This text is part of the Summer of Museums special booklet
As part of its 100and anniversary, the establishment offers several exhibitions and special events this summer. Overview.
Alexander Henderson. art and nature
Starting June 10, the McCord Museum will present for the first time a retrospective dedicated to Canadian photographer of Scottish origin Alexander Henderson. The establishment also has the largest collection in the world of works by the artist who arrived in Montreal in 1855.
While photographers of his time specialized mostly in portraits, Henderson instead turned his lens to Canadian nature. “He is considered one of the first landscape photographers in Canada,” says Hélène Samson, curator at the McCord Museum. He thus captured on film the surroundings of Montreal, the Laurentians, the Eastern Townships and other panoramas across the country.
In addition to making known the work of Alexander Henderson, the exhibition also hopes to bring a reflection on the colonial point of view that he had within the framework of his activity. “I wanted to put his work in historical context and show how his vision is dependent on his position as a privileged, British settler,” explains Ms.me Samson.
Along with the exhibition, the Museum will publish a book containing photos of the artist.
JJ Levine. Queer photographs
Traditional binary genres are challenged in three series by Montreal photographer JJ Levine. More than 50 portraits portray queer subjects in daily life. The artist began his project in 2006 and continues his work today.
The first series, queer portraits, remains unfinished to this day. It shows different queer members of JJ Levine’s entourage in their family environment. The image of the poster is also an unpublished photo taken by JJ Levine especially for the exhibition at the McCord Museum.
Alone Time explores the universe of heterosexual couples where a subject interprets both male and female characters. To do this, the photographer combined two images into one using digital technology.
Finally, the series Switch stages heterosexual couples where each subject slips into the skin of a man, the time of a photo, and into that of a woman on another. “It’s fascinating because you wonder how the same person can look both masculine and feminine at the same time,” says Ms.me Samson.
Until September 18, 2022
Niap. Piqutiapiit
Paying homage to the work of the Inuit in the past is what Niap, originally from Kuujjuaq, wanted to do through her ancestral beadwork wall piece.
Real name Nancy Saunders, the artist in residence at the museum was inspired by the amauti, a coat worn by women in the Far North to keep their babies with them. Her creation is the centerpiece of the exhibition, which brings together different tools traditionally used by Inuit women to make their clothes. Thus, the ulu, a women’s knife, rubs shoulders with the scrapers, needles and thimbles used by the Inuit for their clothing.
Until August 21, 2022
Indigenous voices today. Knowledge, trauma, resilience
The permanent exhibition of the museum is part of a perspective of reconciliation by giving voice to the Aboriginal communities of the province. Thus, there are more than 80 testimonials, as well as videos of members of the 11 nations of Quebec.
Divided into three stages, the exhibition examines the ancestral knowledge of the First Nations, then highlights the impacts of colonialism on the communities, then the resilience of today’s Aboriginal peoples.
The establishment has selected a hundred objects from its collection with a new approach. “It’s a way of approaching history and giving voice to communities. We want to show the complexity and vitality of Aboriginal communities,” says the head of educational, civic and cultural action at the McCord Museum, Maria-Luisa Romano.
Events all summer
The museum will mark National Indigenous Peoples Day with several activities on the program. Thus, events on the garden and the plants used by the First Nations will take place this summer.
The museum’s Urban Forest will also offer a series of concerts by artists from diverse backgrounds, every Wednesday lunchtime.
For the family, there will be take care of my cityworkshops that encourage reflection on the issue, as well as Caring for our stories in Montrealcitizen co-construction workshops for an audience of all ages presented in collaboration with the organization Je suis Montréal, where participants will be able to discover the stories of Chinese, Afro-descendant and Aboriginal communities.