Le Lieu, centre en art actuel

Le Lieu, centre en art actuel is an artist-run centre based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, dedicated to contemporary art with a particular emphasis on performance art. For four decades it has functioned as a multidisciplinary hub, presenting exhibitions, performances, sound and installation work, and offering services to its members. Its public identity combines three intertwined activities: a gallery and performance venue, a publishing house, and a festival organizer. The centre is best known internationally for the Rencontre internationale d'art performance (RiAP), a festival it has presented on a biennial basis since 1984. The RiAP brings together artists, lecturers and theoreticians working in performance art, selected through a process led by the artistic direction and reviewed by a programming committee. It serves as a platform for the convergence of diverse performance practices with both local and international reach, spanning practical and theoretical dimensions. Le Lieu is also the publisher of Inter, art actuel, a cultural periodical that disseminates various forms of contemporary art while interrogating art's relationship to social, cultural, political and ethical questions. The magazine covers artistic events and politico-cultural movements and engages directly in renewing discourse on ephemeral and emerging practices. Thematic issues are directed by an interdisciplinary editorial committee and developed through calls for texts, inviting artists, critics and cultural thinkers to take positions on issues affecting contemporary art and broader societal transformations. Beyond exhibitions and publishing, Le Lieu operates a documentation centre, a rental service, member services, a reproduction service, and an online boutique. It also co-organizes a summer school in performance art with Université Laval, a six-week immersion combining workshops, mentorship and studio research. The organization states a set of values including exchange, networks, benevolence, respect and risk, and has implemented measures to prevent and address harassment in its professional environment, including training for all employees. As an artist-run centre, Le Lieu operates within Canada's artist-run centre movement, typically structured as a non-profit corporation governed by a board of directors, with programming and editorial committees. Its activities are supported by members, publications, festival editions and public arts funding. The centre remains active, with the next RiAP edition announced for 16–19 September 2026 in Quebec City.

Le Lieu, centre en art actuel has been active in Quebec City for four decades, describing itself as offering "40 ans d'art multidisciplinaire à Québec" (40 years of multidisciplinary art in Quebec City). Its long-running festival, the Rencontre internationale d'art performance (RiAP), has been presented on a biennial basis since 1984, making it one of the centre's defining activities and a fixture of performance art in Quebec. Over the years the centre developed a tripartite identity: a venue and artist-run centre presenting exhibitions and performances; a publisher producing the periodical Inter, art actuel and related editions; and a festival organizer convening international performance artists, lecturers and theoreticians. The RiAP's programming is shaped by an artistic direction that prepares a preliminary selection, which is then revised by a programming committee, with artists from near and far invited to participate. Le Lieu has also built out member-facing and public services, including a documentation centre, a rental service, member services, a reproduction service and an online boutique. It collaborates with other organizations and artists across disciplines, and it co-organizes a summer school in performance art with Université Laval — a six-week immersion combining workshops, mentorship and studio research. Institutionally, the centre operates with a board of directors (conseil d'administration), a programming committee (comité de programmation) and an editorial committee (comité de rédaction), reflecting its dual artistic and publishing mandates. It articulates values of exchange, networks, benevolence, respect and risk, and has stated that it implemented a series of measures to prevent and address harassment in its professional environment, including training for all employees to raise awareness of behaviours constituting harassment. Its magazine, Inter, art actuel, has reached at least its 147th issue, with a call for texts issued for issue 149, and launches held in Montreal. The centre continues to announce new programming, with the next RiAP scheduled for 16–19 September 2026 in Quebec City.

• 2026

  Next RiAP edition announced for 16–19 September 2026 at Le Lieu in Quebec City.

• 1984

  The Rencontre internationale d'art performance (RiAP) is first presented by Le Lieu, establishing a biennial performance art festival in Quebec City.

• Le Lieu reaches 40 years of multidisciplinary art in Quebec City.

• Inter, art actuel publishes issue 147, with launches in Montreal.

• Call for texts issued for Inter no. 149 on joy in contemporary artistic practices.

An artist-run centre for contemporary and performance art in Quebec City, combining a venue, a periodical and a biennial festival with local and international reach.

• Rencontre internationale d'art performance (RiAP)

  A biennial performance art festival presented by Le Lieu since 1984, bringing together artists, lecturers and theoreticians.

• Inter, art actuel

  A cultural periodical disseminating contemporary art and engaging with social, cultural, political and ethical questions; thematic issues are developed through calls for texts.

• Summer school in performance art

  A six-week immersion co-organized with Université Laval, combining workshops, mentorship and studio research.

• Documentation centre and member services

  Includes a documentation centre, rental service, member services and a reproduction service.

1. 1Le Lieu | Centre en art actuelinter-lelieu.org
2. 2Le Lieu | Centre en art actuel — À propos de la RiAPinter-lelieu.org
3. 3Le Lieu | Centre en art actuel — Le Lieuinter-lelieu.org
4. 4Le Lieu | Centre en art actuel — Revue Interinter-lelieu.org
5. 5Wikidata Q95690827wikidata.org