Skol's logo, circa 1994
Skol's logo, circa 1994
History
- 1984: inspired by OBORO, a new gallery space located in the same building, Zebra, a graphic artists firm, makes part of their loft space available to visual artists ; Daniel Dion, OBORO’s founding member with Sue Schnee, is Skol’s first coordinator;
- 1986: Official incorporation by then coordinators Myriam Merette and Marie-France Beaudoin;
- 1988: Joins the RCAAQ and begins paying exhibition rights to artists;
- 1996-1997: Under the directorship of Sylvie Cotton, special programming entirely devoted to installation practice. Publication of L’installation. Pistes et territoires, an exhaustive work on installational practice in Quebec from 1975 to 1995, edited by Sylvie Cotton and Anne Bérubé;
- 2000-2001: Under the directorship of Daniel Roy, Les commensaux, a year devoted to new forms of intervention art; publication of Les commensaux: Quand l’art se fait circonstances / When Art Becomes Circumstance, a first in-depth look at “relational” practices in Canada, edited by Anne-Marie Ninacs and Patrice Loubier;
- 2002: launch of an educational program addressing college and university art students; under the pedagogical leadership of Adriana de Oliveira, launch of educational program reaching out to audiences unfamiliar with contemporary art.
- 2003-2005: Programming cycle featuring The Human in the Built Environment under the successive leadership of Carl Trahan (livret 2003-2004) and Pascale Beaudet (livret 2004-2005).
- 2005: critical rekindling of shared leaderhip and participatory structure; integration of Benoit Pontbriand, web and IT specialist to the regular staff. First year of a 3-year co-creation project with adults in a literacy program at the Centre d’éducation des adultes de la Petite-Bourgone et de St-Henri, funded by the City of Montreal;
- August 2005: inaugural meeting of Viva! art action, an international performance art festival, in collaboration with five artist centres in the Montreal region ((articule, La Centrale, Clark, DARE DARE, Praxis, Skol) ;
- 2006-2007: Under the co-coordination of Anne Bertrand and Louis Fortier, special programming titled Faire comme si tout allait bien — As If All Were Well —, focusing on collaborative actions examining cynicism and inertia, including Viva! art action, held in September;
- 2008: Publication of Faire comme si tout allait bien — As If All Were Well —, a special issue of Livraison, a periodical published by Rhinocéros (Strasbourg) in partnership with Skol, curated by Anne Bertrand, Stephen Wright and Hervé Roelants.
- Summer 2008: SOFI initiative increases support to HR and allows emergence of SKOOL – Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30, an experimental summer employment program for students developped by Robin Simpson;
- 2009: integration of Adriana de Oliveira, art educator, to the regular staff of Skol. Development of Apprendre/Learn sector. New website. Beginning of frequent meetings of active members involved in determining the orientations of Skol.
