At the press preview for the Elektra Biennial, I got lost in an abandoned shopping mall, unable to find a mysterious intruder, with an avatar running in circles, unable to remember the combination for the FUN PALACE’s electronic lockbox.
And then, I gazed at the stars with a lover who abandoned me in the woods. And then I hung out in an 8-bit version of the Malartic mine. I felt really strange afterward, a little hypnotized by the intense, insidious emotion these art video games evoked. I’m not a “gamer”; I didn’t know it could be that intense.
“F(R)ICTION: ART AND GAMES” is the theme of this year’s Elektra Biennial. It’s the 8th Elektra Digital Art Biennial in 2026, and it’s taking place in the sublime, cavernous space of the Arsenal d’Art Contemporain in Saint-Henri.
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NOSTALGIA, ACTIVISM, SEX, AND THE HEART
Art video games—about forty of which are on display during the biennial (and which you can play, of course)—are, by definition, created by artists or video game developers. In both cases, the games convey messages, emotions, pain, and tenderness.
Video games, as the exhibition curators Lynn Hughes and Ida Toft point out, are a medium for artistic creation just like sculpture, music, and film. Their cultural significance and prominent place in international “pop culture” (video games are also played online) make them an indispensable and delightfully universal medium for artistic expression.
To learn more, the biennial also has a temporary library with books on media arts in Quebec, books on video games, and books on art games available for on-site reading.
Video game designers and artists use it to express themselves through colorful graphics, quests, and adventures that defy reality to create the space William Gibson—the father of cyberpunk—dreamed of.
The games on display at the Elektra Biennial span from the ’80s to the present, created by artists from all over the world. They explore trans identity, nostalgia, anxiety, the clitoris, the environment, and Katy Perry’s harrowing transformation from pop star to “cringe monster.”
In the end, there’s a sort of digital Stendhal syndrome.
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PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Where? Arsenal Art Contemporain, at 2020 William Street
When? October 15–November 15, 2026
/ Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 9
p.m. Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7
p.m. Last admission 1 hour before closing
What?
General admission: $25
Student and seniors 65+: $18
Ages 11–17: $12
Free for children 10 and under
*and you can come back as many times as you want upon presentation of your ticket
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