Mission Statement and Values

We recognize that VOX is located on unceded Indigenous lands and the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation are recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Tiohtiá:ke/ Montreal community.

Mission Statement

Founded in 1985, VOX’s mission is to support research and presentation initiatives around image-making practices from the 1960s to the present day. Its main activity is exhibitions, most often complemented by publications, documentation spaces, film screenings, conferences and online projects. The exhibitions and other artistic events that the centre produces are grounded in long-term work with artists, and often designed as collective projects that encourage discussions and debates about art and contemporary society as well as public meetings with diverse audiences.

VOX is a non-profit organization and a member of the Regroupement des centres d’artistes autogérés du Québec (RCAAQ), the Artist-Run Centres and Collectives Conference (ARCA) as well as Art actuel 2-22.

Values

A non-profit organization founded in 1985, VOX makes a significant contribution to the arts through the development of coherent, engagé programming; by presenting major projects that contribute to the advancement of research; by committing to long-term projects with its artists; by involving cultural communities of diverse origins, including Indigenous peoples, in its activities; by dispelling contradictions between emerging and established artists; by advocating for a culture of cooperation and knowledge transfer; by making the visual arts accessible via mediation activities; by implementing long-term partnership projects with organizations in Canada and abroad; by taking concrete actions to reduce its environmental footprint; by providing support and guidance to artists in the national and international dissemination of their works; and by choosing to remain close to artists.

Ethical commitments

In solidarity with the Palestinian people, VOX joins numerous local and international cultural actors in supporting the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), as part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. This boycott targets Israeli cultural and academic institutions, rather than individuals, in order to denounce their role in the occupation of Palestine and human rights violations.

Under apartheid in South Africa, a number of institutions claimed not to support the regime, or even to oppose it, yet their international influence served to legitimize the system. Similarly, the boycott of Israeli institutions aims to denounce this type of structural complicity.

VOX strongly reaffirms its opposition to all aggression, military or otherwise, against civilian populations, as well as to all human rights violations throughout the world. We believe that any cultural or political engagement must be firmly rooted in respect for these universal principles, by acknowledging the legacies of colonization and supporting efforts toward reconciliation between peoples. It is our duty to denounce injustice, promote international solidarity and work to build relationships based on dignity, equality and collective memory.

In the same spirit, VOX opposes all forms of intimidation targeting cultural and academic organizations that, through their programs and actions, support critical artistic and intellectual positions on social justice issues, while respecting the dignity and rights of populations that are victims of violence and oppression.