Paper henge
OBJECTS MAY LOOK DIFFERENT THAN THEY
APPEAR: A Seripop installation“Montreal is a big inspiration for us,” says Chloe Lum, known alongside Yannick Desranleau as design duo Seripop. “It feels like everything here is built so that it’ll eventually get replaced. It’s a city that’s built on the idea that it’s going to be obsolete.”
Known for their raw, trippy and distinctive poster designs, Seripop are taking their artistically informed psychedelic vision from the streets into the gallery.
Based around the idea of disposable landscapes (“We’re sort of amateur architecture buffs,” she says) NO HENGE, their sixth installation to date and their first solo exhibit in Montreal, uses the idea of abstracted cityscapes and their background in poster making as a starting point.
“Every time we do an installation, it’s always different.” So don’t expect it to look exactly like the photo printed here, though there are always similarities. “Maybe a third of it will be new, but it’s all about modular installation work—we like the idea of reusing stuff in different ways. It’s like re-accessorizing,” she laughs.
The Emporium Gallery (3035 St-Antoine W., #74) gets remade in their vision—no surface left uncovered, no sculptural installation unprinted. Experience it at the vernissage tonight, Thursday, July 2 at 7 p.m.
by SACHA JACKSON
Visual art demystified
SET TO FLY: Work by Marie-Claire Lantin
FIMA—the Festival International Montréal en Arts—celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The festivities, which kicked off last night, run through to July 5, with exhibitions and performances happening along a one-mile stretch of Ste-Catherine between St-Hubert and Papineau.
Described as a “demystification and democratization of the visual arts,” an art form left aside by the city’s other major summer events, FIMA provides a unique opportunity to peruse the work of over 135 artists and artisans in a festive outdoor environment.
In addition to the outdoor exhibitions, there are also nightly DJ sets in the BMO Lounge (at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Wolfe), short film screenings in Parc de l’espoir (at the corner of Panet) and a series of live performances. Parc de l’espoir will also be home to Exquisite Graffiti, a street version of the Exquisite Corpse game involving six of the city’s top graffiti artists: Zilon, Omen, Astwo, Matéo M, Louis-Nicholas Coupal and Gene Starship.
The Emerging Artist Space—which is also housed in the BMO Lounge and features works by multimedia artists Marie-Claire Lantin, Fanny Parent, Jean-Nicolas, Marjorie de Chantal, Sarah Renshaw and Chloé Desjardins—is one of the festival’s highlights.
by STACEY DEWOLFE
Hot and jazzy
For the past two years the Kalmunity Jazz Collective, hosted by Malika Tirolien, has been honing its skills with a Sunday residency at Diese Onze. The show  depends on the expertise of the musicians: Jahsun on drums and percussion, bassist Mark Hynes, guitarist Jordan Peters and Joey Shanahan on keys. “These members are jazz specialists,” says spoken word artist and Kalmunity publicist Katalyst.
Their dedication has paid off with a coveted free gig at the Montreal Jazz Festival this Sunday, July 5 at 10 p.m., at the Bell Groove Stage, (corner Ste-Catherine and St-Urbain) featuring a hot range of vocalists and poets: Jon E., Fabrice Koffy, Odessa “Queen” Thornhill, Fredy V. and Master Zibbs.
“Jazz and poetry go together unbelievably well,” says Katalyst. “It’s gonna be in French and English of course, our crew is basically the definition of bilingual, a real Montreal crew.”
by VINCENT TINGUELY
Folks doing folk dancing
Last week, as I was coming around the bend on the mountain near Beaver Lake, I heard music blaring, but it wasn’t run of the mill party music you’d usually hear in the park. It was folk music.
During the summer months, until the first week of September, the Association Montréalaise des Arts et des Traditions Populaires puts on a three-hour open-air folk dance party for anyone who happens to stroll by Monday and Thursday nights. The AMATP, whose mission is to promote traditional music and dance, has been hosting these Mount Royal Park dance soirées for more than 50 years.
The Monday sessions are geared towards beginners, where a teacher stands in the middle of the circle and coaches the students through the moves. When I stepped in, we learned traditional dances from Serbia, Brittany and Israel, amongst others. If you’re feeling shy, you can check it out from the outskirts of the circle, and as your confidence rises, step into the action between 8–11 p.m. Details at amatp.org.
by MARITES CARINO
IS IT ART?
CANE CHARIOT: Riding a bike that’s made of a material better known as the primary sustenance of pandas may sound a little, um, stupid, but the bamboo bicycle is quickly gaining a reputation as the most sustainable thing on wheels.
Originally patented in 1894, the idea of a bamboo bike isn’t new, but California- based company Calfee is intent on bringing it into the 21st century. Having experimented with the material since 2005, Calfee now makes high-end racing, mountain and cargo bikes (priced at $5, 000–$6, 000) by first smoking and heat-treating the wood before coating it in polyurethane.
Lightweight, comfortable and crash proof (bamboo is apparently stronger than we give it credit for) you can order yours at calfeedesign.com/
Arts hole
MUSEUM MUSIC: Mark Bérubé and the Patriotic Few rock the MAC (185 Ste-Catherine W.) for the last time this season at Vendredis Nocturnes tomorrow night, Friday, July 3 at 7 p.m. The series that brings live music to the gallery’s halls returns in September. • EXPERIENCE CAN MAKE YOU RICH: Photography, painting and mixed-media work comes together at Divsion Gallery (372 Ste-Catherine W., #311) in the new group show Material World, exhibiting work by Juliana Pivato, Carmen Ruschiensky and Richard-Marx Tremblay. The vernissage takes place tonight, Thursday, July 2 at 6 p.m. and runs until Aug. 8.
Artistat
The amount it’ll cost you to see The Thing tonight, Thursday, July 2 at 8 p.m. at Chez Cool (4562 St-Dominique), presented by Cinequanon Montreal, which hosts biweekly outdoor film screenings: 0
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