The Centre
Mission
Verticale is an artist-run centre operating in the Laval, whose mission is to support research, creation, and dissemination in contemporary art. It provides professional and emerging artists flexible support to develop programming that engages with diverse communities, both in dedicated art venues and in public or unconventional spaces.
Mandate
— VCA welcomes a diversity of contemporary art practices and promotes work that crosses disciplinary boundaries.
— VCA provides art professionals from Laval and Québec opportunities to develop their creative practice within an exceptional setting by occupying specific sites in critical or poetic ways.
— VCA seeks to bring together visual artists to form a strong, diversified program of exhibitions and activities that are accessible to the greater Laval public, both within dedicated art spaces and other public sites across Laval.
— VCA seeks to promote contemporary art in a spirit that reflects the diversity of Laval, with its myriad standings, and that contributes to forging the city’s cultural identity.
— VCA promotes contemporary art as a vector of social cohesion through encounters with various communities and audiences.
Board of Directors
President
Stéphanie Lagueux
Media artist Stéphanie Lagueux collaborates with Jonathan L’Ecuyer to create interactive and participatory experiences in public spaces. A graduate of the Bachelor’s program in Arts and Design from the Université du Québec en Outaouais in 1998, she began her practice in artist-run centres in the region and also completed a certificate in education. Based in Terrebonne, she is actively involved in regional cultural development, notably through the organization Art Partage, and works to foster meaningful connections that promote access to digital arts by collaborating with various organizations and communities. She has been working at Ada X since 2002 as coordinator of mediation, archives, and networks, and is a member of the board of directors of Artenso, a research centre for innovative social practices.
Treasurer
Jocelyne Thibault
Visual artist Jocelyne Thibault lives and works in Laval (Visual and Media Arts, UQAM, 2010). She was notably named the CALQ–Artist of the Year for Laval in 2021. At the core of her practice is a reflection on her relationship with time, particularly the subtle tension between the time devoted to art and that spent on domestic life. Her work explores the moment of transition between these realms and their permeability through printmaking, artist’s books, and sculpture. She occasionally acts as a curator (Zocalo, 2022; Atelier Presse Papier, 2021) and has completed several residencies both in Quebec and abroad (Prima Ink, Norway, 2022). A long-time member of Verticale, she actively supports the centre by being present during the presentation of various artistic projects. From 2016 to 2020, she served as secretary of the board of directors at L’imprimerie, an artist-run centre, and she hopes to bring that experience to Verticale’s board.
Advisory administrator
Corine Lorrain-Landry
Holding a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the Université de Montréal and a DEC in visual arts, Corine Lorrain-Landry is a designer and project manager in interior design for the Laval-based firm TLA Architectes. Before beginning her career in architecture, Corine developed expertise in single-family residential and small-scale commercial design. Since 2017, as part of the TLA Architectes team, she has had the opportunity to develop several high-density residential building concepts, as well as various projects in the municipal and commercial sectors. Driven by a strong interest in visual arts, particularly their integration into architecture, Corine closely follows new development projects, notably the cultural infrastructure in the Montmorency sector, where VCA’s future facilities will be located.
Vice-President
Ariel Rondeau
Ariel Rondeau holds a master’s degree in museology and a bachelor’s degree in art history from UQAM. She is a cultural worker, curator, and writer. Her interests lie in evolving practices and unconventional exhibition spaces; her master’s research focused on the presence of contemporary art in gardens across Quebec. As part of her curatorial work, she has presented a solo exhibition by Béatrice Boily at Regart, a centre for contemporary art (Lévis, 2023), an in situ installation by the duo Pépite & Josèphe at the Jardin Daniel A. Séguin (Saint-Hyacinthe, 2023), as well as the group exhibition Vers des cycles mouvants featuring artists Kuh Del Rosario, Julie Roch-Cuerrier, and Ingrid Syage Tremblay at EXPRESSION, Centre d’exposition de Saint-Hyacinthe (2021). Her writings are occasionally published in specialized journals such as ESPACE art actuel and Vie des arts. She is the Associate Administrative Director of MOMENTA Biennale de l’image and lives and works in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal.
Secretary
Chloé Martel
Chloé Martel holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from the Université de Montréal and a master’s degree in cultural organization management from HEC Montréal. She has been working in the cultural field, particularly in museums, since 2014—first at the Musée d’art contemporain des Laurentides (MAC LAU), then at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Foundation (MMFA), and since May 2021, as a project coordinator for exhibitions and publications at the MMFA. Chloé has expertise in project management and philanthropy. Her main interests include contemporary Quebec and Canadian art, as well as publishing.
Administrator
Stéphanie Bourgault
Stéphanie Bourgault, a Laval resident by adoption, leads a double life as a geographer and an artist. A lover of paper, her practice revolves around printmaking, drawing, and installation. Vision plays a central role in her work—the way we look at the world around us, but also the way others look at us. She took part in Verticale’s mentorship program in 2020, under the guidance of Julie Lequin. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Concordia University.
Administrator
Alexandra Briand-Soucy
Biography to come.
Committees
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee is a standing committee that develops recommendations for the financial control and development of the centre’s financial resources. It includes the treasurer, the director, the administrative coordinator, one or two additional members and, ex officio, the board’s president.
Membership Committee
The membership committee is a standing committee that draws up recommendations for the centre’s community-based activities aimed at increasing the centre’s membership and promoting greater participation in the organization’s activities. It is chaired by a member of the board of directors and includes the director, the programming coordinator, three additional members and, ex officio, the board’s president.
Projects Committee
The Projects Committee is a standing committee that receives specific mandates on an ad hoc basis, and develops recommendations related to the centre’s organizational issues, programming and / or other public activities. The ad hoc mandates this committee receives are at the request of the board of directors. These may include the organization of events, the development of projects, the formulation of policies relating to public activities, among others. It is chaired by a member of the board of directors, and includes the director, the programming coordinator, two to four additional members and, ex officio, the board’s president.
Human Resources Committee
The Human Resources Committee is a standing committee that reports on the Centre’s human resources. It is responsible for interviewing, hiring, evaluating and, if required, terminating the contracts of the Centre’s employees. It also reports on any other issue directly related to staffing. The committee includes a member in charge of work relations, a member of the board of directors who chairs the committee, the director and, ex officio, the board’s president.
Relocation Committee
The Relocation Committee is a temporary committee that is mandated to make recommendations for the Centre’s relocation to permanent facilities and artistic programming strategies for its interim location. It is chaired by a member of the board of directors and includes the director, the programming coordinator, one to three additional members and, ex officio, the president.
The Horizontal Committee
The Horizontal Committee is an ad hoc committee tasked with developing anti-oppression strategies in order to make VCA more inclusive, both in its programming and operations. It is made up of a board-appointed representative, an unlimited number of members, invited individuals, the director and, ex officio, the president.
Regulations
The board’s bylaws are available to all members upon request. Please contact us to receive a copy.
History
Verticale — centre d’artistes (VCA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 by the Société des arts visuels de Laval, a group of artists incorporated in 1987 who undertook the task of establishing an artist-run centre with the aim of supporting the artistic profession in Laval and contributing to the development of contemporary art. In 2012, members changed the name of the organization (previously Galerie Verticale) to Verticale — centre d’artistes, which was seen as more representative of the nature of their activities. 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.
1987
Establishment of the Société des arts visuels de Laval, June 18, 1987.
1991
Opening of the first Galerie Verticale Art Contemporain (GVAC), at 1897 boulevard Dagenais Ouest. Inauguration October 9, 1991.
1994
GVAC moves to a new address, 1871, boulevard Industriel. The new gallery is inaugurated September 1, 1994.
2000
GVAC moves to the 2nd floor at 2080, boulevard des Laurentides. Much like at previous locations, there is a documentation centre and studio space available to members.
2010
On July 1, the administrative offices are moved to 397, boulevard des Prairies Ouest. This marks the beginning of a process of relocation, transition and reflection regarding the Centre’s future.
2011
A founding member of ROCAL (Regroupement d’organismes culturels et d’artistes lavallois), Verticale unites with other associations to establish a Centre for artistic creation in Laval and concretely engages in a collective capital project.
2012
Verticale’s membership agrees to change the name of the organization to one that is more representative of its activities. It is known from then on as Verticale — centre d’artistes (VCA).
2018
Villa — véhicule d’arts actuels et numériques is launched in the spring. Villa is the first mobile laboratory dedicated to digital creation in Laval, embodying the Centre’s nomadism.
Honorary members
On the day marking the Centre’s 30th anniversary, and in recognition of their involvement and impact on the organization’s development, the board of directors grants honorary-member status to the founding members of the Société des arts visuels de Laval and of Galerie Verticale, as well as to all members who have been involved with the organization for longer than 15 years.
Heliane Alonzo, Denise Bellerose, Henri Bensimon, Gabriel Bonmati, Gérald Brault, Umberto Bruni, Renée Chevalier, Stela Cosma, Arthur Côté, Carole Decary, Pierre Desrosiers, Ariane Dubois, Pierre M. Dupras, Serge Fablo Vendatour, Giuseppe Fiore, Pierre Gendron, Jacques Huet, Jean-Paul Ladouceur, Huguette Larochelle, Julie Lefebvre, Martial Lefebvre, Édith Martin, Albert Moyse, Christiane Patenaude, Louis Perron, Louise Prescott, Violaine Poirier, Yves-Marie Rajotte, George E. Russell, Juan Schneider, Albric Soly, Marcel Saint-Pierre, Gaëtan Therrien, Monic Thouin-Perrault, Paul Trifiro, Dominique Valade