With a collection of more than 7,000 works of contemporary art, Montreal’s Museum of Contemporary Art/Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) is at the heart of a culturally vibrant quarter. Located on the Place des Arts, the museum has played an integral part of the complex since its opening in 1964.
The Québec government recently announced changes related to COVID-19 which includes the reopening of selected spaces throughout the providence, including the MAC. Starting Wednesday, February 10, the MAC will be open Wednesday to Sunday from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. Pre-arrival online time-slotted reservations are required and numerous safety measures are in place at the museum.
For more than fifty years, this vibrant museum has presented local and international artists to an ever-growing public. It is also a place of discovery, offering visitors experiences that are continually changing, new, and often unexpected and stirring. In fact, this is the only museum in Canada dedicated exclusively to modern art.
“I am absolutely delighted with this announcement, which shines a real ray of hope for the future,” said John Zeppetelli, the MAC’s Director and Chief Curator. “I am especially pleased that the MAC will reopen with all of its rooms open and four new exhibitions, never before shown to visitors.”
New Exhibitions to Discover
La machine qui enseignait des airs aux oiseaux presents the works of 34 artists of Montréal and its surroundings, and reflects upon the materiality of language. Visitors are invited to feast their eyes on freshly minted and local contemporary art by artists committed to engaging, topical, and diverse work practices.
Des horizons d’attente highlights the practices of 21 artists whose works, recently acquired by the Musée, are being shown here for the first time. They speak of political, feminist, social, aesthetic, material, conceptual, spiritual, ecological, poetic, linguistic, and identity-related concerns specific to our time.
John Akomfrah: Vertigo Sea is a three-channel video installation at once devastatingly beautiful and wrenching. The work sets the ocean as a place of utter beauty, against which the abomination of human nature is cast. First presented at the 2015 Venice Biennale, where it became the highlight of the event, Vertigo Sea has been lauded by the press, who have described the work as “terrible and ravishing” (Hyperallergic) and as a piece that “keeps coming at you”, as quoted in The Guardian.
The MAC also presents a selection of works from the MAC collection, curated by John Zeppetelli.
Tickets and Safety Measures
Visitors must book their tickets and time slots online. The ticket gives access to all exhibitions. MAC members may access the museum freely at any time, but they must also book their tickets and time slots online at the aforementioned webpage. No booking fee will be applied for MAC members. The MAC has put in place all the safety measures laid out by the Québec government to ensure the safety of its visitors and employees while continuing to provide a pleasant, unparalleled experience.
For more information, check out the Visitor’s Guide or visit macm.org.
