Standing in downtown Montréal, on the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Laurent,
is Artexte, a documentation centre and exhibition space whose mandate is to collect traces of contemporary art practices since 1965. Started in 1981 by art historian Francine Périnet and artists Anne Ramsden and Angela Grauerholz, the institution has adopted many functions over time (alternately or even simultaneously): bookstore, publishing house, exhibition space, and library. But one thing remained consistent through its many iterations: Artexte has always been a gathering space. Within its rows are quietly huddled over 38,000 catalogued documents and ephemera. It is in our archival cardboard boxes that various artists and their practices come materially into contact with each other, gathered side by side like growing micro worlds held tightly within the intimate space of the collection. Responsible for enclosing memory, gathering traces of time, gestures, words and performances, Artexte is a constantly growing and moving organism. Shaped by each new item it receives through donation or acquisition, it constantly reshuffles its assemblage to present new narratives that expand its horizon.
The space
The quiet space, with its large windows and solemn concrete pillars, has welcomed many “gatherer-type” through its research-residency program, but also by receiving a constant flow of curious walk-in researchers, who pull together eclectic materials that reveal dormant stories within the heart of the collection. Always malleable, always expanding, the collection is shaped by the act of bringing together. Either by assembling what’s already there under a new lens, creating a new configuration of knowledge, or by way of donations from the generous collectors who seek a resting place for the documents they cherished themselves. While wandering the collection, the documents cling to us and seek the researchers, who will finally let them see the light of day. It is hard not to gather, even involuntarily.
Artexte is also a space where gatherings happen. It is a space for encounters both with the materials themselves and with different communities. Through our diverse programming activities, residencies, panels, workshops, book clubs, and specialized tours, we are aiming to create connections between researchers, art lovers, curious minds, artists, curators and anyone who feels moved by the artistic community. It is a space for bodies to gather, discussions to be had, for things to be exchanged and shared – an open space where everyone is collectively occupying the traditionally sacred space of history. We are as much a part of the history that is currently unfolding as the documents themselves. Seeing this crisscrossing of temporality, the present slowly becoming the past, and distant pasts reemerging in current works is quite a moving spectacle to witness. Artexte works as an infinite potential gathering, a space where researchers can both dig into the past and expand their own path towards new avenues with the treasures they find within our collection.
Current exhibit
On the occasion of the 54th annual ARLIS/NA conference, taking place in Montréal in May 2026,
Artexte is curating an exhibit of small artists’ publications made by ARLIS members (present, past and even future) or affiliates on the theme of resistance. This selection echos Artexte’s own collection as well as creates a new path within it by instigating a discussion on what constitutes resistance itself, especially in our current political climate, as well as on the material interpretation of resistance through different media.