2023: The Centenary
Celebrating a Centenary
of Artistic Genius
INSPIRE THE CENTENARY
Discover the centenary celebrations’ major projects in this section!
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
Official video of Riopelle’s Centenary Celebrations
RIOPELLE CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS CALENDAR
City, region and country | Discipline | Project | Partner organisations | Dates | Website |
Canada (all provinces and territories) | Cultural | Riopelle Dialogues Canada-Wide Cultural Mediation Program (9 projects across Canada) | Government of Canada (Department of Canadian Heritage) Culture pour tous | September 2022 – October 2023 | |
Canada (all provinces and territories) | Education | Riopelle Studio Educational Canada-Wide Program | Government of Canada (Department of Canadian Heritage) Canada Art Institute | Starting September 2022 | |
Québec, Canada (multiple cities) | Cultural | 2022 Culture Days (22 cultural activities across Quebec) | Culture pour tous | September 30 – October 2nd, 2022 | |
Montréal, Québec, Canada | Public Art | Monumental mural in tribute to Riopelle in Downtown Montreal | MU City of Montreal Tourisme Montréal McGill University, Marc Séguin | October 4, 2022 | |
Canada (all provinces and territories) | TV, radio and | Radio-Canada special programming for the centenary year | CBC/Radio-Canada | October 7, 2022 – Fall | |
Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts | Jean Paul Riopelle/Bonnie Baxter. Apprivoiser la bête Exhibition | Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke | February 2-April 23, 2023 | |
Joliette, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts | Un lieu de mémoire : Contextes d’existence Exhibition | Musée d’art de Joliette Irene Campolmi, curator | February 5 – May 7, 2023 | |
Montréal, Québec, Canada | Music | Riopelle Symphonic at Montreal’s Place des Arts | GSI Musique Serge Fiori & Blair Thomson, composers Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) Montréal en Lumière Festival Place des Arts | February 16-18, 2023 (concerts) Other dates to be announced | |
Montréal, Québec, Canada | Gastronomy | À table avec Riopelle fine dining experience | Restaurant Toqué! Montréal en Lumière Festival | February 22, 2023 | |
Montréal, Québec, Canada | Cinema | Riopelle Short Films series and Les oies de Jean Paul Riopelle film | International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) L’institut national de l’image et du son (L’inis) | March 19, 2023 (World premiere) | |
Montréal, Québec, Canada | Theatre | The Riopelle Project | Robert Lepage, director Ex Machina Théâtre Duceppe | April 25 to June 3rd, 2023 Other dates to be announced | |
World (198 countries) | TV and Web | TV5MONDE and TV5MONDEplus special programming | TV5MONDE | Spring 2023-Fall 2024 | |
Gatineau, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts | EMPREINTES Exhibition | City of Gatineau (Galerie Montcalm) | May 18-August 20, 2023 | |
Gatineau, Québec, Canada | Pyrotechnics | Pleins feux sur Riopelle music and fireworks show and fine dining experience | Loto-Québec City of Gatineau | May 20, 2023 | |
Montréal, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts & Music | Riopelle. A Bird Wild and Free and MIGRATIONS exhibitions at the Biosphere | Espace pour la vie City of Montreal GSI Musique LOJIQ Centre de la Francophonie des Amériques | June 2, 2023-August 2024 | |
Montmagny, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts | Special programming and Mon cher Jean Paul Exhibition | Montmagny Library City of Montmagny Huguette Vachon | June 16-September 17, 2023 | |
La Malbaie, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts & Folk Art | Riopelle et l’art populaire : Objets trouvés, détournés, volés exhibition | Musée de Charlevoix Yseult Riopelle, guest curator | Starting June 16, 2023 | |
Baie-Saint-Paul, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts | Un lieu de mémoire : Contextes d’existence Exhibition | Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul Musée d’art de Joliette Irene Campolmi, curator | Starting June 17, 2023 | |
Montréal, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts | Exhibition in tribute to Riopelle Sur les traces des Automatistes | Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal Ville de Montréal | From June 22 to August 13, 2023 | |
Val-David, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts | 12 d’où ce que tu sors exhibition and special programming | Bonnie Baxter’s Atelier du Scarabée Centre d’exposition de Val-David | June 24 – September 6, 2023 | |
Saint-Thuribe, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts | Riopelle à Saint-Thuribe exhibition and special programming | Municipality of Saint-Thuribe MRC of Portneuf Artéfact Urbain | June 24 – September 3, 2023 | |
Bucharest, Romania | Visual Arts | Le bestiaire volant exhibition | Muzeul de Arta Recenta Galerie Simon Blais Yseult Riopelle, Principal Guest Curator | June 26 to August 17, 2023 | |
Canada (all provinces and territories) | Cultural mediation | Unveiling of the 9 projects realized as part of the Riopelle Dialogues Canada-Wide Cultural Mediation Program | Government of Canada (Department of Canadian Heritage) Culture pour tous | June-July 2023 | |
Saint-Paul de Vence, France | Visual Arts | Jean Paul Riopelle – Essence of studios Exhibition and special programming | Fondation Maeght Yseult Riopelle, guest curator | July 1st-November 12, 2023 | |
Ottawa, Ontario | Visual Arts | Northern Light Experience on Parliament Hill | Government of Canada | From July 7 to September 4, 2023, Thursday to Monday after 9 pm | |
Montréal, Québec, Canada | Cultural mediation | Riopelle and the “Tower of Life” Outdoor Creative Workshop | Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) | July 7-8, 2023 | |
Quebec City, Québec, Canada | Music | Riopelle Symphonic at the Grand Théâtre de Québec | GSI Musique Serge Fiori et Blair Thomson, compositeurs Orchestre symphonique de Québec (OSQ) Grand Théâtre de Québec | September 9, 2023 | |
Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts & poetry | L’empreinte Riopelle exhibition | Culture Trois-Rivières International Poetry Festival | Starting September 29, 2023 | |
Quebec City, Québec, Canada | Theatre | The Riopelle Project at Quebec City’s Théâtre Le Diamant | Robert Lepage, director Ex Machina Le Diamant Theatre | October 19-November 19, 2023 | |
Canada (all provinces and territories) | Oral History & Research | Tell Me About Riopelle oral history project | Concordia University – Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS) Lea Kabiljo, Ph.D. student | Fall 2023 | |
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | Visual Arts | Retrospective exhibition Riopelle: Crossroads in Time | National Gallery of Canada Dr. Sylvie Lacerte, curator | October 27, 2023-April 7, 2024 | |
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | Theatre | The Riopelle Project at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre | Robert Lepage, director Ex Machina National Arts Centre | Starting December 14, 2023 | |
Rivière-du-Loup, | Visual | Riopelle.Regards | Musée du Bas | October 27 to | |
Paris, France | Visual Arts | Exhibition in tribute to Jean Paul Riopelle | Musée national d’art moderne/Centre de création industrielle, Centre Pompidou Christian Briend, curator | End of 2023-Beginning of 2024 (dates TBA) | |
Montréal, Québec, Canada | Circus Arts | Riopelle Grandeur Nature Show | The 7 Fingers | February-March 2024 (dates TBA) | |
Quebec City, Québec, Canada | Research | Riopelle 2024 International Symposium | Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) National & International Universities & Museums (to be announced) | Fall 2024 | TBA |
Canada | Literature & History | Beings, Seasons and Territories A biographical chronicle | Pierre B. Landry, art historian and author | Fall 2024 (dates TBA) | TBA |
Quebec City, Québec, Canada | Visual Arts | Inauguration of Espace Riopelle | Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) Government of Quebec City of Quebec MNBAQ Foundation | End of 2025-Beginning of 2026 |
N.B.: This calendar presents projects that have been publicly announced to this day. It will be updated regularly.
Last update: 07-13-2023
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE
France Chrétien Desmarais, C.M.
Board Member
Co-Chair of the Centenary Celebrations
President of the International Committee for Centenary Celebrations
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Chair of the Board of TES h2 Canada inc. and Founding member and Executive President of Precinomics Health Solutions Canada inc., France Chrétien- Desmarais currently sits on numerous Boards in the health, research and social development sectors. Aiming to positively impact society, she leverages her business knowledge by supporting diverse organizations in shaping their foundations, business models, financial structures and diversifying their talents. She is a member of the Order of Canada.
Thomas d’Aquino, C.M., O.O., LL.M., LL.D.
Members of the International Committee
Co-Chair of the Riopelle Centenary Celebrations
Entrepreneur, corporate director, educator and author.
Founding Director and Chair Emeritus of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation
Ottawa, Canada
An entrepreneur, philanthropist, corporate director, author and educator. He is Chairman of Thomas d’Aquino Capital, Founding Chief Executive of the Business Council of Canada, Founder and Chairman of the North American Forum and a Founder, Director and Chairman Emeritus of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation. He is a member of the Distinguished Patrons of the National Gallery of Canada, a group that he founded in 2005 that today consists of close to 100 of Canada’s leading cultural philanthropic families. He is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ottawa.
Jim Balsillie
Members of the International Committee
Businessman & Philanthropist
Waterloo, Canada
He is the former chairman and co-CEO of Research in Motion (BlackBerry). His private investment office includes global and domestic technology investments and was part of the consortium that recently purchased the Canadian space technology leader MDA. Innovator and founder of both CIGI and the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) in Waterloo, co-founder of the Institute for New Economic Thinking in New York and the Council of Canadian Innovators based in Toronto. He received many awards including several honorary degrees and has made the Time Magazine’s World’s 100 Most Influential People and was three times Barron’s list of “World’s Top CEOs.”. Mr. Balsillie is also a great philanthropist and an art collector.
Nathalie Bondil
Members of the International Committee
Director of the Museums and Exhibitions Division
Institut du monde arabe (IMA)
Paris, France
Nathalie Bondil is a French and Canadian art historian and curator. She served as director general and chief curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from 2007 to 2020. Bondil joined the museum in 1999 and is the first woman to be the museum’s director. In 2019, she was awarded the Legion of Honour. She was recently appointed as Director of the Museum Division of L’Institut du monde arabe, in Paris.
Amanda Furfaro Desmarais
Members of the International Committee
Cofondatrice. | Co-Founder Subject Art
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Amanda Desmarais is Chief Curator and Founding Partner at Subject Art – an online art platform and art advisory firm. Amanda Desmarais began Subject Art in 2015 as a Founding Partner and became Chief Curator in 2016. Prior to joining Subject Art, Desmarais has worked in curatorial and advisory work in top museums and galleries in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Among these exhibitions was Shao Fan’s first solo show in Shanghai, and Zhang Huan’s monumental exhibitions in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Desmarais has also worked in art advisory and art consultancy in London, New York and Montreal. She has experience working with top tier artists as well as emerging artists. She holds a Masters Degree in Art History with a focus on Chinese Art from the University of Glasgow.
Diana Hamm
Members of the International Committee
Conseillère en art | Art Advisor
Toronto, Canada
Diana Hamm founded WK ART, an independent art advisory service, in 2014. Since then she has worked with collectors in Canada, the US, the UK and Hong Kong. With a focus on Contemporary Art, Diana helps clients build and diversify collections. Prior to founding WK ART, Diana lived in London and worked at Lisson Gallery. She trained at both Sotheby’s Auction House and the Gagosian Gallery at the beginning of her career. Diana received her MA in Contemporary Art from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London and graduated from Queen’s University with an honours Bachelor of Arts degree focusing on Renaissance and Baroque Art History. Diana sat on the Sotheby’s Canadian Advisory Board and has been an active supporter of the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Power Plant. She also writes the art column for Canadian House & Home.
Vicki Heyman
Members of the International Committee
Cofondatrice | Co-Founder Uncharted LLC
Chicago, USA
Vicki Heyman served as an American cultural envoy in Ottawa from 2014 until 2017. Her leadership emphasized the importance of the Canada-US relationship through cross-border conversations and programs related to the arts, social innovation, and youth engagement. Today, she continues to work on strengthening the relationship between the two countries, serving as a board member of the Council for Canadian American Relations, an organization that promotes cross border arts and cultural exchanges and is a member of the Cultural Diplomacy Leadership Council at Meridian international in Washington DC. Heyman’s most powerful work during her time in Ottawa involved partnering with US Embassy Ottawa and the State Department’s Art in Embassies program to launch the seminal Contemporary Conversations speaking series at the National Gallery of Canada, using art as a bridge to discuss challenging issues such as social justice, the environment, and identity.
Geneviève Jacobs
Members of the International Committee
Administratrice de sociétés | Corporate Director
La Jolla, California, USA
A Board member at La Jolla Institute in California and Board Member at the San Diego UC Milk Bank. Geneviève is also a TikTok Influencer with 30K followers. She graduated with a diploma in Oceanography in Rimouski and education from the University of Ottawa. Geneviève worked on the Corila project in Venice Lagoon Barrier in Italy. She has a diverse experience, from being a medic in the Canadian Army, manager of a pharmaceutical sales team, to being a teacher and hosted a lifestyle TV show, Cosmopolis.
François Odermatt
Members of the International Committee
Collectionneur d’art | Art Collector
Montréal, Québec, Canada
François Odermatt is one of Montreal’s biggest collectors of contemporary art. He is known for his preference for painting and sculpture rather than photography or new-media works, and for choosing works that are large, unwieldy, and otherwise difficult to take home.
Ed Tang
Members of the International Committee
Cofondateur | Co-Founder Art-Bureau
New York, USA
Ed has over ten years of experience in the art world working with collectors, artists, galleries and institutions. He was previously a director at Art Agency, Partners in New York and was Vice-President and Director of Global Fine Arts at Sotheby’s New York. Ed’s previous work included collector advisory, collection development and management, valuations and special projects involving artists, estates and foundations in the US, Europe and Asia. A native of Hong Kong and the U.K., Ed received a B.A. degree in History of Art from University College London. During his time in London, he was an ambassador for Tate Young Patrons and the founding co-chair of the Whitechapel Gallery First Futures group. He was also a member of the Tate Asia-Pacific Acquisition Committee for a number of years. Ed moved to New York in 2014, shortly before becoming the Global Head of First Open at Christie’s. He oversaw the First Open New York contemporary auctions and helped its expansion to London, Hong Kong as well as the online realm. More recently, he became a founding member of the Asia Art Archive Women in Art History Fund and has been involved as a Friend at the Foundation for Contemporary Art since 2017.
Globe and Mail – JEAN PAUL RIOPELLE’S 100TH ANNIVERSARY