Location: Art Talks Area, Luxembourg Art Week
Language: French
Guest speakers:
Abdelilah Chiguer, general director, Chiguer art contemporain
Louise Déry, Director of the Galerie de l’UQAM
Milly A. Dery, general and artistic director, Fonderie Darling
Anie Deslauriers, general director, the Contemporary Art Galleries Association – AGAC
Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre, curator of contemporary Quebec and Canadian Contemporary Art at the MMFA
As part of Focus Montréal, this panel discussion aims to explore the vitality of Montreal’s art scene through the perspectives of those who shape it. Bringing together key figures — including institutional representatives, gallery owner, and cultural actors — the panel will provide a comprehensive overview of the dynamics driving Montreal today: interconnected networks, intergenerational dialogue, the rise of new players, the presence and perspectives of the Indigenous art scene, market developments, and visibility on a broader scale.
An essential conversation to understand the forces that shape and sustain creation in Montreal.
Biography
Abdelilah Chiguer is a gallerist with an inspiring and unconventional path. After earning a master’s in manufacturing management and logistics, he worked in major North American companies before discovering his passion for visual art in 2002 at the Musée d’Orsay. He became an active figure in Quebec’s contemporary art scene, serving as a founding member of the Cercle des collectionneurs d’art actuel, board member and chair of the Foire en art actuel de Québec, and co-president of the Contemporary Art Galleries Association (AGAC). In 2015, he co-founded Galerie 3 in Québec City, which he renamed Chiguer art contemporain in 2022 when he became sole owner and opened a new space in Montréal. Today, the gallery operates three exhibition spaces and participates in numerous art fairs across Canada and internationally.
Louise Déry (PhD in art history) is the director of Galerie de l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Previously, she was a curator at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and was the director of the Musée de Rimouski. She has curated about a hundred exhibitions and edited just as many publications in Canada and abroad, dedicated to Nancy Spero, Dominique Blain, Sarkis, Michael Snow, Jean-Luc Nancy, Enrique Ramírez, and Emmanuelle Léonard, and especially David Altmejd, for whom she curated the Canadian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2007). She is currently dedicating an exhibition to Altmejd at the Galerie de l’UQAM under the title Agora. She has received several distinctions, including the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts Prix (2015), the Ordre des arts et des Lettres de France (2017), the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec (2021), and the Ordre national du Québec (2023).
Milly A. Dery serves as the General and Artistic Director of Fonderie Darling in Montreal. A curator, author, and cultural manager, she is known for her interdisciplinary approach that bridges contemporary art, research, and the long-term sustainability of artistic institutions. With a master’s degree in Art History from the University of Montreal, she has developed a critical perspective shaped by the intersections of art, society, and local context. Versatile and deeply committed, she represents a new generation of cultural leaders who combine rigor, intuition, and a poetic vision of the world. An active member of numerous juries and selection committees both in Montreal and internationally, she is recognized for her insight into contemporary creation—an approach that is at once sensitive, thoughtful, and exacting.
Anie Deslauriers was appointed as General Director of the Contemporary Art Galleries Association in February 2024. After 15 years as Assistant Director at Blouin Division Gallery, where she developed new markets, organized numerous exhibitions and participated in Canadian and international fairs, she joined the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Foundation as Philanthropic Development Officer. Over the course of her career, Ms. Deslauriers has forged close ties with several key players and partners from various fields, while proudly defending the interests inherent to the Canadian artistic ecosystem.
Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre is Curator of Contemporary Quebec and Canadian Art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, where she holds the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair. Her research and curatorial interests focus particularly on questions of identity and cultural issues as explored through contemporary artistic practices.
Credits:
Abdelilah Chiguer © Anthony Francoeur-Vallières
Anie Deslauriers © Richard-Max Tremblay
Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre © MBAM, Jean-François Brière
Louise Déry © Galerie de l’UQAM
