The Gala de la Fondation SPACQ will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Sept. 29, 2025. For the occasion, legendary song lyrics have been turned into bona fide works of art, through a groundbreaking project, Les mots que l’on chante (The Words We Sing).
The idea is a simple, yet powerful one: invite 20 songwriters to hand-write an excerpt from a song that’s endured the test of time. These intimate fragments of the collective Québécois repertoire were then entrusted to visual artist Marc Séguin, who re-imagined them through a series of graphic interventions. The result is a collection of singular works, each text transformed into a vessel of memory and expression.
These creations have united several generations of artists. Among them are Gilles Vigneault, Daniel Bélanger, Ariane Moffatt, Michel Rivard, Robert Charlebois & Mouffe, Claude Dubois, Luc Plamondon, Richard Séguin, Paul Piché, Zachary Richard, Lise Aubut, Édith Butler, François Cousineau, Paul Daraîche, Yvon Deschamps, Clémence DesRochers, Louise Forestier, Daniel Lavoie, Pierre Lapointe and Luc De Larochelière. Together, they embody half a century of Québec song, from its timeless classics to its contemporary voices.
These works can be viewed for free in Montréal, first at the Québecor building until Sept. 18, 2025, then at Arsenal Contemporary Art from Sept. 19-30. They’ll simultaneously be sold through an online auction, with bids accepted until Sept. 30. All proceeds will go toward funding the SPACQ Foundation’s activities, which for nearly 20 years have supported the careers and visibility of local creators. To bid on one of the works at auction, visit https://www.mycause.bid//spacq.
“This auction is a way to share our collective memory, and invite the public to support emerging talent, and the creators of today and tomorrow, in a meaningful way,” said Diane Juster, founding president of the SPACQ Foundation.
The Gala evening will be held at Club St-James, hosted by Stéphane Archambault. It will close out the celebrations by bringing the music community together around creation, recognition, and the future.
By bringing together writing, visual art, and generosity, Les mots que l’on chante proves that a simple lyric can still move us, surprise us… and even change the world