On October 17th, members of the RCAAQ were convened to the launch of Bang! Centre d’art actuel, located in Saguenay, Québec. In attendance was Minister Maka Kotto who announced a $175,000 grant toward the renovation of Espace Séquence, one of the spaces dedicated to the presentation of current art practices as part of Bang! centre d’art actuel. Also in attendance for the announcement was Stéphane Bédard, MP for Chicoutimi, and President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region.

Members of the Regroupement des centres d’artistes autogérés du Québec (RCAAQ) met over the course of two days on the topic of self-financing – a topic that has, over the course of the last years, increasingly infiltrated, if not monopolized conversations in boards across the ARC network.

Hosted by Le Regroupement des centres d’artistes autogérés du Québec (RCAAQ), the 2010 Conference The Americas: Independent Artistic Practices in the Era of Globalization examined the state of residencies in the Americas by taking stock of the experiences, local initiatives, and self-management models impacting methods of production and distribution, as well as the creative contexts for contemporary work. Our intention was to allow Conference participants to meet the most representative interlocutors from the Americas’ vast cultural scene and to understand the stakes and factors both distinguishing and uniting them.

Organized by Le Regroupement des centres d’artistes autogérés du Québec (RCAAQ), the conference emerged from a desire to examine the publishing activities of the artist-run network. The international meeting focused on the specific modes of production and distribution that define the milieu and their distinct contribution to the artworld and market.