September 8 to October 24, 2021

Stefanie Hessler, in collaboration with Camille Georgeson-Usher, Himali Singh Soin and Maude Johnson

Sensing Nature, the title for the 17th edition of MOMENTA, can be read in multiple ways. On the one hand, it assumes a human who is sensing nature, perhaps holding a blueberry picked in a forest, exposed to various modes of perception: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. None of us sense in the same way, and our diverse and differently abled bodies perceive and feel differently. On the other hand, the title assumes nature sensing back. Our doings register like sunlight bleaching the colour of driftwood over time or imprinting itself on the retina of an exposed eye. In acknowledging this reciprocity, the biennale works toward decentring the often foregrounded European Enlightenment human creator of knowledge concerning the natural world. It makes room for stories that dwell in the blurred boundaries between culture and nature, weaving in both human and nonhuman modes of knowing. Sensing Nature recognizes that we are in relation with nature, that we are of nature.

The MOMENTA Creative cultural mediation program has offered a series of educational activities, creative workshops, and guided tours developed in response to the biennale’s theme.

31 workshops
164 guided tours
2793 participants in educational activities
2 educational tools
21 partners: Desjardins; Ville de Montréal; Brio Conseil;  Galerie de l’UQAM; Éco-quartier Saint-Jacques de l’ASSC; VOX, centre de l’image contemporaine; Artexte; Centre d’appui aux communautés immigrantes (CACI); Fonderie Darling; Never Was Average; Librairies Racine; Fondation PHI pour l’art contemporain; Victoria Catherine Chan; Occurrence; Jamie Ross; Aurora Prelević; CUCCR; OPTICA; BUSH Gallery; Amis du champ des possibles; Musée d’art de Joliette

214,682 exhibition visits and participation to the activities
2793 participants to the educational program
51 artists
15 exhibitions

Download the program