Yvette Cenerini

The Maison des Artistes is located in Treaty 1 territory, the traditional territory of the Anishinabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and the cradle of the Métis nation. It recognizes that these peoples are the true custodians of the lands and waters of this territory.

La Maison des artistes visuels francophones is a not-for –profit organization committed to the pursuit of meaningful dialogue about art and creativity for the francophone community. We provide public programs and art exhibitions that resonate with our many audiences. At La Maison, we warmly invite and welcome people from all backgrounds and ages; artists from all visual arts disciplines to engage in a multi-cultural dialogue about distinct minority communities, identity and sense of place. We provide professional support for artists every step of the way in innovative ways in which to experience art for the community at large. 

La Maison des artistes visuels francophones is a contemporary reflection of the collective stories from the Red River Valley. This important crossroads was a trading route for Indigenous peoples and the European settlers who began arriving in the early 1800s. Through time this created a tapestry which is unique to Manitoba that includes the diverse French Quarter of Saint- Boniface and a multitude of bilingual rural towns located throughout Manitoba.

Reflecting this history, La Maison was founded on February 7, 2000 in Winnipeg and already had about fifteen members. The president at the time, Mario Buscio, indicated that "[La Maison's mandate] will be to promote and distribute the works of French-speaking artists [and] to encourage exchanges between artists. "Breaking through isolation has been an important component of La Maison from its inception: even the choice of its name, La Maison des Artistes, signals the desire to create a space for meeting and gathering. La Maison now has over a hundred members and presents a rich and varied artistic and educational program each year.

La Maison is aimed at a large and diverse audience, from all walks of life and from all economic means, flourishing in the face of the French language's appeal and culture, brimming with solidarity and inclusion for minority communities. In this sense, the original name of the artist center was changed in 2004 to "La Maison des artistes visuels francophones inc." To better reflect the artistic vision of La Maison, which is an integral part of linguistic history of Canada. This vision is based on the many languages ​​used before and after colonialism and which were suppressed until the creation of the Official Languages ​​Act of 1969 and, more recently, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of 2008 which drew l attention to the loss of indigenous languages.

Defining its actions by belonging to a minority, La Maison takes the representation of diversity to heart. The programming of exhibitions and activities is a way to highlight the richness of  this and to engage the public in the integration and acceptance of difference, but more particularly in relation to linguistic minorities. The values ​​that guide the actions of the organization -- inclusiveness, fulfillment, solidarity, creativity, and  integrity-- testify to this desire.

Our Mission

La Maison des artistes visuels francophones is first and foremost an association serving francophone visual artists in Manitoba who want to work to ensure the viability of an artistic career. It sees to their development and is dedicated to the defense of their individual and collective interests. The activities of La Maison must meet the needs of representation, training, promotion and dissemination of the visual arts. The organization is committed to offering training for members in good standing and raising public awareness in general.

Our Vision

La Maison strengthens the vitality and diversity of the Francophonie by being recognized as a major player in culture and the visual arts.

Our Values

The actions of La Maison are thought out and carried out around the following values:

• inclusiveness;
• fulfillment;
• solidarity;
• creativity;
• integrity.

Our Partners

Each year, La Maison collaborates with between 20 and 25 various organizations inside and outside its walls and strives to continue supporting its existing partnerships while building new relationships with organizations in and outside the cultural milieu. These partnerships aim to support and diversify La Maison's activities, but also to develop new audiences. The organization actively relies on interdisciplinary dialogue to allow more people to discover the visual arts. 

Here are a few partners from  with whom La Maison has worked with in recent years:

Accueil Francophone http://accueilfrancophonemb.com

Alliance française du Manitoba  https://www.francophonie-en-mouvement.com

Art AccessAbility Network Manitoba (AANM) https://aanm.ca

ArtCity https://artcityinc.com

Artspace https://art-space.ca

Association des groupes en arts visuels francophones (AGAVF) https://www.agavf.ca

Centre culturel franco-manitobain (CCFM) https://ccfm.mb.ca

Centre Bang https://centrebang.ca

Centre Turbine http://centreturbine.org/d7/

Conseil jeunes provincial (CJP) https://conseil-jeunesse.mb.ca

Éditions du Blé http://ble.refc.ca

Entreprises Riel http://www.entreprisesriel.com/en/

Fédération culturelle canadienne-française https://www.fccf.ca

Festival international des écrivains de Winnipeg https://conseildesarts.mb.ca/2019/09/le-festival-international-des-ecrivains-de-winnipeg-subvention-partage-presentation/

Festival du voyageur https://heho.ca/fr/

Fierté Winnipeg https://pridewinnipeg.com

Jeunesse au travail Canada Jeunesse Canada au travail - Canada.ca

Katimavik https://katimavik.org/en/

Le 100 nons https://100nons.com

Manitoba Art Network https://manitobaartsnetwork.ca

Each year, La Maison des Artistes offers between 5 and 6 professional exhibitions in its main gallery. This program seeks to present current works in various disciplines and is reflected each year around a theme. By placing these exhibitions in a linguistic minority context, La Maison seeks to awaken and sensitize the public on the way in which culture models our vision of the world around us.

La Maison constantly reassesses the vision proposed by its programming with the awareness that each cultural creator brings with him the weight of social responsibility and the possibility of societal change. In a period of global challenges where identity and diversity are divisive issues, La Maison plays an important role in the cultural fabric by acting as a linguistic bridge between several minority communities.

La Maison provides an opportunity to celebrate difference and enrich the cultural realm through dialogue , and art in Manitoba and beyond. La Maison is an accessible space for creative dreamers that showcases culture and events in French, where all those who wish can participate and belong to a community full of possibilities.

Call for Applications

Chosen by a call for applications or by invitation, the professional exhibitions of the contemporary gallery are scheduled until spring 2023. These exhibitions, lasting approximately 2 months, are presented in the main gallery, but can also spill over if necessary into the Studio, a space adapted into a multifunctional gallery in 2016. La Maison relies on a critical dialogue in the orientation of its programming and the projects it presents address contemporary issues in different mediums of the visual arts spectrum.

The selection of the 2023-24 program will be made in winter 2021 through a call for proposals revolving around a specific theme. The projects that will be part of it will be selected by a committee formed by members of the La Maison team and Francophone artists or cultural workers following a call for projects.

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Rent our Gallery

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A space adapted into a multifunctional gallery in 2016, the Studio welcomes all your ideas, from the most innovative artistic exploration to community projects! Its short-term exhibitions help local artists promote their work, network and advance their careers. With this space, La Maison can also meet the needs of organizations in its community for professional exhibition spaces. The Studio also contains a small room with about fifteen seats, the Mini-Studio, where projections of video works can be presented.

The Studio's programming is usually decided between 4 and 6 months in advance to offer artists a flexible professional space for experimental projects, with critical deadlines or which represent an exciting opportunity. The organization wishes to maintain this flexibility in the use of this space to respond quickly to more innovative, one-off or specific projects. In this way, La Maison listens to artists who wish to develop or test new ideas, who have specific needs (for example, benefit from professional space and lighting to photograph their work) or who wish to receive feedback on their work by taking it out of the studio to exhibit it to the public and the artistic community.

Call for applications

With flexible programming planned a few months in advance, La Maison is always interested in receiving new projects for the Studio! Whether you are an artist or a community group, you can submit a project by emailing our programming team with a short statement of intent and some images if you have them.

Rent "Le Studio"

Why choose beige walls when you can surround yourself with beauty Whether for a corporate event, a wedding or any other occasion, our Studio is ideal for a successful event.

ACCESS OUR RENTAL FORM >>