The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal or MAC, one of Canada's most exciting contemporary art museums, hosted its latest instalment of The Nocturne, a regular happening that draws bright young things into the museum after hours. Held Sept. 2, this latest evening gave visitors a chance to take in exhibitions after the crowds went home. On display and running through to Sept. 25 was In my studio, I am many, the first retrospective devoted to Edmund Alleyn, an under-the-radar Quebec art-scene figure who died in 2004. Also on display was Orchestrated, which presents two of the museum's recent acquisitions – one by Jean-Pierre Gauthier, a Montreal-based artist who had a solo show at MAC back in 2007, and the other by Ryoji Ikeda, a Japanese composer and visual artist who works in Paris. The two pieces in the exhibition offer two perspectives on music and visual orchestration.
Music was at the core of this latest Nocturne: DJs Ghostbeard, Poirier and FunkyFalz, three key players at the centre of Montreal's thriving dance scene, were the stars of the evening and helped keep the crowd moving until 2 a.m. Among the many who dropped in throughout the evening: Montreal-based director and artist Laurence Baz Morais; optician Justine Joubert; Arsenal Contemporary Art's event ace Judith Rudd; author Erin MacLeod; photographer Laura Mogollón; visual artist Kven Efimero; Speakeasy art director Alejandro Figueroa; and John Zeppetelli, MAC director and chief curator.
The next edition of Nocturne, set for Nov. 4, will run alongside the 2016 edition of the Biennale de Montreal titled Le Grand Balcon (The Grand Balcony). The exhibition, which opens Oct. 20, is conceived by curator Philippe Pirotte and will explore themes of hedonism with the help of a curatorial advisory committee that includes New York-based artist Corey McCorkle, writer and curator Aseman Sabet and the Art Gallery of Ontario's curator of modern and contemporary art Kitty Scott.
Another happening with bright young creators at its core was in full swing in Toronto on Sept. 6, this one hosted by Partisans, Toronto's au currant architecture and design firm. The intimate gathering was held to launch the firm's new design space – its first official, and very grown-up, offices located on Geary Avenue, a discreet street littered with body shops, warehouses and, more recently, music venues, galleries and restaurants. Alex Josephson, the firm's co-founder says that after four years of working in apartments, lofts and even a loading dock at Planet Storage, "this is a real statement that we are making, a real space, a professional space, a place where we can really spread our wings and fly." The 6,000-square-foot Partisans hub is one of many in The Artisan Factory, a boutique industrial and commercial building and a sort of cooperative society for creative types. Here is where, among others, photographer Francisco Garcia and artists Steve Driscoll and Thrush Holmes get down to work.
The building and neighbourhood have buzz, and the party did, too. Among those celebrating the new space: Partisans' Pooya Baktash, Jonathan Friedman and Nicola Spunt; Alex Josephson's parents Ruth and Bob Josephson; interior designer Moe Razi; St. Joseph Communications CEO Tony Gagliano and his wife Lina; art collector extraordinaire David Mirvish; Sharing Spaces executive director Barbara Frum; Campbell Strategies founder Barry Campbell and his wife, philanthropic adviser Debra; Raptors medical director and art collector Dr. Paul Marks; gallerist Daniel Faria and his partner, curator Rui Amaral; make-up pro Victoria Radford; social regular Jane Apor; Manulife's VP of innovation Jeronimo De Miguel; Scotiabank's director of sponsorship marketing Gallant Law; yoga pro Kim Tanenbaum; gallerist Clint Roenisch; and restaurateur Janet Zuccarini.