Night of ideas - CANADA, January 28, 2021
Annual gathering dedicated to the free circulation of ideas and knowledge, the 6th edition of the Night of Ideas, coordinated in Canada by
the French Embassy, in partnership with the Alliances françaises and many Canadian cultural and academic institutions, will be held on
Thursday, January 28, 2021 on the topic «Close(r)». This event, which encourages, in 75 countries on the 5 continents, exchange and global
collective reflection, is this year entirely virtual.
The theme «Close(r)» at the heart of the Night of Ideas 2021 allows us to question the transformation of our relationship to space and
mobility, the new forms of solidarity that the crisis in our economic and social models calls for, and the place of digital technology in
our societies, which is increasingly shaping our relationship with the world. From the themes of new technologies and digital, to Aboriginal
peoples, reinvented art and Artificial Intelligence, the 2021 edition of the Night of Ideas in Canada will take on a special significance in
the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All these events will be virtual and accessible for free on the Youtube
channel of the Night of Ideas in Canada
and on the Facebook page of the Consulate General of France in Quebec for the
Quebec section. From coast to coast, more than 24 hours of debates, conversations and artistic performances will be accessible to all, on
January 28th, from 8:45 am to 12 midnight (CST).
Watch
the Night of Ideas - Canada
Free of charge, online and live on social networks, the Night of Ideas in Canada will consist in 24
events,
across the country, from Halifax to Vancouver, Moncton, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary and Victoria, 14
Canadian cities
in all.
The Night of Ideas in Canada offers a rich and diverse program: debates, conversations and interdisciplinary
meetings,
as well as artistic performances, comic book improvisation and film debates.
It will bring together many inspiring, daring and committed Canadian and French figures, such as Canadian writers John
Ralston Saul, Kim Thuy, Charles Montgomery,
Innu poet Josephine Bacon and French science-fiction writer Alain Damasio.
The debates will be interspersed with performances by Canadian and French artists such as French graphic designer Dalkhafine,
Canadian rock band Hologramme or French dance company Les Parleuses.
PROGRAM BY CITY IN CANADA
WINNIPEG - Indigenous perspectives on Nature
Following the sharing that took place during The Night of Ideas 2020 around the theme “Being alive”, the Alliance française du Manitoba has
decided to deal with the theme «Close(r)» through the lens of what we identify as otherness and to question the proximity between countries,
and between humans and animal and plant species.
In the context of a global pandemic, where Humanity feels fragile and vulnerable, Humans are questioning themselves. They worry about their
health, question their rights and wonder about their place in and relationship with Nature. As part of Night of Ideas organized on 28
January 2021, the Alliance française du Manitoba invites you to revisit these questions through the inspiring and calming wisdom of
Indigenous cultures.
Learn more...
MONCTON - Reinventing links through
digital technology - learn more...
Over the course of an evening, the artistic, academic, medical, entrepreneurial and business communities from New Brunswick, Quebec and
France will share their digital experience in their relationships with others. Successes and failures will be discussed, and each one will
talk about his or her own path to maintain ties in a world where isolation is the rule.
HALIFAX - "Perfect distance"
between humans and things - learn more...
"On the evening of January 28th, the world of science, museums and the public in the Atlantic, Quebec and France will be questioning
the question of the "right distance" to information and beings in a digitalized world. In search of a positive future, proximity
and distance will be debated through the arts, sciences and lively and thoughtful exchanges".
TROIS-RIVIÈRES - I am elsewhere,
the center is here - learn more...
Galerie R3 and the Groupe URAV (UQTR) are offering a Night of Ideas divided into two sessions during which conferences, debates and musical
and video performances alternate in the context of the exhibition by French artist Bernard Pourrière. During these sequences, you can meet
Nicolas Bourriaud, director of the MO.CO and art critic, Derrick de Kerckhove, media theorist, Hervé Fischer, artist-philosopher, Pierre
Ouellet, researcher and writer, Christine Palmieri, artist and writer, and the French artist Bernard Pourrière. During these sequences, you
can find Nicolas Bourriaud, director of the MO.CO and art critic, Derrick de Kerckhove, media theorist, Hervé Fischer, artist-philosopher,
Pierre Ouellet, researcher and writer, Christine Palmieri, artist and poet-art critic as well as Slobodan Radosavljevic, artist and teacher.
MONTREAL - "Humanity in
Proximity" - learn more...
The Galerie de l'UQAM returns this year with three duos of committed women where the notions of humanity, community and proximity intersect.
Rima Elkouri, journalist, Kapwani Kiwanga, artist (Prix Marcel-Duchamp 2020), and curators Gaëtane Verna, Véronique Leblanc and Sonia
Recasens explore angles of realities as diverse as the experience of exile and immigration, otherness and solidarity, inclusion and
exclusion. Video works by Leila Zelli and Isabelle Kanapé are also presented.
QUÉBEC-LÉVIS - "Distance as an
engine of creation" - learn more...
The Maison de la littérature de Québec explores the theme Proches with author Alain Damasio (Grand Prix de l'imaginaire 2020) during a major
interview with the bookstore Les Bouquinistes de Chicoutimi. During a virtual round-table discussion, author Alain Mabanckou and authors
Marie-Ève Lacasse and Michèle Ouimet will discuss how expatriation influences their writing process, their work and their relationship to
identity. Cocoons capsules with authors Anne-Marie Desmeules and Naomi Fontaine, and author Jean Sioui will punctuate the discussions -
realized in collaboration with the Maison natale of
CHICOUTIMI - "Rethinking
otherness & social structures" - learn more...
The artist-run center le LOBE in Chicoutimi presents a round-table discussion with Marcelle Dubé, professor in social sciences and
humanities, Eruoma Awashish, visual artist Atikamewk, Normand Baillargeon, philosopher and Yves-Marie Abraham, professor and thinker of
degrowth. A concert by Sheenah Ko, live from the Centre d'Expérimentation Musicale, will close the evening.
SHERBROOKE - When Artists and
Scientists Come Together - learn more...
The artist-run center Sporobole, the Théâtre des Petites Lanternes and the University of Sherbrooke are jointly presenting two capsules to
rethink the proximity between art and science, two subjects that at first glance appear to be opposed. The first one exposes Axauralité, a
research-creation project by Georges Roussel, Ana Dall'Ara Majek, and Philippe-Aubert Gauthier on the principle of augmented listening,
through the material means of acoustic crystals. Next, L'âme de Monarques will be broadcast, a capsule in which dancers Simon Durocher,
Elise Legrand and French choreographer Thierry Niang discuss how to express post-traumatic shock through dance. The public is then invited
to debate virtually during a Kitchen Party of geeks and artists: bickering, bickering and love.
OTTAWA - So far so near - learn more...
The pandemic has affected personal and professional relationships: two panels of experts in psychology, linguistics, moving images,
museology and space travel will speak about it in French and English, guided by two personalities from the business and research world.
These panels will be complemented by live piano performances, a major interview with futurologist writer Alain Damasio, and an interview
with the director and producer of the works on the life of French cosmonaut Thomas Pesquet.
TORONTO - Rapprochement(s) - learn
more...
How can ideas, science and the arts bring us closer together in an age of great isolation? How, in the face of the rise of individualism and
nationalism, in the face of the fragmentation of community solidarity, in the face of a violent history, an anxiety-provoking present and an
uncertain future, can dialogue between people, between genders, between cultures, demine, break down walls erected on fault lines, repair
damaged relationships, create new ones? In light of the notion of "rapprochement(s)", Toronto's Ideas Night will offer a series of
online discussions between Canada and France, artistic performances, readings and screenings, from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am.
CALGARY - EDMONTON - Let's walk at night
- learn more...
Listen to the evening sounds as you follow the footsteps of Dr. Tallbear, a professor at the University of Alberta. We'll discuss the place
of First Nations in Edmonton, the place of technology in our society, the place of nature in our society? A breath of fresh air and
reflection!
VANCOUVER - New solidarities - learn
more...
"Citizen 2.0: Towards a fairer world for nature and humans? »
Citizens 2.0 encourages us to take our individual and collective responsibilities. They are committed, authentic and their gestures are
driven by values that are dear to their hearts. They privilege time rather than money, put the being before the having and wish to preserve
the natural world. These men and women have invented new ways to collaborate, to educate themselves, to consume and to build new forms of
solidarity.
Closing during COVID: a night of stories and connection
"For many pandemic has brought isolation and loneliness, as the virus makes it difficult to meet with friends and family or attend
public events.
And yet, Covid has also allowed us to find new solidarities with each other, and reflect on the importance of our relations with the ones
who are usually close to us."
VICTORIA - Sharing Isolation: Cultures
and Memories to Bounce Back Together - learn more...
Let's connect and explore the promise of community contact and memory, as well as personal resilience that culture holds. Thus, after
evoking the humorous e-mail chains, virtual museum visits or musical parodies that have punctuated our lives in French during the pandemic,
we will compose and share our own stories and reflections. Let's share our isolations!
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