Concordia celebrates 25 years of the student-run festival, Art Matters
Concordia’s 25th annual Art Matters Festival will run February 27 to March 28. Hosted by the Faculty of Fine Arts, this year’s festival includes 11 events featuring more than 50 artworks by undergraduate artists from Concordia.
Art Matters is North America’s largest student-run arts festival. This year’s team is 14 people strong and includes an archivist, a graphic designer, a copy-editor/translator, a photographer, technicians, and social media and event managers. Steering the ship are coordinators Renée Edmona Mathews (communications), Isabela Markus (programming) and Inka Kennepohl (general).
“I think it's very cool that everyone behind the scenes is also a student,” says Markus, who is currently pursuing a double major in studio arts and history.
This year’s theme, Adapted Visions, was designed to create a space for positivity.
“Renée, Inka and I wanted to propose a theme that addressed the environment that we’re in and everything that's happening in the world — all the stresses on students — but without taking away from the celebratory spirit of Art Matters,” Markus adds.
“We wanted a space where we can envision something better instead of getting too bogged down by these worries.”
In this commemorative year, a call went out for submissions that reflected this hopeful perspective. Applicants were invited to consider Concordia’s collective past and future:
“As we face ever-mounting uncertainties, Art Matters invites you to consider imagining better futures as a radical act. By insisting upon the improved quality of our futures, we empower ourselves as agents of change.”
Clockwise from left: View of “Sexy Dep,” part of the Mingled Memories closing pary; Memories of Dreamed Places: A Public Discussion on Reclaiming Queer Space, Roundtable, artwork by Belen Catalan, “Sueno Tropical, Renders”; written/unwritten, Exhibition.
Creation, community and collaboration
The resulting program boasts an exciting assemblage of exhibitions, roundtables, performances and celebrations. Each event is free and open to all.
An opening party will be held as part of Montreal’s Nuit Blanche on Saturday, March 1 at Collectif (397A Sainte-Catherine Street West). Conceived and facilitated by Valeria Ortiz, Blurring the Border is meant to highlight immigrant artists and immerse participants in a truly multicultural experience. “It's going to be really fun,” Markus says. “Beginning with performances and leading into a party — it will set the tone for the festival.”
This year’s Art Matters will also include something new. The roundtable, Memories of Dreamed Places: A Public Discussion on Reclaiming Queer Space, will take place at Le Livart (3980 Saint-Denis Street) on February 27 at 6 p.m.
“It’s going to be an interesting discussion between undergraduate students, most of whom are showing work at the festival,” Markus notes. “They’ll be bringing a lot of immigrant and queer perspectives on memory and space. It’s really unlike the events that we typically host.”
Art Matters 2025 honours creation, community and collaboration and their crucial role in worldbuilding. According to a statement on the festival’s website, the participating artists will be looking back to preserve and respond to histories, while also taking the opportunity to dream, to project, to yearn and to righteously imagine.
For more information and updates on Art Matters 2025, check out the Art Matters website and social media channels.
