Exploring the relation between sound and matter, the company "14 lieux" harbours the peculiar creations of multidisciplinary artist Martin Messier and of his collaborators coming from many horizons.

Shrugging off the frontiers between disciplines, the company challenged itself in 2010 to put sound first on the scene and to develop scenic works of art where electroacoustic music, numeric art, performance, installation and dance dialogue with each other.

“When I created 14 lieux, I took the gamble that it is possible to listen to works of art perceived by the eye and to see sounds we hear. Sound can be much more than just a support for staging: it can be staged itself. Nowadays, I see the exploration of the body and of matter as a stimulating and innovative source of inspiration. My next installative, choreographic or performative creations will highlight and put intrigue on the human body, give it another way to be seen and heard. A new cycle of creation begins.”
- Martin Messier

Each production, declined either in performance or musical installation; dance or sound object, feeds into the desire itself to push back the boundaries of the daily realm of imagination by reinventing objects’ functions or day to day movements.

From Sewing Machine Orchestra (2010), a sewing machine installation/concert, to Corps morts (2017), a soundly reflection and a choreography on gravity, by way of Field (2015), a performance of electromagnetic sounds, or even Ashes (2017), finding a way around our perceptions of the living through a scenic device composed of cameras and microscopes, 14 lieux’s creations explore the meanders of the numeric and of the organic and offer the spectator a way to live art differently.

14 lieux’s creations have been presented across the world in more than twenty countries and in many prestigious international festivals such as the Festival TransAmériques (Montréal), Mutek (Montréal), Transmediale (Berlin), Sonar (Barcelone), Mapping Festival (Genève), Nemo (Paris) and the Festival Europa (Rome).

2022
Athens Digital Art Festival, 2nd prize, Greece

2015
Jury’s selection at Japan Media Awards (Boîte noire)

2014
Awardee of the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Prize for his entire body of work presented by the Conseil des arts du Canada to mid-career artists

2013
Awardee of the “Meilleur court-métrage expérimental” prize at Lausanne Film Festival in Switzerland (Autoportrait; Con Presto, con amore)

2012
Nomination at Prix Opus in the following categories: “Création de l’année” and “Concert de l’année” (Sewing Machine Orchestra)
Nomination at Prix Opus for “Disque de l’année” (24 frames)

2011
Jury’s selection at Japan Media Art Awards in Japan (La chambre des machines)

Élie Blanchard, cocreator of project Ashes.
Anne-Thériault, choreography and interpret for Con Grazia and Derrière le rideau il fait peut-être nuit
Nicolas Bernier, cocreators of projects La chambre des machines and machine_variation
Caroline Laurin-Beaucage, choreography and interpret for projects Soak et Hit and Fall
Thomas Payette, scenography of projects Field, Boîte noire and Con Grazia
Jonathan Villeneuve, scenography of project machine_variation
Jacques Poulin-Denis, cocreator of Pencil Project

Artistic Director : Martin Messier
Development director : Abigaëlle Parisé
Creative Assistant and technical Coordinator : Lilian Guiran
Support by «The Machinery»
Administrative support : Ingrid Vallus, Sylvie Lavoie
Agent : Tallieu Art Office / Ischa Tallieu

President : Mélanie Carbonneau [Assistant to the Co-Executive Direction and Artistic Direction, FTA]
Vice-President : Fabien Marcil [Programming coordinator - FTA]
Secretary : Joel Lavoie [Project Manager - Just for laughs]
Treasurer : Alexandre Ferland [CPA - EYP-Turnaround & Restructuring Strategy]
Administrator : Lydia Yaknowsky [Economic Advisor, City of Montreal Housing Department]
Administrator : Martin Messier 

14 lieux wants to thank the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Conseil des arts du Canada for their financial support.