The Carmelle and Rémi-Marcoux Chair in Arts Management at HEC Montréal announced last evening the winner of the ninth edition of the Cultural Manager Award. During a virtual ceremony themed around the revival of the arts after the pandemic, François Colbert, holder of the Chair, congratulated Alain Mongeau, General and Artistic Director of MUTEK, for winning the prestigious prize.
Alain Mongeau: A Leading Player in Digital Arts
After receiving his doctorate in communication from UQAM in 1994, Alain Mongeau left the academic world for event planning as Program Director of the 6th International Symposium of Electronic Arts (ISEA) in Montréal. In wake of the success of this event, in 1996 he became chairman of the board of directors of ISEA, director of the organization's head office in Montreal, and co-founded with Monique Savoie and Luc Courchesne the Société des arts technologie (SAT).
In 2000, he launched MUTEK, a festival that explores the intersection between digital creativity and electronic music. Under his leadership, MUTEK quickly established itself as a benchmark in North America, and gradually extended its global influence in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Over the years, more than 150 MUTEK-related performances, talks, and exhibitions have been presented in some 20 countries and the festival now has permanent branches in Mexico City, Barcelona, Tokyo and Buenos Aires.
For its 20th anniversary in 2019, MUTEK welcomed 70,000 spectators, 35% of whom were tourists from outside Quebec, and presented the creations of 190 artists of 27 nationalities; these artists took part in 135 projects, half of which were led by or included a woman. Since 2004, the organization's total revenue has nearly tripled, from $944,000 to $2.6 million. The MUTEK team includes 8 full-time employees, 150 temporary employees, ten interns and 130 volunteers. MUTEK is the only organization to have twice received the Grand Prix from the Conseil des arts de Montréal in 2009 and 2020.
By awarding the Cultural Manager Award to Alain Mongeau, the jury underlined “his career dedicated to innovation in digital arts, his ability to seize partnership opportunities as well as the renown he has given to Montreal and to French Canadian digital artists on an international scale”.
More info (in French): https://gestiondesarts.hec.ca/activites/prix-du-gestionnaire-culturel/9e_edition/
Photo credit: Pétronille Gontaux-Leclair
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