2023 marks the tenth anniversary of PASSAGES INSOLITES, Quebec City’s well-loved public art celebration. From 22 June to 9 October, the province’s largest public art event will feature a retrospective route and four distinct circuits to discover the work of 40 artists from Quebec and around the world. Conceived by EXMURO arts publics, and presented by the Ville de Québec, PASSAGES INSOLITES is set to feature some of the biggest names in the art industry.
Prominent names this year include internationally renowned artist Felice Varini, who will present a monumental work blending into the iconic architecture of Place Royale in Quebec. With massive-scale installations like Varini’s appearing alongside miniaturist works – like the playful installations of Swedish collective AnonyMouse – contrasting scale is a leitmotif of this year’s event.
Visitors to the PASSAGE EXTÉRIEUR outdoor art circuit can view 18 public artworks in spaces ranging from the Old Port to Place Royale and Petit Champlain. New for the tenth anniversary edition, the itinerary features the Retro Circuit, a ‘walk down memory lane’ with photographs that pay tribute to iconic works from past years.
Opening on 12 August, the PASSAGE MURAL mural circuit will bring fresh life to a longstanding graffiti spot, Îlot Fleurie, as 13 muralists create art on the pillars of the Dufferin-Montmorency overpass. This joint project between Street Art In Action, Québec Nova Murale and EXMURO will extend beyond the closing of PASSAGES INSOLITES 2023, to give as many people as possible the opportunity to visit.
The PASSAGE ÉPHÉMÈRE is a series of public art performances running from June to October 2023. Once a month, pop-up street performances and participatory installations will dazzle and delight visitors with an immersive experience that expresses the wonderment of PASSAGES INSOLITES.
“This tenth anniversary represents a turning point for EXMURO,” says Vincent Roy, Co-Executive and Artistic Director of EXMURO Arts Publics. “First, it is an opportunity to celebrate what PASSAGES INSOLITES has accomplished over the last decade by reflecting on how the event has evolved over ten iterations. But it is also a chance to celebrate the many projects that lie ahead for us and the event’s unlimited, and still untapped, creative potential! In the end, what these ten years have taught us is that locals and visitors in Quebec City crave the surprising and the extraordinary. And we at EXMURO have many more years’ worth of invigorating surprises in store!”
With a programming philosophy that values parity and diversity, the talents of indigenous artists figure prominently in PASSAGES INSOLITES 2023, with six Wendat artists and one Atikamekw artist.
The PASSAGES INSOLITES public art event is on in Quebec City until 9 October 2023.
