This text is part of the special notebook Culture as a Gift
With the holiday season comes the perfect time of year to revisit our great museums and to discover Quebec’s new cultural spaces. That’s good: most offer special programming for the end-of-year holidays. Here is a series of exhibitions, activities and events to recommend, including several related to the Christmas theme. To see in town and in the region.
Montreal
McCord Stewart Museum
Holder of a formidable Canadian cultural heritage, the Montreal museum returns again this year with its famous mechanical Christmas windows representing mechanical stuffed animals in the heart of a Bavarian decor: Lthe enchanted village And The moulin in the forest. If the first is presented inside the museum, the second is exhibited outside, at the corner of Sherbrooke and Victoria streets, pedestrianized during the Holidays. These display cases, from the famous German manufacturer Steiff, had been in front of Maison Ogilvy since 1947 when Holt Renfrew bequeathed them to the McCord Stewart Museum in 2018 to ensure their longevity. A new feature presented this year: a superb doll’s castle called Prom night at the castlewhich depicts an 18th century balle century.
As for entertainment, the McCord Stewart Museum perpetuates the tradition, from November 25 to January 7, with Les Fêtes au Musée, a range of activities for families to highlight the magic of this time of year. On the program, several events are organized in connection with the theme of exhibitions presented at the museum, notably the brand new collaborative Holiday showcase, which allows children to create a winter landscape inspired by the works of the painter Duncan and the showcases of Christmas (from November 25 on Saturdays and Sundays and every day from December 23 to January 7, continuously from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.).
Also, the Museum offers participatory family guided tours of the exhibition. Montreal in the making. Duncan, painter of the 19e century (from December 2 on Saturdays and Sundays and every day from December 23 to January 7, at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.), a wampum making workshop — an accessory used by First Nations to materialize words given (Saturday, December 30 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.) — and a creative workshop, led by illustrator Charlotte Parent about the fauna and flora of Nitassinan (Saturday, December 23 and Sunday, January 7 from 10 a.m. 30 to 12 p.m.). These activities are offered free of charge (with the purchase of a ticket for the guided tours) and without reservation: first come, first served! Like every year, the Museum is organizing, in partnership with the Social Center for Immigrant Assistance (CSAI), a toy drive from December 16 to 31 for families newly arrived in Montreal.
Pointe-à-Callière
Saint Lawrence River, echoes from the shores
The third largest river in North America and the backbone of Quebec, the St. Lawrence speaks to all Quebec residents and to many others who, one day, had the chance to discover it during a getaway. In ten captivating stages and through 300 objects from numerous collections, the exhibition lists numerous themes associated with it such as transport, shipbuilding, wrecks, navigation, environmental issues, historical battles, fishing, leisure and vacations. Works of art, archival documents, testimonies and image projections magnificently complete the collection. An exploration to reclaim the majesty of our river. Presented from November 30, 2023 to March 3, 2024.
Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art
Creative moments: workshops for adults
This Montreal institution is offering, from the end of November, Creative Moments for adults to bring out the artist in you. In connection with the exhibition Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot’s Russiathe collective of Moscow subversive artists, the workshop Show your voice invites the public to take part in the creation of a mural inspired by current events. Other workshops will be offered in 2024. Offered Tuesday, November 28 and Wednesday, November 29, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Françoise Sullivan. “I let the rhythms flow”
This multidisciplinary artist, and signatory of the Overall refusal in 1948, was born just 100 years ago in Montreal. To mark its centenary in grand style, the MMFA pays tribute to her formidable contribution to modern art and dance with a selection of recent paintings taking her famous diptych as an anchor: Homage to Paterson (2003), presented at the MMFA during a retrospective dedicated to Sullivan in 2003. Always active and engaged, she continues her work which spans several disciplines: painting, sculpture, performance and photography. Presented until February 18, 2024.
Montreal Science Center
Inspiring nature, inspired techno. Biomimicry and transport
Drawing inspiration from the living universe to innovate in a sustainable way: this is the principle of biomimicry, a promising scientific approach which took off in the 1990s. The Montreal center dedicated to multidisciplinary sciences reviews some of of its variations through several interactive zones. We learn in particular that certain animals who have mastered the ability to avoid collisions inspire the detection technologies of so-called “smart” cars. An exhibition to understand complex mechanisms while having fun. As a combo, we can continue with the exhibition of the Humorous Photography Prizes on Wildlife, which compiles around sixty photos taken by amateur and professional wildlife photographers. These are presented for the first time in Canada in the form of an exhibition. Until March 24, 2024.
Quebec
Museum of Civilization
35 years of emotions
To mark its 35th anniversary, the MCQ is offering the public a retrospective of the 35 most notable exhibitions in its history. From 1988, the year the museum was created, until 2023, this exhibition offers, among other episodes, a journey through the daily lives of Quebecers (Memoirs), the relationship with nature (Territories. Quebec in every sense) or the link to leisure (Free time). An invitation to discover — and rediscover — objects taken from the 35 unique collections that have left their mark on so many visitors over the years. Presented until March 31, 2024. During the Holidays, the Museum offers families the free show Bring tomorrow. A better world (December 26 to 31, 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.), free cookie decorating workshop (December 26 to 31, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.), postcard creation workshop (December 26 to January 7, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.).
Ottawa
National Gallery of Canada
Nick Sikkuark. Humor and horror
The Inuit artist, originally from Nunavut, stood out until his death in 2013 for his tremendous inventiveness through his paintings, sculptures and original drawings. The Ottawa museum pays tribute to him in this retrospective which showcases his dreamlike, even fantastical worlds, through 100 intriguing works. On display until March 24, 2024. The NGC also presents the works of the winners of the 2023 Scotiabank New Generation Photographers Prize (PNGP), which demonstrate visual representations of the body, identity, culture and history . On display until January 7, 2024. Finally, every weekend in December, the Museum offers families a Creation Space to make and decorate a landscape lantern (free activity with admission ticket).
Nicolet
Museum of World Cultures
Fantastic stories. Myths and legends from our region
An exhibition that recounts the tales and legends of Quebec: this should please young and old children alike during this holiday season. This museum, dedicated to tangible and intangible heritage, explores culture in all its forms as it is expressed in Quebec and around the world. This exhibition immerses visitors in a magical imagination that draws its roots from the folklore of La Belle Province. Presented until January 14, 2024.
Trois-Rivières
POP Museum
Onward to the music… of Christmas!
An insatiable witness to the evolution of Quebec society, this museum offers a storytelling activity during the holidays Onward to the music… of Christmas! for children aged 4 to 8. The story tells how a child manages to make musical instruments in time for Christmas (gazes and maracas). A workshop follows during which the children are invited to make their own musical instrument. The activity takes place on weekends (December 9, 10, 16, 17 and 23 at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.). Paying, upon reservation.
Rimouski
Rimouski Regional Museum
Awakening. Andreas Rutkauskas
The artist from Winnipeg explores the transformation of the landscape through photographs and videos, under the effect of technological phenomena or natural disasters. His exhibition Awakening bears witness to the devastation caused by the fires of recent years in Western Canada, but also to the capacity of the forest to rise from its ashes. By targeting the restorative function of forest fires, this photographer conveys the formidable resilience of nature. If the purpose of this collection is based on science, the artist’s approach is resolutely poetic: the exhibition is accompanied by a new text on this theme, signed by the poet Annie Landreville. Presented until February 4, 2024.
During the holidays, visits to the exhibitions with Santa Claus and creative workshops and crafts for children are scheduled on weekends (December 9 and 10, December 16 and 17), from 10 a.m.
Odanak
Abenaki Museum
Nikotwaso
Attikamek artist Catherine Boivin takes up the theme of circularity to feature six women in traditional clothing running in a circle to illustrate the different facets of their existence. Above all, the work aims to represent the cycles of violence that they face. This is Catherine Boivin’s very first solo exhibition. Presented until March 3, 2024.
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