Relocation

Since 2010, VCA has been in the process of relocating. During this transition to a more durable abode, VCA continues to fulfill its regional and national mandate, offering Laval residents and others, both new and seasoned art lovers, accessible programming in a variety of sites across Île-Jésus. These take place most often off-site, beyond the walls of typical art venues, placing art in unusual spaces, close to the everyday lives of citizens.

Verticale’s history, marked by a search for a stable locale, is of a piece with its overall nomadic character. Undertaking several relocations prior to 2010 — the year it turns to off-site programming and starts planning a major capital project — the Centre has shown remarkable perseverance. Such perseverance conveys the real need of a community comprising three generations of artists to see Verticale establish itself, lastingly and definitively, in this territory.

Since 2011, Verticale’s relocation project has been led by the Regroupement d’organismes culturels et d’artistes lavallois (ROCAL), of which VCA is a founding member. Comprising 15 organizations from a range of artistic fields (visual arts, theatre, dance, music), the ROCAL has been working since its inception to develop a capital project, which, to date, would provide Laval with its first Centre for professional artistic creation. Located in the Quadrilatère Montmorency in downtown Laval, this project is a response to the glaring lack of professional-level cultural facilities available in the municipality.

The construction of the Centre for professional artistic creation and the planned relocation in 2027 will enable VCA to offer an exhibition space for artists and to welcome the public.

Progress of the relocation project with ROCAL

2024

The groundbreaking ceremony marking the beginning of the work took place on September 23, 2024, during the public unveiling of the architectural proposal.

At the municipal council meeting on August 13, 2024, the City of Laval approved the awarding of the contract for the construction of the cultural infrastructure in the downtown area. This project, carried out using a “design-build” approach, was awarded to Groupe Montoni. The inauguration is scheduled for 2027.

The Government of Quebec announced that it would provide $44 million in financial assistance to Laval for the realization of the cultural infrastructure project, a large-scale initiative that had been under study for several years.

2023

Having confirmed its financial support for the cultural infrastructure project, the City of Laval launched the selection process for the design-build contract on September 4, 2023. Located downtown, in the heart of the Montmorency sector, the cultural infrastructure will bring together two complementary spaces: a central library and a multidisciplinary Centre for professional artistic creation. Delivery is expected in 2027.

VCA will have its own street-front dissemination space there, which will also include studios. The centre will connect contemporary art practices that are process-based and take place outside traditional venues with those presented in a professional gallery setting.

2020

The City of Laval announced that it was moving forward with preliminary studies for the construction of a major cultural infrastructure in the Montmorency sector, at the heart of the downtown core. This ambitious project will bring together a central library and a Centre for professional artistic creation under the auspices of ROCAL. Laval residents were invited to take part in the first stage of a participatory process regarding this infrastructure in the summer of 2020.

2019

The City of Laval unveiled its development vision for the Montmorency sector: “Métamorphose créative ” [Creative Metamorphosis] proposes using art, architecture, and design as “the main tools for shaping urban space and generating enriching human experiences.” The initiative is part of Laval’s Cultural Development Plan, presented in June 2019 by six co-signatories.

2016

The ROCAL hires permanent staff dedicated to advancing the relocation project.

2015

The ROCAL begins to draft its Business Plan, as well as its Functional and Technical Program (FTP) for the Centre for creation. The project is meant to serve as a veritable laboratory of experimentation and research for local and visiting artists; as a place of synergy and resource-sharing for organizations; and as a space where encounters and exchanges with various publics are generated.

2011

The ROCAL is created and the establishment of a Centre for professional artistic creation is its first priority.

2010

Ville de Laval tables an action plan that leads to the first study to establish a Centre for professional artistic creation and lays the foundations for the current project.

2008

Ville de Laval carries out an important consultation that reveals numerous gaps in the facilities and equipment available to professional organizations.

2006

Ville de Laval updates its cultural policy and officially commits to supporting the development of professional arts in the municipality.