The artist Yannick Pouliot will highlight the old Bibliothèque centrale de Montréal with his artwork Dialogue.

The Bibliothèque centrale de Montréal Building, which ceased operations in 2005 when its collections were integrated into the Grande Bibliothèque (BAnQ), underwent major renovations in 2009. Now renamed the Gaston-Miron Building, it is home to the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Ballets Jazz de Montréal.

In January 2014, a public notice launched by the city invited professional artists to submit a public art project. Three finalists were selected: the duo of Philippe Allard and Justin Duchesneau, Patrick Bernatchez and Yannick Pouliot.

As described by the Public Art Bureau, the chosen project consists of a grouping of 32 pieces reproducing architectural elements composing the façade of the building on a 1:1 scale. It offers a point of convergence for the architecture of the building, the poetry of Gaston Miron – one of the great contemporary Québec poets, read and admired for the intensity and depth of his exploration of the human condition – and the artist’s approach. The title refers to the dialogue among these three components; the artist’s intention is to integrate a contemporary gesture with a heritage building.

Dialogue will be installed and inaugurated in the fall of 2016.

3D modelling credit: Yannick Pouliot