The administrative history of Véhicule Art Inc. was written in by Sandra Paikowsky, then Curator of the Concordia Art Gallery (now the Leonard and Ellen Bina Gallery). It appeared in 1991 in the newsletter of the Concordia Art Gallery on the occasion of an exhibition on Véhicule Art Inc. that included materials from this fonds: Paikowsky, Sandra. Véhicule Art: A Brief History.Artefact: Concordia Art Gallery Bulletin 1, no. 3 (1991): n.p..
More information on Véhicule Art Inc. and its art historical context can be found in: Nemiroff, Diana P.C.. A History of Artist-Run Spaces in Canada with Particular Reference to Véhicule, A Space and the Western Front. Master's thesis, Concordia University, 1985.
Véhicule Art Inc. was legally founded in March 1972 and the gallery opened at 61 Ste.Catherine St. West in the central core of Montréal on October 13, 1972. The first alternate space in the city, it was the creation of thirteen founding members who wanted a "non-profit, non-political centre directed by and for artists." The gallery was intended "to provide a space for the community in which to encounter art and art ideas through as many forms as these processes involve." This would hopefully, "rejuvenate public interest in the visual arts in Montréal, stimulating public consciousness and developing its interest."
Véhicule was conceived as both an exhibition space for visual artists and a locale for performance, video, film, dance, music, and poetry readings. As well, the founders stressed its essential role as an education and information centre with discussion groups, guest lectures, resource and documentation libraries as well as a liaison programme with public schools and universities within the city. Such aims were intended "to fill a gap in the community."
With some financial support from federal granting agencies, Véhicule embarked on its highly ambitious gallery programming and public information activities. The establishment of a press in 1973, at the back of the gallery, led to the production of artists' books, exhibition catalogues, newsletters, posters and poetry publications. Such Véhicule Press works reflected the multi-disciplinary atmosphere of Véhicule as various members of the group collaborated on specific projects. In addition, a slide bank and video collection were begun, adding to its informational resources.
In the early years, Véhicule's primary preoccupation was to bring to public attention the work of experimental local artists and in particular, their involvement with international trends. The opening exhibition of thirty-two works by twenty Montréal artists, chosen by nine Véhicule members, exemplified not only the concern for the new in the city but the spirit of a collectivity through the jury system. Although only four women artists participated in this show, two months later an exhibition of artwork by thirty-five young Montréal women was presented.
While Véhicule stated it espoused no single ideology, its orientation toward experimental aesthetic attitudes explains its strong support of anti-object art, with its particular emphasis on installation, performance and multi-media projects. During 1972 and 1973, about sixty events and exhibitions were presented, with three hundred participants, almost all from Montréal. A year later, approximately one half of the artists and performers were from outside of the local community. This shift reflected Véhicule's growing concern for becoming a vital part of a larger art milieu. The number of exhibitions and events remained quite constant through the 1970's, reaffirming the energy and ambition of its programming.
By 1975, Véhicule had gained official recognition by the inclusion of its members in two exhibitions organized by Montréal's Musée d'art contemporain. Public galleries outside Montréal also showed the works of Véhicule artists. Véhicule Press had expanded to form a cooperative printing company. The membership more than doubled and the gallery became involved in important exchanges with other alternative art centres in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Its programme of school visits, exhibitions of art students' work from local art schools and universities, as well as public events like the Kite Show (1973) and projects for the 1976 Olympics suggest Véhicule's determination to become an integral part of Montréal's cultural community.
As the membership expanded and the various disciplines represented at Véhicule became more consolidated, individual directions emerged. Véhicule Press developed a more extensive and ambitious publishing programme and became autonomous in 1977 when it moved to Chinatown. Dance and poetry readings increasingly became an essential part of Véhicule's activities. Gallery events and exhibitions were consistently reviewed in local newspapers and its public profile flourished. Video Véhicule, begun in 1976, established the gallery's importance as one of Canada's most active centres for the medium. During the late years of the 1970's video events dominated the gallery's programming and the large proportion of international artists at Véhicule attested to its solid reputation.
Despite these accomplishments, internal conflicts arose concerning the direction of Véhicule's programming and its administration. There was also increased polarization between the various disciplines involved with Véhicule. The original premise of a cohesive artists' collective had dramatically changed. In the summer of 1979, Véhicule moved to a larger space at 307 Ste. Catherine St. West and renamed Le Musée d'art vivant Véhicule.
During the final years, administrative and programming problems continued to plague the group. Memberships fell dramatically but became more restrictive. The separation of Video Véhicule (renamed Prime Video) from the umbrella organization was an example of the fallout from internal discord and conflicting ideologies within the cooperative. The art community which had supported Véhicule for almost a decade now believed that the alternate centre was neither responding to nor reflecting the needs of Montréal artists. That there were three generations of Véhicule artists in one decade demonstrates the shifts in the gallery's orientation and focus. As had happened often in the history of Montréal's art community, a coalition such as Véhicule eventually outlived its original mandate and purpose. As well, the city itself had become more responsive to new tendencies in art. Despite various stop-gap measures to renew interest in Véhicule, the last events took place in June 1982 and it was quietly disbanded in 1983. An era in Montréal's cultural history was over.
Published
Full
Final
Title based on the content of the fonds.
Copyright belongs to the creator(s).
The fonds consists of ten series, many of them subdivided into sub-series. The documents cover the period 1972 to 1982, however, the great majority of the documents were created between 1973 and 1976.
This finding aid deals with the administrative, financial files of this organization as well as the artist and exhibition files, the publicity material (posters, art catalogues), and photographs.
There is little documentation for the activities of the Véhicule Art Inc. gallery from 1976 to 1982. During this time the gallery experienced both administrative and financial difficulties. Frequent changes of staff and insufficient funding contributed to the weakening of the gallery and its activities.
The original order of the documents quite faithfully reflected the internal organization of the gallery. Thus, the documents dating from 1972 to 1975, were relatively well organized and required no further arrangement; on the other hand, those covering the 1976-1982 period needed complete reorganization.
The fonds is organized into the following series:
P0027/01 Organization
P0027/02 Personnel
P0027/03 Finances
P0027/04 Programming
P0027/05 Artists, exhibitions and performances
P0027/06 Associations
P0027/07 Correspondence
P0027/08 Photographs
P0027/09 Sound recordings
P0027/10 Posters
The Véhicule Art (Montréal) Inc. fonds was donated to Concordia University in 1983. The fonds was transferred from Concordia University's Records Management and Archives Department to Concordia University Libraries' Special Collections February 18, 2016, March 16, 2016, March 24, 2016, April 13-14, 2016, April 20, 2016, April 26, 2016, May 10-11, 2016, and May 17-18, 2016.
Input by Concordia University Libraries 2015-07-23
Revised custodial history and repository 2016-02-18
Added translated description (French) 2016-02-18
Revised custodial history 2016-03-21; 2016-04-04; 2016-04-14; 2016-04-22; 2016-05-02; 2016-05-17; 2016-05-18; 2016-05-20
Most of the moving images related to Vehicule Art are kept by the Cinémathèque québécoise, Montréal.
Some restrictions.
Reproductions are allowed for the purpose of research and private study. Use of material in a publication may only be done with written consent of the copyright owner(s).
Inventory and box listings available.
Published
The series provides information on the organization, administration and financing of Véhicule Art Inc.
The series contains various kinds of records, including letters patent and registration, grant applications, employment and payroll records, tax forms, minutes, agendas, activity reports and schedules, legal domicile plans and permits.
The series is divided into the following sub-series:
P0027/01a Status and bylaws
P0027/01b Local Initiatives Program records
P0027/01c Minutes
P0027/01d Activity reports
P0027/01e Building
Published
The series provides information on Véhicule Art Inc.'s Board of Directors and its personnel.
The series contains lists of members and directors, correspondence relating to the resignation of members, payroll books, and tax forms.
The series is organized into the following sub-series:
P0027/02a Members and directors
P0027/02b Resignation of members
P0027/02c Payroll
P0027/02d Taxation
This series is not available for consultation.
Published
The series provides information on the financial administration and budget of Véhicule Art Inc.
The series consists of grant applications and related records, financial statements, statements of revenue and expenditures, account books, cheques, cheque stubs, bank books, petty cash books and envelopes, invoices, and receipts.
The series is divided into the following sub-series:
P0027/03a Canada Council grants
P0027/03b Financial statements
P0027/03c Accounting
Published
The series provides information on the nature, selection, administration and promotion of activities that took place at Véhicule Art Inc., including exhibitions, poetry readings, video screenings, and educational programs.
The series contains jury selection criteria; exhibition requests that were rejected or unanswered, or accepted but never held; mailing lists of teachers, artists, galleries and spaces; publicity materials, including calendars of events; external contact information; a guest book; posters; general information on Poetry Véhicule, Video Véhicule, and Prime Video; educational program material; and liquor and meeting permits.
The series is organized into the following sub-series:
P0027/04a Jury selection
P0027/04b Exhibition requests
P0027/04c Mailing lists
P0027/04d Publicity
P0027/04e Educational program
P0027/04f Permits
Published
The series provides information on the artists and groups of artists who exhibited or performed at Véhicule.
The artist files consist principally of correspondence, press releases, press clippings, résumés, and photographs. The exhibition and performance files consist principally of press clippings, press releases, exhibition requests, and photographs.
The series is organized into the following sub-series:
P0027/05a Artists
P0027/05b Exhibitions and performances
The Véhicule Art Inc. fonds contains many photographic materials and large posters which cannot be traced to this series using the notes placed in the textual records folders in 1989. These unaccounted-for materials may have originated in other series, may have been found in and removed from this series earlier than 1989, may have been acquired by the Concordia University Archives as later accruals, or may have always constituted a separate series, one that did not also contain textual records.
Those unaccounted-for photographic materials which do not seem to relate to existing files in this series are described as sub-series P027.8a Photographs. All the photographic materials in this series can be retrieved from Appendix A or Appendix B. Large posters which cannot be traced to this series are described as series P027.10 Posters.
Published
The series provides information on arts associations that were of interest to Véhicule Art Inc.
The series contains publications, press releases, and licences related to Canadian Artist's Representative / Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) and the Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada / l'Association des compositeurs et des éditeurs du Canada (CAPAC).
Published
The series provides information on individuals and organizations, including other galleries and artist-run spaces, that Véhicule Art Inc. communicated with and on the subjects of this communication.
The series contains incoming correspondence and drafts and copies of outgoing correspondence.
The series is organized into the following sub-series:
P0027/07a General correspondence
P0027/07b Correspondence with other galleries
Published
The series provides information on exhibitions and performances, and individuals, groups, media, and installations.
The series contains positives, contact sheets, and slides.
The series is organized into the following sub-series:
P0027/08a Photographs
P0027/08b Slides
Published
The series provides information on performances held at Véhicule Art Inc.
The series contains audio reels, audiocassettes, and audio discs.
Item P0027.9.SR17 is listed in series P0027.5 Artists, exhibitions and performances, as it was removed from one of the folders in that series, for conservation reasons, during arrangement and description in 1989.
Input by Concordia University Libraries 2015-07-23.
Updated 2019-07-30.
Published
The series provides information on Véhicule Art's promotion of the exhibitions and performances held in its space.
The series contains posters.
These posters are not cited in notes placed in 1989 in the folders of the textual records of the series Artists, exhibitions and performances series to document the removal of large posters for conservation reasons. They may, however, have been found in the series Artists, exhibitions and performances earlier than 1989, or they may have originated in other series, they may have been later accruals to this fonds, or they may have always constituted a separate series, one without textual records.
These posters are housed in the same box as the large posters in the series Artists, exhibitions and performances. A complete listing of the posters in the series and of the large posters in the series Artists, exhibitions and performances can be found in Appendix E: Posters, as an aid in retrieval.