FIMAV History
The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV) is a cultural institution that has been celebrating creativity and artistic development since its inception in 1983. Held annually in Victoriaville, Quebec, the festival has gradually established itself as one of the most adventurous and forward-looking events in the fields of musique actuelle and and experimental arts. This success is the fruit of the bold vision of its founder, Michel Levasseur, and his team, as well as the passion of an audience that, for over 40 years, has come to discover new work that is bold, occasionally unsettling, but always stimulating.
FIMAV was launched in December 1983 by Productions Plateforme Inc. with a modest budget of $40,000 and an ambitious line-up that included Fred Frith (UK), Tom Cora (USA), and Canadian bands such as Carbone 14 and Mara. These first concerts, held from 1 to 4 December, marked the start of an adventure that was to shake up Victoriaville’s musical landscape. Initially held in December, the festival then moved to the autumn, during the Thanksgiving long weekend, before finding its definitive home in the spring, at the end of the Fête des Patriotes holiday, in tune with the local changes of season.
In 1985, FIMAV broadened its scope to become a truly international event. In 1990, the festival hosted no fewer than 24 concerts, bringing together artists from 12 countries and making it a not-to-be-missed event for fans of experimental music. Leading figures such as John Zorn, Cecil Taylor, Marilyn Crispell, René Lussier, and Jean Derome have performed at the festival several times, contributing to its growing reputation. FIMAV’s eclectic programming includes free jazz, improvised music performances, as well as groundbreaking cross-genre collaborations and musique actuelle new works. Les Disques Victo, the record label founded in 1987 by the FIMAV team, has become a means of disseminating these rare and avant-garde performances, helping to archive this oft-ephemeral music.
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Over the decades, FIMAV has diversified even further, including sound art installations in public spaces, experimental films, and visual arts exhibitions. Since 2017, programmes of experimental short films have enriched the festival’s artistic palette, allowing it to reinvent itself and attract a varied audience, always on the lookout for forms of expression. FIMAV is constantly interrogating the limits of contemporary art, bringing together artists and spectators in total sensory experiences.
The change of direction in 2023, with the arrival of Scott Thomson as the new Artistic and General Director, marks a turning point in the history of the festival. An accomplished trombonist and a major player on the Quebec music scene, Thomson brings a new vision to the festival, while remaining true to the founding spirit of FIMAV: boldness, innovation and the search for new kinds of musical expression. With an inclusive approach, he aims to further diversify musical genres, including more hip-hop and electronic music, while maintaining a strong focus on free and experimental music. His arrival is a real breath of fresh air, with plans to extend open-air concerts and shows aimed at younger audiences.
Throughout this history, FIMAV remains a unique artistic and social laboratory, an invitation to be unsettled by artistic works that question and defy convention, and propose perspectives. It’s a festival where the audience is part of the experience, actively contributing to the creation of the music on stage through their presence, attention, creative listening and goodwill.
FIMAV is vital not only for fans of experimental arts, but alos for anyone who wants to cultivate spaces for creativity and reflection. This festival is an invitation to explore the unconventional, to embrace destabilisation as a form of freedom, and to grow as listeners and as people.
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