2022 Nuit des idées/Night of Ideas - (Re)building through the arts, together

Two hours of musical and spoken word performances and lively conversations about the future of arts and culture

This Thursday 27 January from 5 p.m.—7 p.m. EST
live on Zoom

The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) and the French Embassy in Canada, in partnership with the Alliance Française Ottawa, and in collaboration with the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, invite the public to attend the seventh edition of La Nuit des idées/the Night of Ideas, which will take place this Thursday, January 27, 2022, live on Zoom from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST, under the theme “(Re)building together through the arts”. This event will bring together leading figures from the world of arts and culture, artists and performers in a lively encounter of musical and spoken word performances, and dynamic exchanges of ideas and perspectives on the future of arts and culture. The conversation will be launched by the Ambassador of France to Canada Kareen Rispal and the Director and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada Sasha Suda, and co-hosted by the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, 27th Governor General of Canada, co-founder and co-chair of the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, and the NGC’s Director of Curatorial Initiatives, Jonathan Shaughnessy. Online registrations are now open on Zoom.

“The National Gallery of Canada is very pleased to participate in this event for a second year. This year’s theme fits perfectly with the discussions we began almost two years ago and the new priorities we have established to build bridges and foster a more equitable society through the visual arts for the communities for which the Gallery exists to serve,” said National Gallery of Canada Director and CEO Dr. Sasha Suda.

“We are pleased to work again with the National Gallery of Canada for this new edition of the Night of Ideas. The chosen theme ‘rebuilding together’ challenges us to reflect collectively on our future and more specifically on the future of the arts sector. During this evening, light will be shed on initiatives and people who will suggest ways to build this shared future,” said the Ambassador of France to Canada, Kareen Rispal.

The conversations will focus on how individuals and organizations are taking advantage of the times we live in to create forward-thinking ideas d solutions to the challenges we face, with a view to diversity and inclusion. Participants will include Greg Hill, Audain Senior Curator of Indigenous Art at the National Gallery of Canada; Dawn Iehstoseranón:nha, (She Keeps The Feathers) Setford (Mary Francis) Founder, Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada and Owner, Pass The Feather; Odile Joannette, Director of Creating, Knowing and Sharing Program, Arts Granting Canada Council for the arts; Moridja Kitenge Banza, multidisciplinary artist, Montreal; Jonathan Lainey, Curator, Indigenous Cultures, McCord Museum; Paz Núñez-Regueiro, Project Leader, CROYAN Project—the French Royal Collections from North America, Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris, France; and Mani Soleymanlou, Artistic Director, National Arts Centre French Theatre, Ottawa.

Musician Kwende Kefentse, aka DJ Memetic, will activate Rashid Johnson’s Capsule installation, located in the Gallery’s main entrance, with upbeat music. Also on the program is a performance by spoken word artist El Jones and Inuit throat singing by Kendra Tagoona and Annie Aningmiuq.

 

About the Night of Ideas/Nuit des Idées

Every year since 2016, on the last Thursday of January, the Institut Français invites all places of culture and knowledge, in France and on the five continents, to celebrate the free circulation of ideas and knowledge by offering, on the same evening, conferences, meetings, forums and round tables, but also screenings, artistic performances and youth workshops, around a theme that each one declines in its own way.

In Canada, the Nuit des Idées is organized in a dozen cities, with a network of local partners and the Alliances françaises. All the debates and conversations that will take place in Canada on January 27 will be accessible on the Night of Ideas YouTube channel in Canada.

This is the second participation of the National Gallery of Canada in this annual global event of debate and exchange of ideas.

 

About the National Gallery of Canada

The National Gallery of Canada is home to a rich contemporary Indigenous international art collection, as well as important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian and European Art from the 14th to 21st centuries. Founded in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada has played a key role in Canadian culture for more than a century. Through the visual arts, the Gallery nurtures interconnection across time and place, and creates dynamic experiences that open hearts and minds and allow for new ways of seeing ourselves, each other, and our diverse histories. To find out more about the Gallery’s programming and activities visit gallery.ca and follow on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

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À l’attention des médias seulement : Pour de plus amples renseignements, prière de communiquer avec :

Josée-Britanie Mallet
Agente principale, Relations publiques et médiatiques
Musée des beaux-arts du Canada
[email protected]

Denise Siele
Gestionnaire principale, Communications
Musée des beaux-arts du Canada
[email protected]

Emilie Cabouat
Attachée de presse
Ambassade de France au Canada
[email protected]