Experience Québec
Society for Arts and Technology
Binary refinery
Over the years, Montréal has emerged as the North American hub of digital creation. The Cité du multimédia, a stone’s throw from Old Montréal, perfectly exemplifies the movement: from video games to motion graphics, it’s where top firms working in the digital domain have chosen to set up shop. If Montréal has become the Mecca of electronic art, the Société des arts technologiques is its temple. Portrait of an art space where binary meets extraordinary!
Poised at the cutting edge of technology, Québec’s largest city is a cauldron where clubs, DJs, record shops, festivals, galleries, academia and multimedia are distilled into a singular cultural brew. In this climate of artistic effervescence, fusion takes precedence over any language issues. Montréal’s artistic activity is in real ferment when it comes to the electronic arts. 
Located in the heart of the Quartier des spectacles, the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT) is a transdisciplinary centre dedicated to research, creation, production, presentation, education and conservation in the field of digital culture.The techno-watch of tomorrow
The SAT was founded in 1996 on the heels of the International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA95). “The day after the event, which had drawn 1,200 participants, everything was supposed to be over. Except that, on the night of June 6, 1996, we decided to ensure a permanent resource for the electronic arts. And that’s how the SAT came into being,” recalls Monique Savoie, the SAT’s director. Artistic incubator for emerging technologies
Digital from the get-go, the SAT had no need to go “high-tech” … it was already there. Its team is young and educated and for many of them, the SAT is their first job. “That’s good, because we did it all for them,” says Savoie. 
A cultural hub, the SAT brings together researchers and creators working with digital technologies through its various programs—a process that fosters artistic creation, scientific advances and knowledge transfer. The SAT works to establish strategic alliances and partnerships with cultural organizations, educational institutions and industry, promoting its members both at home and abroad. As a measure of its success, the SAT has unquestionably emerged as a world-class facility for digital art.Cultural brew
The SAT—which is both a meeting place and a framework for developing innovative projects—encourages reflection on issues related to the use of new technologies. The diversity of its clientele is proof of its singular status and exceptional ability to bridge cultural, academic and industrial interests.
Since its inception, the SAT has hosted, produced or co-produced over 1,200 events related to current issues in digital culture in its performance space. It brings together over 6,000 artists, many of whom are young and enjoy enviable national and international visibility. Through its alliances and partnerships, the SAT highlights local artists and sows appreciation for them among the general public. To date, the SAT has drawn over 200,000 visitors.
| The SAT at a glance |
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Digital day camps during school breaks André Quenneville
2008-06-19
