How to establish the Blue Spaces, these 17 museums of Quebec pride, without destabilizing the fragile network of regional museums that already exist? This question has been plaguing the community since the launch of the project in June 2020. The Musée de la civilization finally answered it last Thursday, by unveiling the first part of its work plan. Copy on paper, this plan has not yet calmed the resistance of heritage circles and museums, still strong.
The Blue Spaces are now “cultural hubs, not museums”. Ana-Laura Baz, director of development and innovation at the Musée de la civilization de Québec (MCQ), made this clear from the outset during a round table organized by the Heritage Institute of UQAM. The duty was there.
Mme Baz responded with great openness and transparency to the many questions and criticisms of the participants regarding this project-legacy propelled by the will of Prime Minister François Legault, and endowed with an envelope of $259 million.
In these non-museums, therefore, “a participatory experience that develops capacities: identities, pride and creativity, individual, regional and Quebec” will be lived. All anchored in “a museology of emotion”, to cultivate “feelings of belonging”, pride and “self-confidence in the visitor”. “We are really on the feeling of development of the person, affirmed Mme Baz, not at all in politics. »
consult first
The MCQ had stated, from the launch of the project, its desire to work in real collaboration with the regions. How to do it remained unknown. This will be by setting up advisory committees of a dozen people per region.
There will be the regional directorate of the Ministry of Culture and Communications (MCC), the regional cultural council, the sector’s museum group, indigenous representatives, the Tourist Office and the archives center of National Libraries and Archives. of Quebec. Community organizations, regional county municipalities (RCMs), CEGEPs, innovation companies, etc. could be added.
The MCQ, as Mr.me Baz, knows that the question of what will be exhibited in the Blue Spaces is on everyone’s lips. “We don’t want to start thinking about exhibition concepts before the advisory committees have all been created. We first consider the global network. »
If at first we presented the Blue Spaces as an opportunity to highlight the MCQ collection, now we also think of highlighting those of the regional museums, and also the collections of the other state museums (Musée d’art Contemporary, National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec).
Since the launch, Prime Minister François Legault has named the figures of Ginette Reno, Bruny Surin or Serge Savard as being for him essentials to present in the Blue Spaces. Can the MCQ avoid these suggestions? “When you make announcements ahead of a project, it’s hard to say what will be in it,” replied the MCQ representative.
“It is an evocation, detailed Mme Baz, that does not mean that it will be present in the project. At the MCQ, there has never been any interference in the content, neither from the MCC nor from the government, and there are no indications so far that it would be different. And we trust. »
Cynic reviews
Several questions asked by heritage and museum specialists present at Mme Baz were highly critical, if not downright cynical. Was this opposition a coincidence of the moment? “The resistance of the middle is more important than what we hear at the moment. There’s no doubt about it,” replied confidentially to the Homework an observer of the environment.
The recent sale of Maison Chevalier to the Tanguay Group has also seriously undermined the credibility of the MCQ with regard to its potential management of the built heritage. A problem in the project, since it is the museum that will become the owner of the listed buildings that we want to rehabilitate.
“It is certain that seeing the Blue Spaces arrive in the region is a concern, also recognized Mme Baz. What if — I ask the question in all candor — it was a generator? A trigger? What if we got together to go further? To consolidate? To work better together and throughout the territory? If it gave us the spark to better support our sectors? »
Étienne Frenette, from the History and Archeology Society of Témiscouata, asked in return if a region could refuse a Blue Space, and what is this collaboration if this choice is not real. “You will understand that this question is really not my responsibility,” replied Mr.me Baz.