by CHRISTINE REDFERN

Like it says in the Bible, “To everything there is a season.” To see art, the best time is always the fall. Unlike the experience of viewing aging rockers or circus extravaganzas, you can usually check out the best art in town for free. Even ticketed museum shows have one free admission night each week and a live performance will often only set you back about the price of a pint of beer. So go out there and get some damn culture, eh?

But where to begin?

The Manifestation Internationale Vidéo et Art Électronique runs from Sept. 20–Oct. 1. This year’s edition will take place in the Bibliothèque Nationale, which is pretty odd if you think about it—a video and electronic arts festival in a place that is exceptionally bright with all of its windows and where you can’t make any noise? I think they just might pull it off judging from the programming of this event. Titled Invisible City, the exhibition contains over 30 multimedia installations scattered throughout the national library. This includes 30 square metres of artificial turf that vibrates and grunts when you walk on it by MIT’s Andrew Sempere and Pierre Aubé’s robotic and interactive light installation that mimics the aurora borealis, visible at night from both inside and outside the building. There are also daily video screenings in the auditorium and a sound experience by Francisco López, in which you are blindfolded and then led outside by a blind volunteer to experience the city. See all the action at www.champlibre.com.

Rock and Rauch

Hot German painter Neo Rauch shows eight new works in his surreal signature style at the Musée d’art contemporain until Jan. 7. This will be the last show for a while by one of my favourite MAC curators, Réal Lussier. Well-known Vancouverite Rodney Graham is also coming to the MAC this fall. On top of his literary, sculptural, photographic and film pieces, you will be able to see him perform with Rodney Graham Band on Oct. 5. (The drummer used to play with Slow for those who remember them). And in this interdisciplinary art era we inhabit, the museum continues its projection series of MTV video clips. See Madonna, Herbie Hancock, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Buck 65 and more until Oct. 1.

Galerie Clark also joins in the groove with the show Teenage Kicks. This look at adolescence is billed as ranging “from the gratuitous violence of a skinhead gang to the strident screaming of young Elvis fans.” It includes works by Jo-Anne Balcaen, Alain Paiement and Stephen Schofield until Oct. 7. Tonight (Sept. 14), don’t miss the special screening of the film Rock My Religion by Dan Graham featuring Patti Smith, Sonic Youth and more.

Sexe! in the bath

If performance is your thing, you are in luck. Articule, Skol, Clark, la Centrale, Dare-dare and Praxis have joined together to bring you a spanking new international event, Viva! Art Action. This first edition includes 30 artistic works scattered throughout the galleries and the city. Keep on the lookout for performances by Julie Andrée T, Alberto Sorbelli, and the special collaboration SEXE! curated by Kévin Surprenant at the Bain St-Michel. Complete schedule at www.vivamontreal.org.

It sometimes happens that there is an artist’s name in the air and everywhere you go you keep hearing it mentioned. Right now in Montreal, that name would be François Morelli. He is concurrently showing at Joyce Yahouda Gallery and Optica. The exhibitions present his drawings, sculptures and an installation based on a series of in situ works using ink stamps that he created in private homes in exchange for a free meal. Time your visit right and you can see Morelli perform every Saturday at 3 p.m. until Oct. 14.

Canadian idols

The Sobey Art Award of $50,000 goes to the artist or collective deemed Canada’s top artist under 40 each year. The winner will be announced in Montreal Nov. 7. The five finalists, who hail from across the country, will be showing their artistic creations at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from Oct. 17–Jan. 7. This should be a good exhibition, showcasing Steven Shearer (West Coast), Annie Pootoogook (Prairies / North), Janice Kerbel (Ontario), Mathew Reichertz (Atlantic Canada) and our favourite Quebec art collective, BGL.

Last words

Local Karilee Fuglem will be making a site-specific work at the Darling Foundry, opening Sept 28. Graff celebrates its 40th Birthday with Hyperliens until Oct 7. Galerie Art Mûr celebrates 10 years with the group exhibition Fiction from Oct. 1–Nov. 11. And politics and art merge in exhibitions by Mathieu Beauséjour and Alain Declercq at VOX, as well as in Zoran Naskovski exhibition Death in Dallas until Oct. 7 at Dazibao.