Montreal, March 21, 2024 – The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MBAM) and the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) are pleased to announce the winner of the 2024 Impressions Residency: Santiago Tamayo Soler. This eight-week residency opens the door to a visual artist from one of Montreal’s cultural communities to carry out a research-creation project by bringing a unique and original perspective to one of the Museum’s collections.
Since its launch in 2013, this residency has been a springboard for several emerging artists: Karen Tam, Naghmeh Sharifi, Pansee Atta, Ari Bayuaji, Jobena Petonoquot, Leila Zelli, Nayla Dabaji, Ahreum Lee, Anahita Norouzi and Jinjoo Yang. Thanks to the support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Santiago Tamayo Soler will receive a grant of $7,000, which will enable him to carry out research at the MMFA that will nourish the creation of works of arts.
Born in Bogota, Colombia, Santiago Tamayo Soler is a Montreal-based multidisciplinary artist working mainly in digital arts and performance. Tamayo Soler’s work focuses on virtual environments, in which the artist proposes a critical examination of Latin American history. The places he imagines become the sites of immigrant and queer stories that give us glimpses of a radical futuristic fantasy. A recipient of the 2023 EDAA Emerging Digital Artists Award, the artist recently showed his work at the Bradley Ertaskiran Gallery in Montreal, Trinity Square Video in Toronto and the Centre culturel canadien (Paris).
For his residency at the MMFA, Tamayo Soler will explore notions of alienation and the (re)definition of identity as experienced by newcomers to a foreign country. In tribute to the Colombian diaspora in Canada, the artist will continue exploring the creation of hybrid digital environments that blend elements from distinct geographies, including some from the MMFA’s collection of landscapes.
Nathalie Maillé, director general of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, states: “Congratulations to Santiago Tamayo Soler, an artist whose innovative practice aligns with the inspiring works already created through the Impressions Residency. By showcasing the talent and approach of artists from culturally diverse groups, we continue to build bridges between cultures and to offer Montrealers unique and enriching experiences. The result of an invaluable collaboration with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, this initiative strengthens the ties between the artists and the community.”
Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Chief Curator of the MMFA, adds: “Since 2013, the Impressions Residency has invited Montreal artists from all walks of life to incorporate works from the Museum’s collection into their artistic practice. Year after year, we are simply blown away by the relevance and depth of their output, which enriches our perspectives on the artworks themselves and on our world. This unique interface between our collection and their singular practices serves to propagate fresh viewpoints on our collective identity.”
Acknowledgements
Public partner: Conseil des arts de Montréal
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Information
Patricia Lachance
Michèle-Andrée Lanoue
Media Relations Officers
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
presse@mbamtl.org
About the Conseil des arts de Montréal
Offering various forms of assistance, the Conseil des arts de Montréal identifies, supports and recognizes artistic innovation and creative expression in all their diversity to promote Montreal’s artists and arts organizations active in creation, production and presentation. Since 1956, the Conseil has played a unique role as a catalyst for this artistic ecosystem, helping make Montreal one of the world’s great cultural metropolises.
About the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Founded in 1860, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has been built on the generosity of multiple generations of Montrealers. Its mission is to acquire, conserve, study, interpret and present significant works of art from around the world and from every era, in the hope that members of its community and all Museum visitors may benefit from the transformative powers of art.
The MMFA’s collection showcases Quebec and Canadian heritage, Indigenous art and international art from a progressive and innovative perspective. It comprises close to 47,000 paintings, sculptures, graphic artworks, photographs, multimedia installations and decorative art objects dating from antiquity to the present. The MMFA’s exhibitions and cultural programming aim to inspire new ways of looking at art and the history of art.
As a hub of art, community and exchange and a pioneer in the provision of art therapy, the Museum collaborates with partners in the fields of community organization, education, health and technology to offer all audiences an enriching and transformative experience of art. Thus, through each of its projects, the MMFA continues to strive towards a more inclusive, accessible and just world.
