PRESS RELEASE
Post Monumental: Modern Montreal Postal Art Project Launches
MONTREAL – 16 AUGUST, 2022: Today marks the launch of an innovative new Postal Art project by the voices and the monuments of Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Led by local artist, Courtney Clinton, Post Monumental is an interactive artistic project inviting a variety of artists and voices from around Montreal to “write” on the landscape of our city. Over the course of 12 weeks, 24 participating artists will receive one postcard per week with an image of a Montreal monument illustrated by Clinton. On the back of the postcard, artists will respond to the image with their own creative production. The 288 cards will all come together as an installation piece in an exhibition at BBAM! Gallery in December 2022.
About Post Monumental
In cities around the world, perception of monuments has shifted from markers of shared history to flash points of social division and disputed historical narratives. With Post Monumental, Clinton pushes the definition of what constitutes a monument. Her selection of Montreal sites ranges from the Monument aux Patriotes (marking the Rebellion of 1837-38), to Place de l’Espoir (commemorating the killing of Fredy Villanueva), and from the Ville Marie Highway (and the paving over of much of Little Burgundy’s Black community) to the Sir George-Étienne Cartier sculpture (site of Tam-Tams and the #CancelCanadaDay protests).
Each postcard invites artists to reflect on the historical and contemporary community and personal significances of these shared spaces in their own medium, style, and voice. The final exhibition of the project will be an installation piece where the voices, styles, and histories come together in a collective work.
About the Participating Artists
Just as Montreal is a multitude of languages, cultures, and artistic practices, so too is the group of participating artists in Post Monumental. The languages represented include: Kanien’kéha, French, English, Spanish, Cantonese, Russian, Italian, Portuguese and Persian (Farsi). The artistic practices include: word art, calligraphy, creative writing, collage, photography, urban sketching, illustration, watercolour, cartooning, bead art, and textile art. (Click here to consult the biographies of the 24 artists).
Amongst the participating artists are Kyle Kaientó:ton Williams who brings his vision of urban megstrauctures as a testament to the skillful work of the Mohawk ironworkers; Marven Clerveau, the illustrator and painter who is best known for his Visions Hip-Hop exhibition which brought to the foreground the faces and voices of the Quebec hip hop scene; Caroline Fortin, who is a writer and editor and chief of the Éditions Continuité, whose mission is to promote and safeguard Quebec’s cultural heritage; Agathe Desseaux whose textile work has taken her from France to Spain to Montreal to explore, subvert, and perpetuate matriarchal traditions; and Hadi Jamali whose research encompasses interactive installation, video, and photography, and will be bringing his skill in Persian calligraphy to the project.
See below for a complete list of participating artists.
About Courtney Clinton
Courtney Clinton is an artist working primarily in illustration and painting. She shares her time between Montreal and St Hyacinth, QC. With this project, Clinton continues her work on the themes of peace, community, and identity. For the elaboration of Post Monumental, Courtney was artist and resident at the Rokeby Museum, Vermont, and the Montreal artist run center Imprimerie. She received funding from the Canada Council for the Arts and Conseil de la Culture de Saint-Hyacinthe.
Her work has shown across North America. Most recently it was selected as part of the TD Wealth – Thor Wealth Management Art Prize and the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series and the Salt Spring National Arts Prize. She completed 4 years of study at the private art school, Syn Studio, in 2017.
About BBAM! Gallery
Established in 2012, BBAM! is a contemporary concept gallery presenting a unique blend of emerging and mid-career figurative, conceptual and visionary artists. At the crossroads of fine art and alternative cultures, co-founders Alison Rogers and Ralph Alfonso champion socially engaged works promoting underrepresented voices particularly women artists and LGBTQ communities.
Complete List of Participating Artists
Agathe Dessaux (textile), Asia Mason(photography collage), Aysha White (writing, collage), Carla Gina Rubeo (map making, mixed media), Caroline Fortin (creative writing), Catherine Barnabe (curator, art writing, collage), Colette Campbell Moscrop (illustration), Crystal Chan (creative writing, Chinese calligraphy), Cynthia Van Frank (landscape painting), Daniel Jervis (animation, illustration), Danyelle Orwick (comic art, bead art), Hadi Jamali (calligraphy), Jacob le Gallais (collage), Kaia’tanó:ron Dumoulin Bush (illustration), Kayla Breaker (landscape painting), Kyle Williams (landscape painting), Marguerite Marion Reyes (drawing), Marven Clerveau (portrait painting, collage), Maude Tapin (landscape painter), Oxana Solovyeva (storytelling), Reihan Ebrahimi (drawing), Sarah Haddad (photography, collage), Tatiana Tung (watercolour), Tong Shen (illustration, mixed media)