BIBLIOTHÈQUE TEMPORAIRE DES ARTS MÉDIATIQUES QUÉBÉCOIS / TEMPORARY LIBRARY OF QUEBEC MEDIA ARTS
Par/by Alessandro Ludovico (Neural) & Nathalie Bachand
The Temporary Library is a series launched in 2017 by Alessandro Ludovico (editor-in-chief and founder of Neural magazine), which has so far taken place in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, and Colombia. This Quebec edition curated by Alessandro Ludovico and Nathalie Bachand —is presented in collaboration with the ELEKTRA Biennial, as well as Artexte in Montreal and then Neural Archive in Bari, Italy, which will subsequently become the library’s permanent hosts.
The project is based on the idea of transcending the traditional boundaries of libraries. It involves temporarily making publications available for consultation in venues not typically intended for that purpose, in order to expand and redefine the public role of libraries from a contemporary perspective, alongside digital channels. It also aims to promote literature and printed materials on media arts in Quebec and to contribute to their long-term preservation.
The Temporary Library – with over more than 300 titles – will thus be available for consultation for the duration of the ELEKTRA Biennial, in a dedicated space at Arsenal Contemporary Art. After this exhibition period, the publications will be transferred to the Artexte archives in Montreal and cataloged as part of a special collection: a meta-index designed to facilitate research on media arts. They will also be included in the Neural Archive, an international archive of digital art containing nearly 8,000 titles and items, 2,000 of which have been indexed to date and are referenced online.
A special section featuring publications on artistic and independent video games—the central theme of this 8th edition of the ELEKTRA Biennial—is also part of the Temporary Library, at Arsenal.
For this occasion, Artexte’s display cases feature the catalogs of the historic Images du futur exhibitions organized by the Cité des arts et des nouvelles technologies—co-directed by Hervé Fischer and Ginette Major—from 1986 to 1996; a focus on ISEA 95; and titles on art games selected by Lynn Hughes, co- curator with Ida T oft of the ELEKTRA Biennial.
Production partners:
ELEKTRA Biennial
Neural Archive
Artexte
Thank you to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec for its support of this project.
Thank you to Atelier Clark for its collaboration in the design and fabrication of the furniture for the Temporary Library.