Sylvie Bélanger
Encyclopedia
Sylvie Bélanger is an interdisciplinary artist using sound, video, photography and installation. Bélanger received an MFA from York University
, a BFA from Concordia University
and a Baccalauréat in Philosophy of Religion from Université de Montréal
. She lives and works in Toronto and is an Associate Professor of Visual Studies at SUNY Buffalo. Before joining SUNY Buffalo, she taught at The University of Windsor, San Francisco Art Institute
, University of Toronto/Sheridan College and Concordia University. Bélanger was the recipient of the Stauffer Prize, Each year the Canada Council designates up to three Canadian artists who have been awarded an individual arts grant, one in each of the fields of music, visual arts and literature, as winners of the Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes. Bélanger has received numerous professional grants from The Nuala Dresher Fellowship, the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the External Affairs of Canada.
, MacDonald Stewart Art Center, Canada, Woodlawn Arts Foundation, Toronto, Canada and York University, Canada.
In 2002 Bélanger was commissioned to create public art
for the Bessarion subway station
in Toronto. The work is a series of friezes of hands, feet and backs of heads, which represent the users of the station. The feet images appear on the concourse level while the heads appear on the platform level. The hand images appear along the stairs between the Sheppard Avenue
side entrance/exit and the concourse.
In 2007, Bélanger was the Big Orbit Gallery summer artist in residence. During her residency she created the Multimedia installation Des fleurs pour décorer, which was inspired by the artists' loft. Through this framework, ideas of gentrification, leisure, interior design and art history are woven through the condominium as a new concept of urban living. Des fleurs pour décorer was simultaneously part of the Beyond/In Western New York 2007 Exhibition and installed at Big Orbit Gallery as a solo exhibition.
Bélanger is represented by Birch Libralato Gallery, Toronto, Canada.
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, a BFA from Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
and a Baccalauréat in Philosophy of Religion from Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
. She lives and works in Toronto and is an Associate Professor of Visual Studies at SUNY Buffalo. Before joining SUNY Buffalo, she taught at The University of Windsor, San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
, University of Toronto/Sheridan College and Concordia University. Bélanger was the recipient of the Stauffer Prize, Each year the Canada Council designates up to three Canadian artists who have been awarded an individual arts grant, one in each of the fields of music, visual arts and literature, as winners of the Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes. Bélanger has received numerous professional grants from The Nuala Dresher Fellowship, the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the External Affairs of Canada.
Work
Bélanger has exhibited her multimedia installations across Canada, USA, France, Germany, Spain, England, the Netherlands, Japan, Thailand, Philippines and China. Her works are in collections of Gemeente Museum, The Netherlands, Za Moca Foundation, Tokyo, Japan, Oakville Galleries, Canada, Windsor Art Gallery, Canada, Musée du Québec, Canada, Galeria Oliva Arauna, Spain, The Canada Council for the Arts Art BankArt Bank
The Art Bank is a division of the Canada Council for the Arts that rents works of art to public and private sector offices.Established in the 1970s the Art Bank buys art from notable Canadian artists through a system of peer review juries. The Bank continues to expand its collection, buying 52...
, MacDonald Stewart Art Center, Canada, Woodlawn Arts Foundation, Toronto, Canada and York University, Canada.
In 2002 Bélanger was commissioned to create public art
Public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
for the Bessarion subway station
Bessarion (TTC)
Bessarion is a station on the Sheppard line of the subway/RT system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 701 Sheppard Avenue East at Bessarion Road and Burbank Drive, and was opened in 2002. The station is, , the second least-used in the TTC’s subway network...
in Toronto. The work is a series of friezes of hands, feet and backs of heads, which represent the users of the station. The feet images appear on the concourse level while the heads appear on the platform level. The hand images appear along the stairs between the Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue is an east-west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A small portion of a continuation of the road in Pickering, Ontario is also called Sheppard Avenue.-History:...
side entrance/exit and the concourse.
In 2007, Bélanger was the Big Orbit Gallery summer artist in residence. During her residency she created the Multimedia installation Des fleurs pour décorer, which was inspired by the artists' loft. Through this framework, ideas of gentrification, leisure, interior design and art history are woven through the condominium as a new concept of urban living. Des fleurs pour décorer was simultaneously part of the Beyond/In Western New York 2007 Exhibition and installed at Big Orbit Gallery as a solo exhibition.
Bélanger is represented by Birch Libralato Gallery, Toronto, Canada.