Design, digital, discovery: how Montreal Museum of Fine Arts brings culture to life

Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 785 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

Founded in 1860, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) aims to conserve, interpret and present significant works of art from around the world so that visitors may benefit from the transformative powers of art. See our coverage of its exhibitions from 2018 onwards here.

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This month, MMFA is showcasing a range of Flemish painters from the Netherlands of 1400 to 1700, such as Hans Memling, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Michaelina Wautier. Aptly titled Saints, Sinners, Lovers and Fools, the exhibition is co-organized by the Denver Art Museum and The Phoebus Foundation of Antwerp.

The themes span humour, symbolism, power, entertainment, war, and morality. The museum’s regular shows are featured in a number of other venues in the vast complex, including art exhibits from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In this photo essay, we feature a range of exhibits across the many floors of the museum, including masks, commemorative heads, bronze casts (by Yoan Capote), beadworks (by Renee Condo), and terracotta (by Pierre-Eugene-Emilie Hebert).

We also highlight bronze works (Auguste Rodin), oil paintings (by James Tissot), slashed canvas (by Lucio Fontana), chess set (by Salvador Dali), acrylic (by Francois Lacasse), and oil on canvas (by Peeter Neeffs II).

Donors at MMFA include Narinder Singh and Satinder Kaur Kapany, the Sikh Foundation International (USA) and the Chadha Family Foundation. The section on Sikh culture includes ritual objects, rare minted coins, and phulkari shawls.

Given its central place in Quebec, MMFA highlights Indigenous art from a progressive and innovative perspective. Its educational and cultural programming inspire new ways of looking at art and cultural history.

Therapeutic aspects of art and digital modes of presenting interactive art are also focus areas of new initiatives. They help visualise a more inclusive, accessible and just world, according to MMFA director Stéphane Aquin.

In 2019, MMFA formed a province-wide digital committee group to explore and innovate in the area of digital cultural mediation. It is comprised of Quebec university researchers, technology experts and museum professionals.

Thanks to donor support, over 600 not-for-profit organisations have already benefited from MMFA’s Sharing the Museum programme. It enables vulnerable people and those with special needs to enjoy - free of charge - a multitude of customised artistic activities.

The summer months are extra special as MMFA hosts a range of outdoor activities in nearby streets such as concerts, dances, workshops, and even movies under the stars. Bands playing this summer include Dusty Brass Band, Ben Shemie, Emma Beko, DJ Raven, DJ Kelly, and DJ Yuki.

“The Museum is one of Montreal’s top attractions and a major hub of cultural and community engagement that truly transforms lives,” according to Jo-Anne Duchesne, Director General of the MMFA Foundation.

In sum, MMFA continues to be at the cutting edge of bringing cultural to life and upholding principles of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) via fairer representation of artists, green initiatives, and broader viewership options.

Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?

(All photographs were taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at the museum.)