Activities
Vision
TOPO is a pioneering organisation in web art in Quebec, a place of convergence for interdisciplinary and collaborative digital practices which contribute to the writing of contemporary narratives of the present day and to outlining the transmedia imaginaries of tomorrow. Rooted in its community, TOPO is part of the evolution of interactive arts and media, joining past and present, memory and future to bring about new narratives and new transitions.
Values
Experimentation – Collaboration – Transformation
TOPO accelerates creativity by encouraging experimentation in the arts. We promote collaboration among artists, technology experts and communities in order to create engaging and inclusive experiences. From the point of view of sustainability, our research, creation, dissemination and outreach activities seek to effect positive transformations for our audiences and for the professional ecosystem.
History
TOPO was founded in Montreal on 1993. The centre grew out of the will of its founding members to develop a structure for the organization of collective and multidisciplinary projects that integrate the disciplines of photography and literature.
With the development of digital technologies, TOPO’s mandate has naturally grown to occupy the Web as a territory of creation and disseminationIn 1998, TOPO co-produced “Liquidation, a web-audio fiction” and started its Web activity. From that point on, the organization became active in an ongoing manner in the media arts sector. Since then, TOPO has created and produced Web art projects, most of them collective, with more than one hundred artists from the fields of visual and media arts, theatre, audio, and literature.
While aiming to produce more original content for the Web, TOPO is also interested in in presenting and distributing independent multimedia artworks on the Web and on disks (CD, DVD-ROM, and video). In 2001, the centre launched the “Electronic Showcase” as a space for the promotion and presentation of artistic and experimental multimedia works. In 2005, TOPO began to disseminate its Web works through publication, exhibition, and performance activities. In 2007, in partnership with Laboratoire NT2 of the Université du Québec à Montréal, TOPO initiated the Sortir de l’écran/Spoken Screen series, which presents media works with a performative dimension. Finally, in 2013, the organization published a major book on .(La Société de Conservation du Présent), a Quebec collective that prefigured the use of electronic networks and computer programming for art and was active from 1985 to 1994.
In spring 2014, TOPO relocated into the Pôle de Gaspé and took advantage of the move to open a new exhibition space on the ground floor, the Vitrine, where it presents media installations on a regular basis.
The Conseil des arts de Montréal recognizes the excellence of the center by naming it a finalist in digital arts for its 2015 Grand Prix.
TOPO is actively involved in its community, and the years to come offer both promise and challenges.
The team
The board of directors
Sven Buridans
President
Marie-Ève Berlinger
Vice-president
Co-founder of POP, culture + numérique
Eva Quintas
Secretary
Visual and digital artist and consultant in cultural development, co-founder at TOPO
Gabriel Galvis
Treasurer
Stéphanie Morissette
Administrator
Elody Sanchis (Libe)
Administrator
Practical information
Contact
5445, avenue de Gaspé, local 608
Montréal (Québec)
Canada H2T 3B2
bonjour@topo.art
+1 514 279-8676
We work flexible hours and sometimes work from home, so we don’t always answer the phone. Please prefer to contact us by e-mail.
Visit us
Our office
5445, avenue de Gaspé, local 608
→ 6th floor. Please note the two elevators facing the entrance to 5445 do not go to the 6th floor. Take the elevators in the back. Once on the 6th floor, follow the green arrows to get to space #608.
The exhibition Vitrine
→ 1st floor, in front of security.
Working hours
Access for people with reduced mobility
To avoid the steps at the entrance to the building, take the ramp on the north side. To get to TOPO, go to the south side of the building and take the elevator. The north elevators do not go to TOPO.
