this theme prompts audiences and participants to consider our relationship to today’s challenging world and those around us in thoughtful, creative, and engaging ways.

In response to this global theme, Louise Déry, curator and director of Galerie de l’UQAM, has articulated discussions around another: “L’humanité dans la proximité” (“Humanity in its proximity”). Here, notions of humanity, community and proximity intertwine, where realities as diverse as exile and immigration, divisiveness and solidarity, inclusion and exclusion, come to light.

In order to explore this theme’s multiple forms, Galerie de l’UQAM has invited eight daring and inspiring participants. Hosted by writer, editor and journalist Marie-Andrée Lamontagne, the event will be organized around three discussions held in tandem. The first will be between history researcher Anouche Kunth (Paris) and journalist and author Rima Elkouri (Montréal). Next, a dialogue between curators Véronique Leblanc (Montréal) and Sonia Recasens (Paris). The third conversation will bring together artist Kapwani Kiwanga (Paris) and curator Gaëtane Verna (Toronto). Finally, video works by artist Leila Zelli and director Isabelle Kanapé will be broadcasted as a crucial part of this program.

You can watch the recordings of these three conversations via our Vimeo account: 

About La nuit des idées

Initiated by the Institut français, La nuit des idées is an annual meeting on all five continents that unites thousands of people for a night of international, interdisciplinary and intergenerational debate around a common theme. This year, La nuit des idées brings together, in France and 75 other countries, several culture and knowledge-based venues around the theme “Closer” (“Proches”): schools and universities, museums and art centers, cultural establishments, media outlets, libraries and associations invite the public to meet more than 1,000 speakers from all walks of life online. From the Fiji Islands to Vancouver, Helsinki to Johannesburg, more than 200,000 people took part in the 2020 edition to celebrate thought and knowledge.
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