That's it, the Warehouse is Open!


October 29, 2015 - ENOAC opens its public interface today with over 2384 artistic works by Quebec artists working in the fields of Visual Arts, Stage Design,Illustration and Crafts. Complementing these works are some 3594 related documents.

The Contemporary Art Digital Warehouse (Entrepôt numérique d'oeuvres artistiques contemporaines) will continue to expand its content with the participation of a growing number of artists. The project is in constant evolution. Ultimately, researchers will be able to view the full content on each of the artists.


The Origin

In 2012, in the context of the economic, media and societal changes caused by virtual media, four associations of artists joined forces to create a digital library bringing together contemporary Quebec works in visual arts, crafts, stage design and illustration.

The Association des professionnels des arts de la scène du Québec (APASQ), the Conseil des métiers d'art du Québec, (CMAQ) Illustration Québec (IQ) and the Regroupement des artistes en arts visuels du Québec (RAAV) have launched this daunting and exciting project.

Whether in Stage Design, Visual Arts, Illustration or Crafts, works currently found online are usually in the websites of creators or those of museums and other promoters. Images are thus dispersed in the virtual world or are documented little or not at all. Moreover, they don't create income for the artists.

To access the works, teachers and researchers must undertake painstaking research contacting each creator to obtain the necessary permissions for the use of their images. These often time consuming steps may be prohibitive and consequently users often prefer to use foreign sites where Québec artists are generally absent .

The ENOAC platform offers Quebec creators the necessary visibility for their career development, here and abroad while opening doors to remuneration for the various uses made of their images.

Digital documentation takes an important place that is constantly growing in the budgets of university and public institutions throughout North America and around the world. In these networks and among art lovers, there is a substantial pool of users and subscribers interested in contemporary artistic creation.


The Public Interface

The first two phases of the project culminated in the official arrival on the Internet of ENOAC's public interface.

The first phase established the foundations of the administrative structure,and developed the internal IT structure enabling the uploading of images by the first group of participating artists from the four associations.

The second phase focused on creating the public interface that now allows users to browse the site to discover the works and perform basic research.

This public space allows viewing of ten works by each of the contributing artists. The Warehouse already has 276 registered artists, 2384 works and 3594 documents.

Ultimately, the ENOAC will allow subscribers to view the full content of each of the artists including all of their works, related documents and images. Crossing data to facilitate extensive research will be possible.


What's Coming Up

ENOAC's third phase focusing on the development of the Subscribers Section will continue in the coming months

It will focus on 1) data enrichment through the integration of a greater number of artists, 2) the development of access and services for different type of users, 3) the installation of the IT infrastructure supporting research modules, 4) as well as a subscription service supported by a secure transaction system.


The Artists

The IT platform of the warehouse is created by René St-Pierre who developed the Archiv'ART platform, an integrated document management software intended to meet different needs related to documentation, archiving, research, dissemination and cultural mediation, for different customers of the arts, culture and education communities.

We wanted to create in a classical style a visual presentation of refined and excellent readability. The graphic presentation is the work of Isabelle Guérette, graphic designer.

The enrichment of the documentary wealth of the digital warehouse is crucial to the success of the project. The critical mass of artists and works availlable to the viewers will ensure its attractiveness for researchers, customers and potential partners. The conditions of participation are there to ensure the quality of the digital warehouse's content.

While being a self-promotional tool for artists, ENOAC depends primarily on their participation. They are both the creators of their works and the content suppliers of ENOAC, they archive and publish the documentation made available to the public.

Artists carry out the selection and digitization of their works and upload them with the related documentation. They complete their profile and portfolio in ENOAC within the parameters of the platform. Most of the work is done by the artists who are the first players in ENOAC. In second place, but equally important, are the users of the platform, you art lovers, collectors, art historians and academics.

ENOAC's partners would like to thank the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec for its financial support to the first two phases of the project.