Preserving the hidden history of Canadian contemporary art

Head up to the third floor of the multihyphenate cultural building known as the 2-22 and look for a simple, white-walled rotating exhibition space. Turn right and discover a passageway of moveable library stacks, each shelf lined with countless files. Walk through, and enter a bright reading room. Desktop computers sit ready for use alongside colourful volume and pamphlet displays.

This nonprofit contemporary art library, research centre, and exhibition space is known as Artexte.

Founded by Angela Grauerholz, Anne Ramsden, and Francine Périnet in 1980, it revolves around a simple mandate: Collect documentation on contemporary Canadian art from 1965 to today. Items must be public documents by professional artists (ie; at least one non-student exhibition).