MOMENTA I Biennale de l’image
About us / contact
An international contemporary art biennale devoted to the image
For more than thirty years: an exceptional rendezvous in Montréal’s most important museums, galleries and artist-run centres
Based in Tiohtiá:ke – Mooniyang – Montreal, the biennale has taken place every two years since 1989. Its activities include exhibitions, public events, educational programs, artistic and social collaborations, and more.

Mission
To have a sensitive and sensible impact on the world around us by means of images.
We bring this intention to life by:
- Contributing to artistic, cultural, and social innovation
- Increasing the outreach of artists
- Raising public awareness of today’s issues in the contemporary art field
- Acting as a social agent and catalyst
Mandate
Our mandate is to implement unifying and structuring initiatives for art dissemination and education, thus encouraging reflection on and access to contemporary art.
We achieve this by:
- Connecting Québec and Canada art scenes with the other localities of the art world
- Conveying the composite and varied realities that foster contemporary art practices
- Encouraging encounters and exchanges, motivated by a sustained concern for the presentation and mediation of artworks
- Offering a friendly and empowering space for expression, to the public and all persons with whom we collaborate
Values
Relevance
We value artistic quality and intellectual rigor within our projects.
Audacity
We support innovation and reflection renewal in regards to today’s issues.
Sharing
We gather communities in a spirit of inclusion and synergy.
Respect
We are fair toward the artists, publics, partners, and members of our team.
History
MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image is a contemporary art event taking place in various venues in Montréal (Canada) every two years since 1989. Founded as Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal, the organization was renamed MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image in 2017.
The first Mois de la Photo à Montréal was organized by VOX, centre de l’image contemporaine in 1989 to mark the 150th anniversary of photography. Until 2002, the event was held under the responsibility of VOX. In September 2002, it became an autonomous corporation. This administration change was followed by the adoption of a new model of artistic direction. For every biennale, a curator is invited to propose a theme around which a series of exhibitions and many public activities are organized. A publication is produced to accompany the program. Between twenty and forty artists are selected and their works are presented in fifteen venues throughout the city of Montréal. On the occasion of its 15th edition in 2017, the organization wanted to update its identity and assert its biennale status, thus becoming MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image.
The plural of the Latin word momentum, the name MOMENTA was chosen as a nod to the “decisive moment,” a key notion of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s, and to the photograph, which constitutes the organization’s founding medium. It also brings out the event-based nature of the biennale by inscribing it within a broader temporality–the moments of images, of artworks, of events. Finally, it underlines the fact that the biennale, once centred essentially on the field of photography, now encompasses all image-based practices, in an era when they are being produced in different media, at various places, and in constant transformation.
Over the last nine editions, the biennale has presented more than 500 artists and 2,300 artworks, and attendance totalled 2 million. More than 100 partners join the biennale for each edition, and almost 200 actors from the cultural field participate in it. More precisely, the 2019 edition of MOMENTA reached 210,028 visitors, presented the work of 69 artists, and offered thirty activities of mediation and audience development.
Team
Executive Director
Audrey Genois
Executive and Curatorial Assistant
Maude Johnson
Executive and Administrative Assistant
Ariel Rondeau
Exhibitions Coordinator
Mélanie Seibert
Educational Programs and Audience Development Coordinator
Julia Roberge Van Der Donckt
Publications Coordinator
Anne-Marie Dubois
MOMENTA Visual Identity and Brand Image
Graphic Design, 2019 edition
Jean-François Proulx, Balistique.ca
MOMENTA Website
Design and Development
House9 Design, house9design.ca
Board of directors
Chair
Lesley Johnstone
Curator and Head of Exhibitions and Education
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
Vice-Chair
Élise Saint-Aubin
LL.B, Adm.A, Assistant Vice-President, Organizational Effectiveness
Business Development Bank of Canada
Treasurer
Sharka Hamet
Chief Operating Officer
Langlois Lawyers
Secretary
Mathieu Courchesne
Lawyer
Administrators
Bernard Asselin
Marketing, sales, and coaching consultant
Emmanuelle Léonard
Artist
Yann Pocreau
Artist
Line Rivard
Business Administrator
Nicolas Rubbo
Vice-President, Marketing, development and partnerships
La Ruche
Cheryl Sim
Curator and Executive Director
Fondation Phi pour l’art contemporain

Contact
info@momentabiennale.com
+1.514.390.0383
Office
MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image
5445 de Gaspé Avenue, room 335
Montréal (Québec) H2T 3B2
Canada
Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm