The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (, MACM) is a

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

museum in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

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. It is located on the Place des festivals in the Quartier des spectacles and is part of the Place des Arts complex. Founded in 1964, it is Canada's first museum devoted to contemporary art. Initially housed in the

Place Ville-Marie Place Ville Marie (, abbr. PVM) is a large office and shopping complex skyscraper in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, comprising four office buildings and an underground shopping plaza. The main building, 1 Place Ville Marie (formerly Royal B ...

, the museum moved into the premises of the Château Dufresne in 1965, followed by an exhibition gallery from

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

in 1968. In 1992, the museum moved to its current premises at Place des Arts in Montreal.

History

The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal was founded in 1964 by the Quebec government. The MACM was the first institution in Canada devoted exclusively to contemporary art. Before moving to its current location, the Museum was housed in three different locations: at

from 1964 to 1965, the Château Dufresne from 1965 to 1968, and at

's International Fine Arts Exhibition at the

Cité du Havre Cité du Havre () is a neighbourhood in the borough of Ville-Marie of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located on a narrow man-made peninsula, the Mackay Pier (''Jetée Mackay''), which was largely built to protect the Old Port of Montr ...

Art Gallery, from 1968 to 1992. In 1983, the museum changed its status: it became an independent corporation managed by a

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

. In 1983, an international

architectural competition An architectural competition is a type of design competition, in which an entity that intends to build new work, or is just seeking ideas, invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning scheme is usually chosen by an independent panel ...

was held to choose the design of the new building to house the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. Over one hundred firms entered the competition. Jodoin Lamarre Pratte & Associés was selected as the winning architectural firm in 1984. On May 28, 1992, the museum opened in its new location at Place des Arts in

Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...

. The museum is now part of the largest cultural complex in Canada, which combines the performing arts and visual arts. At the inauguration of its new building, close to 20,000 people visited the museum on May 29 and 30, 1992. Following the move to downtown Montreal, Quebec artist Geneviève Cadieux designed a photographic work, '' La Voie lactée''. The work is a closeup photograph of a pair of

lips The lips are a horizontal pair of soft appendages attached to the jaws and are the most visible part of the mouth of many animals, including humans. Mammal lips are soft, movable and serve to facilitate the ingestion of food (e.g. sucklin ...

, installed on the roof of the building. In June 2017, in response to criticism that the museum was closed on itself and did not fit well in the newly established Quartier des spectacles the MACM announced a contest to redesign and extend the Place des Arts venue. In April 2018, the Saucier+Perrotte Architectes / GLCRM & Associés Architectes proposal was selected. In 2021, the museum moved into a temporary location at Place Ville-Marie for the duration of the redevelopment project.

Collection

Four rooms are reserved for exhibitions of the collection, featuring works reflecting the significant trends of contemporary art. It includes works by Quebec, Canadian and international artists. Four other rooms are dedicated to temporary exhibitions. The collection includes over 7,000 works of art by more than 1,500 artists (1,200 still living), focusing on contemporary art from Quebec in particular and Canada in general, as well as important international artists. Its collections include contemporary paintings, sculptures, photographs, installation, video and works on paper. The museum is Canada's only cultural complex devoted to both contemporary performing and

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

. The museum has a significant collection of work by Montreal artist Betty Goodwin (1923-2008). The museum was a member of the ''AMICO'' consortium.

References

External links

Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal
(in French an
English
* http://abstraction.macm.org/ On April 24, 2009
Les Printemps du MAC
a committee of young professionals, organized Abstraction; an evening where over 700 people under 40 came out to the MAC to celebrate art. {{authority control Museums in Montreal Contemporary art galleries in Canada Modern art museums Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal Art museums and galleries in Quebec Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal Art museums and galleries established in 1964 Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal