March 30, 2018 at 2:00pm

MIRED IN DEBT, BIENNALE DE MONTRÉAL FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Wrestling with debt mounted during its 2016 edition, the Biennale de Montréal has filed for bankruptcy, reports Leah Sandals of Canadian Art. According to documents from February that were attained by Canadian Art, the biennial owes roughly $160,000 to thirty-three creditors that include art movers and handlers, Sutton PR, and the organization’s own accounting firm, among others. Full disclosure: Artforum is also owed money by the biennial. The greatest amount is due to the Montreal-based art transportation company PACART, which is waiting for nearly $70,000 it earned in 2016. After the sum to PACART, the most substantial debts listed are owed to the Renaissance Montreal Centre-Ville Hotel, New York’s Sutton PR, and the accounting firm Desjardins. After partnering with the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in 2013, the ambitious international biennial seemed poised for global success. But the two-decade-old event canceled its 2018 edition due to the deficit racked up during its 2016 exhibition, though it had still maintained plans for a 2020 program.

The biennial’s board has not issued a statement, but a February 27 report released by Deloitte—the bankruptcy trustee for biennial creditors—sketches out the reasons for the organization’s insolvency: “Since the 2016 fiscal year, the [biennial] has not been not able to create the balanced budget required to produce its events. According to its leadership, the realm of philanthropy is very competitive and projects needing support are numerous; the financing for the production of these fixed-cost events therefore represents a significant challenge. In the months leading up to its bankruptcy, [the biennial] was thus unable to generate the income necessary to sustain its events via fundraising campaigns and individual outreach.”

Although it was reported last summer that many artists were still awaiting payment six months after the 2016 biennial, none are listed on the official document as creditors; Canadian Art noted that several of them told the publication they had been paid later in 2017 after multiple follow-ups with the organization.