MOMENTA x OPTICA DIFFRACTING. OF LIGHT AND OF LAND

Exhibition presented by MOMENTA Biennale de l’image and produced in partnership with OPTICA.

MOMENTA Biennale de l’image is proud to present its 17th edition, Sensing Nature, organized by curator Stefanie Hessler in collaboration with Camille Georgeson-Usher, Maude Johnson, and Himali Singh Soin. The biennale joins forces with OPTICA for the exhibition by BUSH Gallery: Diffracting. Of Light and of Land.

Journée de la culture: Sun printing under the sun at OPTICA at 1pm!

OPTICA invites you to immerse yourself into the works of the exhibition Diffraction. Of Light and Territory by the Indigenous artists' collective BUSH Gallery for the duration of an afternoon as part of its Public Education Program. A great opportunity to share thoughts and create!

New publication, Zine distributed for free at OPTICA!
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BUSH Gallery
\ Manifestos
and other
Emergencies \

New in-class workshop for elementary students!

This fall, OPTICA is also offering a new in-class workshop in relation to its series of educational cards developed around the art practice of the Canadian-Colombian artist duo Laura Acosta & Santiago Tavera and their installation The Novels of Elsgüer (Episode 4): Camouflaged Screams. The one-hour workshop will introduce groups of elementary school students to contemporary art and the artists' practice through 5 thematic cards accompanied by video clips which include a short interview with the artists to demystify their practice, and a multitude of didactic materials.

Winner of the Intersections Residency!

The Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM), contemporary art centre OPTICA, and UQAM’s École des arts visuels et médiatiques (ÉAVM) are very pleased to announce that Maryam Eizadifard is the recipient of the Research, Creation, and Production Intersections Residency, first edition 2021.

OPTICA Extracurricular

In September, OPTICA will be ready for back-to-school with a brand new project that will take the form of weekly art workshops. Offered as an in-class activity for a duration of six months, this project will allow a group of ten to fifteen students from Saint-Arsène School (Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie) to participate in a guided visual arts experience with Iranian-born artist Leila Zelli, accompanied by Sandrine Côté, our cultural mediator. The students will also meet and exchange with specialists from various fields who will share their passion for their profession through presentations and practical workshops. At the end of the course, the students will create a collective multidisciplinary installation that will be integrated into their school environment. The final work will be presented to the public in May 2022.

Welcome to Claudia Goulet-Blais !

OPTICA is pleased to welcome Claudia Goulet-Blais who will be joining our team as Cultural Mediation and Digital Assistant. Claudia has recently completed a Bachelors in Fine Arts at Concordia University majoring in Photography and Art History - Studio Arts. Her studies have led her to develop a focus on image-based contemporary art as an academic research topic and creative practice that lies within the social relations of class, gender and sexuality through photography and bookmaking. She completed an internship at OPTICA during the course of her studies in 2019-2021 and since then has been collaborating with our team. Welcome Claudia!

OPTICA, Laura Acosta & Santiago Tavera, Laureates of the Digital Now Grant from The Canada Art Council for the Arts!

OPTICA is the proud recipient of the Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. This grant will enable the creation of a digital interactive 360-degree website, an adaptation of episodes from The Novels of Elsguer series by artists Laura Acosta & Santiago Tavera. The project offers an immersive and interactive experience based on the notion of displacement (migrations, diasporas). An independent website will also be created incorporating a documentary component.