In 1975, a small group of discontented members of the international art community in the Canadian province of Quebec posed the following question: ‘What do we know of contemporary art outside of Quebec, in Canada or abroad?‘

By way of an answer, the cutting-edge magazine Parachute was launched, founded by Chantal Pontbriand and France Morin.

Artists such as Jeff Wall, Bill Viola, Stan Douglas, and many others, had the first significant critical reception of their work in Parachute.

Similarly, figures such as Douglas Crimp, Hal Foster, Reesa Greenberg, and Laura Mulvey published highly pertinent essays in the journal early on in their careers.

The essays collected in this volume have been selected from the first 25 years of Parachute’s publication history and deal with museums, art history, and theory.