An art history professor at Cégep Marie-Victorin in Montreal recently contacted the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) to take his students there for a group visit in September, but he was replied to wait until October, when post-secondary student group tours would become chargeable. He therefore launched a petition to challenge the proposed pricing of the museum.
“Following the launch of my petition, the museum finally offered me to visit the exhibition for free with my students in September, but I have other colleagues who were told that it was not possible, and d ‘wait until October,’ says Christophe Scott, painter and art historian. His petition, launched less than a week ago, has more than 450 signatures.
Contacted by The duty, the museum replies that this is a “misunderstanding” and that “no change to group pricing is planned”. For his part, Mr. Scott affirms that his colleagues are waiting for answers, while some are being refused access to free visits for September: “The education community is still waiting for a clear and official answer on the fact that this will remain free. »
Moreover, the last message that Mr. Scott received from the museum, three days ago, indicated that a “new procedure and pricing are coming for group reservations”.
“Many students have never been to the museum in their lives, it is important that they have access to the institution’s encyclopedic collections, which are unique in Quebec,” says Mr. Scott.
The professor also insists on the financial precariousness of his students and schools: “Some students come from disadvantaged backgrounds […], and schools, CEGEPs in particular, often have difficulty finding funds for all kinds of cultural activities. »
“Reducing access to young people” for a few years
Mr. Scott also denounces “a set of other means put in place in recent years to reduce access to the permanent collections of the MMFA to young people under thirty and to students of all ages”, such as wrote in his petition.
Indeed, since 2019, exhibitions from the museum’s permanent collection have only been free for people aged 0 to 20, whereas between 2014 and 2019, young people aged 30 and under had free access. “There have been changes in this direction for several years,” says Mr. Scott, who was also a receptionist at the museum, between 2016 and 2018, during his studies.
Remember that until 2014, the MMFA’s permanent collection was even free for visitors of all ages. Today, admission to the museum for those aged 31 and over costs $24, while those aged 21 to 30 have access for $16. Pricing, however, remains “subject to change without notice,” the museum says on its website.