Montreal Museums and Exhibitions

Founded in 1860, one of the first museums in North America with an encyclopedic and rich collection. Over the years Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has built up a collection of over 33,000 objects - painting, sculpture, works on paper, prints and drawings, photographs and decorative art objects - from Antiquity to today.

Year after year, the Museum continues to acquire new works to enrich its collections of Ancient Cultures, European Art, Canadian Art, Inuit and Amerindian Art, Contemporary Art and Decorative Arts.

In order to make the cultural heritage accessible to the greatest number of people, the Museum has adopted a policy of free admission to its galleries displaying works from the collections.

Founded in 1921 by David Ross McCord, The McCord Museum is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history.

Grounded in its collections and the study of material culture, and building on the national vision of its founder, the McCord Museum pursues excellence in research, collections, exhibitions, and education, using traditional media and innovative technologies and approaches, to speak to contemporary preoccupations and to inspire historical enquiry.

To make this heritage accessible to all, the Museum offers exhibitions, cultural activities, guided tours, school tours and publications. Exhibitions are accompanied by an original and interactive animation approach; visiting the McCord means taking a new look at history.

A major Canadian institution dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, the Musée offers a varied program ranging from presentations of its Permanent Collection to exhibitions of works by Québec, Canadian and international artists. The Permanent Collection comprises some 7,000 works, including the largest collection of art by Paul-Émile Borduas. Through Education and Documentation Department, the museum presents a host of educational activities further to connect the general public with contemporary art. The Musée also stages numerous multimedia events, including performance, new dance, experimental theatre, contemporary music, video and film.

Musée du Château Ramezay

At the heart of Montréal life for more than 300 years, the Château Ramezay has been conserving and presenting the Canadian heritage since 1895. The Château Ramezay Museum was the first building proclaimed historical monument in Québec and is the province's oldest private history museum. For more than 110 years, the Museum has presented history exhibitions and organised cultural, scientific and museological activities. The Museum has presented its newest permanent exhibition since 2002, illustrating the history of Montréal and Québec, from prehistory until the early 20th century. To this are added temporary exhibitions and an 'Intercultural Sundays' programme.

The Museum was founded as part of celebrations to mark Montréal's 350th birthday, and owes its existence largely to the significant archaeological discoveries made on the site during the 1980s. In fact, the Museum and its site are inextricably linked. Rising above evidence of more than 1,000 years of human activity, it houses remarkable architectural remains, displayed in situ with absolute respect for their integrity. Pointe-à-Callière is the only sizeable archaeology museum in Canada .

The hundreds of artifacts it houses are grouped into six main sections: the Éperon, a modern building that has won many architectural awards; the archaeological crypt on the lower level; the renovated Ancienne-Douane building (Montréal's first Custom House), the Youville Pumping Station, the Archaeological Field School and the Mariners House. The museum of a site, a history and a city, Pointe-à-Callière delves into the past to foster a debate on urban issues both local and global, and to encourage visitors to reflect on the future.

Le Musée Stewart sort de l'ombre. Après deux années et demie d'absence de la scène muséale montréalaise, c'est un musée entièrement rénové et repensé qui vous ouvrira ses portes le 29 juin 2011.

Le dépôt fortifié britannique de l'Île Sainte-Hélène 1824-1870 Inscrit au Répertoire du Patrimoine Culturelle du Québec (Septembre 2007)

Suite à l'invasion américaine de 1812, le Système de défense militaire de la colonie Britannique est repensé. Un important réseau de fortifications est mis en place tout le long du Saint-Laurent et de la rivière Richelieu dans le Bas-Canada. L'îsle Sainte-Hélène est ainsi acquise de la famille Lemoyne en 1818. Protégé par le courant Sainte-Marie (décourageant tout débarquement ou retraite de l'ennemi), le dépôt fortifié de l'île Sainte-Hélène permet, entre 1824 et 1870, au gouvernement britannique d'entreposer leur poudre explosive, munitions, fusils et canons ainsi que de contrôler la route fluviale Kingston-Québec. L'ensemble des fortifications construit (1820-1824) en pierre rouge (brèche) soutirée des carrières de l'île, possède des murs variant de 1 à 4 mètres d'épaisseur et comprend différents bâtiments comme la poudrière, le corps de garde, le mur d'enceinte, le lieu de l'entrepôt ainsi que l'imposant arsenal qui abrite l'exposition permanente du Musée Stewart.

Ivoire, faïence, brocart, velours, argent, papier, peau, parchemin. Tous ces matériaux façonnés par des mains de maîtres et d'artisans témoignent de notre passé.

Soigneusement constituée, la collection du Musée Stewart tisse une trame historique : cinq siècles d'événements politiques, d'expériences scientifiques et de vie culturelle s'y déploient.

Les objets, les livres et les documents d'archives racontent les découvertes et les faits d'armes des explorateurs, les révolutions et les célébrations, les avancées scientifiques et les créations artistiques. On n'y voit pas que des exploits cependant; la vie quotidienne émerge aussi des collections. Acte de naissance, hochet, coffre de mariage, justaucorps, chaise à porteur, maître à danser, jeu de Carvagnole, giberne, boîte à senteur, trousse à raser et nécessaire de voyage célèbrent à leur manière les activités journalières de nos ancêtres. Conservée et chérie, cette collection mérite que le regard s'y pose. Venez l'explorer, la contempler et l'admirer. Venez vous émerveiller et vous imprégner de sa splendeur!

Couvrant plus de cinq siècles d'histoire, Histoires et Mémoires est parsemée d'insertions thématiques, dont la navigation, le grand commerce maritime et la vie quotidienne en Nouvelle-France. L'exposition se déploie sur deux étages et présente près de 500 objets, documents et livres rares.

La visite propose un voyage dans le temps qui commence avec les premiers occupants de l'île Sainte-Hélène. Elle se termine sur des représentations de cette même île depuis le milieu du 19 e siècle jusqu'à aujourd'hui.

Les grands moments : Au fil du déroulement chronologique, des événements marquants de l'histoire occidentale sont évoqués : la Réforme et les Guerres de Religion, le siècle des Lumières, la Révolution industrielle. Tout au long du parcours, l'histoire et le patrimoine de l'île Sainte-Hélène sont présents, soulignant les liens entre l'histoire locale et l'histoire nationale et internationale.

Une expérience interactive: Restaurée et rafraîchie, la célèbre maquette du Montréal fortifié invite les visiteurs à vivre une expérience unique. Grâce à une technologie interactive de pointe, ils peuvent littéralement « toucher » l'histoire. Avec sa nouvelle exposition Histoires et Mémoires, le Musée Stewart met en vedette l'Occident des derniers siècles. Au moyen d'histoires de vie, de faits d'armes et de passions, il démontre les liens qui existent entre l'histoire du site, l'histoire locale et l'histoire internationale.

The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) was founded in 1979 as a new form of cultural institution to build public awareness of the role of architecture in society, promote scholarly research in the field, and stimulate innovation in design practic e.

The CCA is an international research centre and museum founded on the conviction that architecture is a public concern. Based on its extensive collections, the CCA is a leading voice in advancing knowledge, promoting public understanding, and widening thought and debate on the art of architecture, its history, theory, practice, and role in society today.

Over 30 years ago, architect Phyllis Lambert began the collection that would become the cornerstone of the CCA. In addition to being founding director of the institution, Phyllis Lambert is Chair of its Board of Trustees

Today the CCA Collection, comprising works dating from the Renaissance to the present day, documents the culture of architecture throughout the world ? past, present, and future. It provides evidence in depth of cultural and intellectual circles of the past, points to the future of architectural thinking and practice, and reveals the changing character of thought and observation pertaining to architecture. Unparalleled in scope, the Prints & Drawings, Photographs, Archives, and Library comprise of dynamically interrelated bodies of primary and secondary materials that advance thinking about the nature of the built domain and the ideas that underlie it.

Exhibitions and Public and Educational Programs forge links between architectural thinking and practice, the history of ideas, and changing social and cultural conditions. Programs are both local and international in scope. They interpret architectural ideas to the wider public at all age-levels as well as to architects and scholars, aiming to reveal the richness of architectural and urban culture and to stimulate dynamic engagement with contemporary issues and debates. The CCA Bookstore specializes in the literature of architecture and an extensive range of interrelated topics, offering a selection of publications from around the world.

The Study Centre was inaugurated in 1997 as an international institute devoted to research in all aspects of architectural thought and practice. Through its Visiting Scholars Program, seminars, and colloquia, the Study Centre supports individual research efforts and advances broad new lines of discourse and investigation. Linking advanced research with public engagement in architecture, the CCA encourages scholars to pursue projects in the spirit of a broadly connective inquiry that cuts across time, space, and media.