Philomène Longpré: $120,000 in tuition for rising artist

By Frank Kuin

You read it here first: Philomène Longpré, a promising young video artist from Montreal receiving her BFA from Concordia next week, is going places.

Her work, consisting of interactive video installations that explore the relation between an individual and a space, has already received many accolades and prizes. It has been exhibited in galleries in Montreal, Toronto, Albuquerque and Bangkok, with plans in the works for exhibits in France and in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Now, Longpré is preparing to move on to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the most the prestigious art schools in North America. Not only has she been accepted to pursue a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree there, she has also received the Trustee Scholarship that will pay for her full tuition. It is the highest merit award offered by the school, and worth about $120,000 Cdn.

Faculty members of the Art and Technology Studies department were “very enthusiastic” about her work, they said in a letter.

In Chicago, Philomène hopes to further explore the themes of communication between individuals in electronic arts, an area with many aspects, including technology, imagery, sound, and interactivity.

Her interest in the use of technology in art was cultivated at Concordia. Working with professors Bill Vorn and Wolfgang Krol, she discovered “technology as a new tool that opened up doors to almost unlimited possibilities.”

In one of her works, titled Octopus, a video of a person is projected onto a moving screen of vertical strips. Three different phases of the action, including a waiting period, are designed to provoke reactions from the spectators.

Students from Concordia, McGill and UQÀM came to see the work when it was shown at the Oboro Gallery recently. “There were all kinds of reactions. I was very surprised,” she said.

“Concordia was a really wonderful experience, because people were always helping me to continue my projects.”

Remember her name.