MTL: Walking tour of feminist art galleries

THURSDAY September 18th, 4pm sharp!
Walking Tour of Feminist Art Galleries in Montreal Beginning at the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy (2110 Mackay Street)
*******************************************************
The 2110 Center for Gender advocacy invites you to join us on a tour of feminist art galleries and spaces in Montreal and engage in discussions with local artists and activists as we explore the importance of critical transformations of art spaces, institutions, and the mandates that guide them.

Whisper translation will be available. We will navigate the tour by bus/metro/walk/bike.

Organized as part of La Centrale's GENDER ALARM! exhibition programming.
GENDER ALARM! Nouveaux féminismes en art actuel is an event series organized by La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse in celebration of the launch of our new mandate. GENDER ALARM! will feature a group exhibition and performance night, a film and video screening, as well as a round-table panel discussion. GENDER ALARM! will focus on the role of emerging feminist discourses within contemporary art and will mark the beginning of La Centrale's 2008-2009 programming season featuring bold exhibitions and performances that specifically address the new mandate.

History
Since its inception in 1973, La Centrale has had a mandate of disseminating contemporary art of Québecois, Canadian and International women artists. This mandate aimed to address the under-representation of women within contemporary art institutions by creating a space that both fosters and supports their work, and makes it available to a larger public. Over the past four decades, feminism has evolved through different permutations and the history of La Centrale's activities reflect a continuous critical questioning of these transformations.

Change
In 2007, a new mandate was adopted by La Centrale which no longer limits the center to a women-only space. La Centrale's revised mandate is informed by a definition of feminism which questions relationships of power in our society and concerns itself with a wider range of societal issues including the implications of gender regulations, regimes of sexuality, class, race and imperialism. As such, the center now aims to engage more effectively with discourses in postcolonial and third world feminisms as well as emerging fields such as trans-feminism and masculinity studies.

Mandate
Growing out of the feminist art movement and founded in 1973, La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse is one of the oldest artist-run centers in Quebec. The center's mandate expands on a history of feminist art practices and engages a broader spectrum of underrepresented artists and their initiatives within established art institutions. The gallery aims to provide a platform for contemporary art informed by feminist and gender theory, as well as intercultural and transdisciplinary practices. This involves networking and developing professional exchanges at the local, national and international levels. We promote the work of artists at all stages of their careers to allow for intergenerational dialogue. The programming and events at the gallery are a reflection of our members and their interests and involvements.

For more information: email galerie@lacentrale.org, website: www.lacentrale.org
--
2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy
2110 Mackay (metro Guy-Concordia)
tel: 514-848-2424 ext. 7431