February 28–April 19, 2026
For seven weeks, from February 28 to April 19, 2026, the Québec City Biennial will transform the city into a veritable constellation of artworks presented in 41 venues across Québec City, Lévis, and beyond.
This 12th edition highlights the work of artists from Québec, Canada, and around the world, including Cozic, Jessie Kleemann, Jota Mombaça, Françoise Sullivan, Anouk Verviers, and Giorgia Volpe, along with many major and emerging talents from 18 countries, for a total of over 60 artists.
Diverse, committed, and bold programming
“With Briser la glace / Splitting Ice, I wanted to offer a poetic and political journey through winter.
For me, splitting ice is a physical, sensitive, and engaging act: a way of exploring the tension between our body and the frozen landscape in a world that has been shaken by climate change. Snow, ice, thaw, blizzards, dormant or turbulent waters... water in all of its states becomes a medium with which to create, perform, and sometimes resist.
How do we inhabit a warming planet? How can we relearn to become one with our environment?
My inspiration comes from the history of the land—from Françoise Sullivan’s Danse dans la neige to Lori Blondeau’s Lonely Surfer Squaw to contemporary art practices—to honour the intergenerational legacy of embodied practices.
The Biennial’s programming brings together artists who engage with natural elements, who assert their political identities and denounce the effects of patriarchy, colonisation, and extractivism on our ecosystems.
Through exhibitions, performances, narratives, installations, and public artworks, I invite the public to slow down, connect, and imagine new ways of being.”
—Didier Morelli, curator of Manif d’art 12—the Québec City Biennial
A biennial across 40 venues
At the heart of the Biennial, the central exhibition at Espace Quatre Cents serves as its main hub, presenting works by 17 artists across three floors. From the outset, visitors encounter this year’s theme through ILILIAQ, an emblematic work by Jessie Kleemann, shown for the first time in North America.
A key highlight of this edition: 35% of the works are newly produced specifically for Manif d’art 12, underscoring the Biennial’s commitment to creation and its active support of contemporary art.
The Biennial unfolds across the region, occupying 19 galleries and cultural venues in Québec City and Lévis, 4 public libraries, 14 temporary public art sites, and 3 partner museums in Québec.
Emerging artists are also foregrounded through exhibitions curated by four young curators mentored by Manif d’art.
The Biennial also highlights the work of emerging artists with exhibitions curated by Camille Biron, Dounia Bouzidi, Laurence Duchesne, and Ally Rosilio—four young curators mentored by Didier Morelli and the Manif d’art team. Together, they will present new and original exhibitions that offer a fresh perspective on the theme Briser la glace / Splitting Ice.
Activities for everyone
The programming will also include:
Nearly 30 creative workshops for families and school groups A series of lectures, conferences, and professional meet-ups A wide range of cultural mediation activities for all ages
Fully accessible
Most Biennial exhibitions and activities are free of charge. The central exhibition operates on a pay-what-you-can basis, while partner museums require paid admission.
The Biennial also offers a rich program of talks, workshops, performances and family-friendly activities, including programs for school groups, reflecting its commitment to accessibility and the democratization of art.
Free Sundays return on March 1 and April 5, 2026, with free access to the central exhibition, made possible through a partnership with Caisse d’économie solidaire Desjardins.
Major new collaborations and new areas to explore
In 2026, Manif d’art—The Québec City Biennial continues to strengthen its position in the Canadian cultural landscape through two major collaborations.
A new agreement with the Commission de la capitale nationale du Québec allows the addition of three exhibition venues and an expanded public art program, featuring exhibitions curated by Dounia Bouzidi and offering professional opportunities to emerging local artists and curators.
Manif d’art has also partnered with the National Gallery of Canada to support the Québec City presentation of a major project by performance art pioneer Sylvie Tourangeau, including three new site-specific performances across the region.
“The Biennial has the power to bring the art community together while generating tangible economic benefits for Québec City. At a time of year when there are few major events to enjoy, it captures national and international attention by transforming winter into a cultural high point.”
—Claude Bélanger, General and Artistic Director, Manif d’art
Artists
Joi T. Arcand, Catherine Arsenault, Pia Arke, Vanessa Bell, Maude Bernier Chabot, Jordan Bennett, Ludovic Boney, Lori Blondeau, Tania Candiani, Carolina Caycedo, Cozic, Couzyn van Heuvelen, Alexa Evangelista, Anna Ehrenstein et Sunny Pfalzer, María Ezcurra, Amélie Laurence Fortin, Glenn Gear, Carola Grahn, Maureen Gruben, Joyce Joumaa, Jessie Kleemann, Anchi Lin (Ciwas Tahos), Amy Malbeuf, Joiri Minaya, Jota Mombaça, Elias Nafaa, Minha Park, Oluseye, Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, Nicolas Renaud, Sabrina Ratté, Racquel Rowe, nibia pastrana santiago, Vicky Sabourin, Françoise Sullivan, Sylvie Tourangeau, Anouk Verviers, Giorgia Volpe, Judy Watson, Ali Yass.
About the Québec City Biennial
One of the largest contemporary art biennials in the country, Manif d’art—The Québec City Biennial is the only event of its kind in North America to take place in winter. Since the first Manif in 2000, more than 50 cultural organizations have helped shape it into a must-see cultural event for both curious first-timers and art enthusiasts.
About the curator
Didier Morelli is a curator, art historian, cultural critic, and interdisciplinary artist. He is a Scholar-in-Residence in the Curatorial Studies and Practices program at Concordia University and holds a postdoctoral fellowship from the Fonds de recherche du Québec—Société et culture (FRQSC), shared between Concordia University and the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA). His writing has been published in Art Journal, Canadian Theatre Review, C Magazine, CBC Arts, Esse, Spirale, and The Drama Review (TDR), among others.
