This text is part of the Summer of Museums special booklet
Through four temporary exhibitions, the institution on Sherbrooke Street announces the color: diversity of voices and inclusion, dialogue between eras and multidisciplinarity.
“The summer program is inclusive, varied and relevant to our current period. It’s a program that brings a new perspective on the history of art and on our society,” explains Mary-Dailey Desmarais, chief curator of the Museum.
On the program for the next few months, four exhibitions, two of which are already on display. Nicholas Party. purple hour (until October 16) addresses the representation of nature in the history of art and the relationship of humans with it, whether hostile or welcoming, synonymous with adventure or danger. The young Swiss-born artist created bespoke murals, incorporating works from the 16th century into his work.and to the XXand century from the Museum’s collection. “This gesture allows us to question what we think we know about art history, to see our collections with new eyes; it’s part of the Museum’s vision,” adds the curator. The exhibition, in a multidisciplinary approach, is set to song by Quebec musician Pierre Lapointe.
Also on view until July 10, the first exhibition in Canada by New Yorker Adam Pendleton, What we did together. A major figure of his time, very socially engaged, the avant-garde multidisciplinary artist combines painting, drawing, writing, in a mix between formal and conceptual that questions the relationship between the individual and the collective, theme him also very topical.
Show the invisible
From June 15 to August 28, Montreal artist Stanley Juillet will deploy his art installation, or “nomadic museum”, within the MMFA. Museum of Current Art / Department of Invisibles (MAADI). This conceptual work aims to shine a light on marginalized artists, who are less frequently found in cultural institutions. February takes a critical look at the world of art, a place of power, which shows just as much as it makes certain artists invisible.
As explained by M.me Desmarais, “this work forces us to face up to the shortcomings of our museum collections, the inequalities within cultural institutions. At the MMFA, we don’t just want to talk, we want to act in the face of a certain lack of inclusiveness within our walls. Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done, but by programming this exhibition, by showcasing the extraordinary artists February has brought together, many of whom are based in Montreal, we are taking a step in the right direction”.
Finally, the collective exhibition Interior views. Portraits of the inhabited space will open on 1er June, for an entire year, and touches on a highly topical theme: the interior, this place that has become synonymous with confinement, for better or for worse. Through some sixty works from the MMFA’s collection, by Quebec and Canadian artists in particular, the exhibition will take us through different interiors, concrete or psychological spaces, to reveal to us the thousand and one possible facets: place of creation, intimacy, reflection…
As summarized by Mary-Dailey Desmarais, this summer program and the following ones are designed to welcome a multiplicity of perspectives and voices. The approach this summer is contemporary, but not limited to it.
“Yes, this year, the program promises to be very contemporary: we wanted to bring a fresh, innovative and truly inclusive look with concrete gestures of openness. But the present also dialogues with the past in works like those of Party, which invites us to look differently at the historical masterpieces in the collection. How to make the art of the past relevant to our contemporaneity? How to encourage the public to discover new stories in the history of art, to ask themselves questions about museum shortcomings, about these stories that are not told? These are the questions we are asking ourselves and this summer’s programming shows our desire to include a plurality of new perspectives on the contemporary and on the historical. »
The rest of the summer program (activities, events) had not yet been revealed at the time of going to press, with the exception of the return of artistic creation workshops, traditional or digital, for all ages. But the Museum is preparing surprises for its public, both within its walls and in the street: keep an eye out!