Art Frame: September 2025

Sunday, September 28, 2025

McCord 2025: Africa Fashion

AFRICA FASHION

The landmark exhibition celebrating the irresistible creativity of the contemporary African fashion scene.

September 25, 2025 - February 1, 2026

This new McCord Stewart Museum's exhibition, organized by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, is one of the largest ever dedicated to the African fashion scene. It showcases the creative energy of designers, makers and photographers from across the continent. Montreal is the only Canadian stop on an international tour that includes London, Brooklyn, Portland, Melbourne, and Chicago.

The exhibition features some one hundred garments and accessories, as well as textiles, photographs and videos, from the early 1960s till today, illustrating how African fashions have drawn international attention and become a powerful force for post-colonial self-expression.

The exhibition is organized into eight sections laid out chronologically from 1960 to today. 80 garment ensembles displayed on mannequins bring into light talented, cutting-edge designers from across the African continent.

Africa’s cultural renaissance

The exhibition opens with 1960, the year that seventeen African countries became liberated of colonial rule. Tes newfound freedom generated a new sense of pride in being African that played out in literature, music, the arts and fashion. The first sections of the exhibition illustrate how various traditional cloths and textile practices from around the continent took on new political meaning in the context of independence. Thanks to the talent and influence of pioneers like Naïma Bennis, Shade Thomas-Fahm, Chris Seydou, Kofi Ansah and Alphadi who helped promote the booming industry, African fashions now have clients worldwide.

A vibrant continent alight with creativity

Focusing on the modern era, the second half of the exhibition demonstrates that the growth from the 1960s to the 2000s shows no signs of slowing in the new millennium. With the same desire for self-expression, designers and brands like Imane Ayissi, IAMISIGO, Moshions, Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo are charting their own course, pushing boundaries and opening up conversations around culture, race, gender and sexuality. The central exhibition space highlights a vibrant scene where African creations are leading the way in contemporary cutting-edge fashion. This section reveals that the period from the 2000s to today is marked by designers who challenge assumptions about who and what African people and African fashions are and can be.

In the second half of the twentieth century, African photographers took advantage of the democratization of photography to create portraits illustrating the euphoria of independence in nations on the brink of self-rule. Africa Fashion showcases their ability to capture those for whom dressing to be seen is a way of life. The images presented in the exhibition bear witness to a constant reinvention of identities, all within an ever-evolving African fashion scene of growing international importance.

Bal Afrikana: A Celebration of Black Creativity and Heritage

At the end of the exhibition, a short recap video showcases the two most recent editions of Bal Afrikana, organized by the Centre culturel afro-canadien de Montreal (CCAM), an associate partner of the exhibition. This 90-second film highlights Montreal’s creative industry talent, featuring work by local Afro-descendent designers.

Dr. Christine Checinska, Senior Curator of African and African Diaspora Textiles and Fashion, Victoria & Albert Museum stated:

"Our guiding principle for Africa Fashion is the foregrounding of individual African voices and perspectives. The exhibition presents African fashions as a self-defining art form that reveals the richness and diversity of African histories and cultures. To showcase all fashions across such a vast region would be to attempt the impossible. Instead, Africa Fashion celebrates the vitality and innovation of a selection of fashion creatives, exploring the work of the vanguard in the twentieth century and the creatives at the heart of this eclectic and cosmopolitan scene today. We hope this exhibition will spark a renegotiation of the geography of fashion and become a game-changer for the field."

Anne Eschapasse, the McCord Stewart Museum’s President and CEO, noted:

"We are thrilled to be collaborating for a fifth time with the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum. Both groundbreaking and timely, this is the first international exhibition to celebrate the emergence, influence, ingenuity and unique energy of African fashion creatives. With its outstanding collection and commitment to intercultural dialogue, the McCord Stewart Museum is a leading destination for fashion in Canada, with exhibitions like ELEGANZA: Italian Fashion From 1945 to Today (2016), Balenciaga Master of Couture (2018), Christian Dior (2021) and Parachute: Subversive Fashion of the ‘80s (2021-2022), and jumped at the chance to host the exhibition’s sole Canadian showing. The exhibition will also be an occasion to spotlight the talents of Afro-descendant creatives from our own community, through a partnership with the Montreal Afro-Canadian Cultural Centre (CCAM)."

Production Team

Curatorship: Dr. Christine Checinska, Senior Curator of African and African Diaspora Textiles and Fashion, Victoria & Albert Museum
McCord Stewart Museum Curator: Alexis Walker, Associate Curator, Dress, Fashion and Textiles
Project Management: Eve Martineau, Coordinator, Exhibitions, McCord Stewart Museum
Exhibition Design: Guillaume Kukucka
Graphic Design: Stéfanie Vermeersc

All photos @ Nadia Slejskova

The dedicated internets address of this article or click on the title above the first photo at the top.

For more information about current exhibitions and special evens associated with this exhibition, visit the McCord Stewart Museum website.

Thursday, September 25, 2025

MMFA 2025: Kent Monkman

KENT MONKMAN:

History Is Painted by the Victors

September 27, 2025 – March 8, 2026

The Montreal Museum of Fines Arts (MMFA) presents the Canadian premiere of the exhibition by Kent Monkman that brings together some 40 of his monumental paintings. The exhibition includes works on loan from Canadian and American museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, some private collectors, and also a selection from the MMFA's permanent collection.

Mokman is a figurative painter par excellence, who draws and creates human bodies on his canvases with the precision of the classical painters of past eras. He is also a superb calorist, who generously uses the rainbow gamut of bright colours to dazzles his audience. His huge canvases are not only striking but also quite overpowering, bringing the viewer inside the dramatic universe of his imagination.

The story narratives that Monkman creates on canvases are quite uniquely portrayed. They are interlaced with historical elements, mythology, and his personal interpretation of the historical past. His detailed compositions are strongly dramatic, complex and monumental. Yet, they are extremely elegant, and the language of his colours is striking. A number of his compositions seem to be inspired by the great painters of the past.

Credits and curatorial team

The exhibition was organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Denver Art Museum. It was curated by Léuli Eshrāghi, Curator of Indigenous Practices at the MMFA, and John Lukavic, the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts, Denver Art Museum.

For those curious about Monkman’s artistic creative process, do not miss to watch the short documentary filmed in his studio. The screen is located on the wall to the right when one comes up the staircase and before entering the exhibition halls. His studio is very much like those of the medieval painters who had a number of assistants performing various task ranging from helping with some painting details and taking care of organizational and studio needs.

All photos @Nadia Slejskova

Visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts website for more information and to purchase your tickets online.

This article's dedicated internet website address here.

MMFA 2025: Kent Monkman

Also check my previous article about Kent Monkman in this blog.

Monday, September 08, 2025

MMFA 2025: Decorative Arts and Design

From the Functional to the Fabulous

600 Years of Decorative Arts and Design

New presentation of the decorative arts and design collection

Opens on September 13, 2025.

Today, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has unveiled the newly reconfigured spaces of its Lilian and David M. Steward Pavilion of Decorative Arts and Design that holds a unique and prestigious collection. The present exhibition, that will have some items on display to rotate in the future, offers to visitors some 800 works (silverware, ceramics, jewelry, furniture, textiles, glassware, crafts and industrial design objects) from Quebec, Canada, and also from abroad.

At the center of this major design installation, the public will once again be able to see Dale Chihuly's The Sun, 2003 (see the very first photo at the top of this article). Previously installed on the front steps of the Museum during the summer, this majestic sculpture composed of 1,200 rays of blown glass will now shine in perpetuity at the heart of the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion.

Please note that to mark the grand reopening of the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion, admission to the Museum will be free for everyone on Saturday, September 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Creative activities and festivities are also planned for Du Musée Avenue. It is a free event, but the registration is required here to enter the Museum.

Do not miss the opportunity to admire over 600 years of design, discovering the role objects play in shaping our lives, learning to appreciate the design in all its forms while reflecting on our everyday interactions with designed objects.

The renovated interior, spread over the two levels of the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion, is a marvel of Brutalist architecture. The new exhibition floor and the design and art installation displayed within it, covers nearly 2,000 m², bringing together some 800 works (silverware, ceramics, jewellery, furniture, textiles, glassware, craft and industrial design objects) and introduces to the public over 400 designers, artists, and artisans from around the world who contributed their creations to this exhibition. Close to a quarter of these objects are being shown for the first time.

The new re-installation also features a new space dedicated to silver and metal works produced in Europe and Canada from the 17th to 20th century. This gallery presents a selection of silver pieces from the over 1,000 objects that the Honourable Serge Joyal has offered to the MMFA since 1990. Highlights of the collection attest to the importance of silversmithing activity in Quebec City and Montreal from the late 18th century onwards, represented here by master silversmiths Laurent Amiot and Robert Hendery. The collection also traces its expansion in the 1880s under the leadership of the Birks jewellery firm and includes more contemporary works from the 20th century by jewellers Maurice Brault and Walter Schluep.

A new theme-based presentation

Adopting both a trans-historical and theme-based approach, the new presentation explores the evolution of design from the 15th century to the present day, reflecting the social changes that have occurred over that time. The main floor focuses on design as a form of cultural expression while the upper level explores the functionality of design. Visitors can explore the expressive qualities of objects as well as their technical functions and innovations.

Twelve themed sections highlight the diversity not only of the objects in the collection but also of their production techniques, ranging from traditional handcrafting to digital fabrication. The reinstallation spotlights innovations in such diverse fields as well-being, communications, domestic life, office work and transportation. Visitors won't want to miss a rare example of Richard Buckminster Fuller's prefabricated Dymaxion (1936) bathroom, a Keracolor B1 (1969) large-format spherical television designed by Arthur Bracegirdle, Douglas Ball's self-contained office capsule dubbed the Clipper CS-1 (1992), or the 10th-anniversary edition of the smart fortwo car (2009), of which only 100 examples were produced.

Anchoring the presentation between the upper and lower levels is an object-based chronology that tells the story of the evolution of design from a historical perspective, focusing on themes such as global trade and exchange, colonialism and imperialism, the Industrial Revolution, modernism and 21st-century design.

Mary-Dailey Desmarais, the Chief Curator at the MMFA, stated:

"We're thrilled to share this all-new presentation of our decorative arts and design collection with our visitors. The culmination of an over-three-year collaboration between design historian Rachel Gotlieb and the MMFA's teams, this display studded with objects shown for the first time highlights era-defining aesthetic, material, and technological advances from the 15th century to today. It is both an ode to the ingenuity of artisans and designers past and present and an invitation to discover the many ways decorative arts and design shape our interactions with the world around us."

Rachel Gotlieb, the guest curator, elaborated:

"This reinstallation aims to foster greater appreciation for design by encouraging reflection on our everyday interactions with designed objects. It reveals how these works—from crafts to industrial design—evolve along with society and help shape our daily lives with ever greater inventiveness and creativity. It also sheds light on the Museum's collection-building process, highlighting curatorial decisions and cultural considerations that have influenced this comprehensive and remarkable assemblage of decorative arts and design work over time."

NEW ACQUISITIONS AND RARELY DISPLAYED OBJECTS

The redesigned galleries will bring together many outstanding objects from the MMFA’s collection, including works by Edward Barnard & Sons, Christopher Dresser, Elkington, Nicholas Hilliard, Jean Pierre‑Latz, Mason & Co., Louis Majorelle and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Remarkable acquisitions include a miniature Louis XV commode, as well as a rare Sèvres breakfast service which depicts miniatures of celebrated literary and artistic women from the 17th and 18th centuries painted by Jean Georget.

Art Deco, Modernism, Pop and Postmodern design are also represented by numerous designers from both here and abroad, including Douglas Ball, Mario Bellini, Jeannette Meunier Biéler, Marcel Breuer, Clarice Cliff, François Dallegret, Riccardo Dalisi, Charles and Ray Eames, Gio Ponti and Piero Fornasetti, Frank O. Gehry, Grete Jalk, Léon Kann, Shiro Kuramata, Carlo Mollino, Isamu Noguchi, Gaetano Pesce, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Hugh Spencer, Ettore Sottsass, Walter Dorwin Teague, Vivianna Torun Bülow‑Hübe, and Mariette Rousseau‑Vermette. Contemporary craft and design will also be in the spotlight, with work by Lani Adeoye, Syd Carpenter, Michel Dallaire, James Dyson, Ying Gao, Steven Heinemann, Hitomi Hosono, Hella Jongerius, Ross Lovegrove, Zoë Mowat, Pascale Girardin, Faye Toogood, Ionna Vautrin and Studio 5.5 designers, among others.

Furthermore, the presentation also feature recent acquisitions of works by Indigenous designers, including Michael Massie, Audie Murray and Caroline Monnet in collaboration with Humble Nature.

And, finally, to encourage dialogue between the different art forms represented in the Museum’s collections, the presentation will display paintings, sculptures, and textile and paper works by artists such as Edmund Alleyn, Paul‑Émile Borduas, Shary Boyle, Greg Curnoe, Nadia Myre, Woody De Othello, Pablo Picasso and Nam Jun Paik.

All photos @Nadia Slejskova

Click on images to enlarge them.

Visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts website to check on the opening hours and to purchase your tickets online.

Tuesday, September 02, 2025

World Press Photo 2025

Murat Seigul: Drone Attacks in Beirut

The World Press Photo 2025

Montreal 18th Edition

August 27 - October 13, 2025

At Marché Bonsecours

The World Press Photo Exibition is an annual flagship event in the Montreal’s fall cultural calendar. As in the past, it is presented at the Bonsecours Market in the Montreal's Old port. Over 65,000 people attend this large-scale international exhibition, which has been organized by the World Press Photo Foundation, based in the Netherlands each year since 1955 in various countries.

The 2025 exhibitions are taking place in the following countries: the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Middelburg, Eindhoven, Hilversum, Groningen), Mexico, Brazil (São Paulo, Brasília, Salvador), Canada (Montreal, Saguenay, Toronto), Germany (Flensburg, Dortmund, Berlin), Austria (Vienna), Hungary (Budapest), Italy (Rome, Sinnai, Lodi, Turin, Lucca), South Africa (Johannesburg), Greece (Athens), Denmark (Copenhagen), Poland (Krakow), Spain (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Barcelona), Portugal (Fórum da Maia), Lithuania (Vilnius), New Zealand (Wellington), Indonesia (Pontianak, Jakarta), Switzerland (Prangins), and Argentina (Buenos Aires).

In 2025, the awarded photographs were selected from 59,320 entries by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries.

The predominant themes of the photos on display in Montreal deal with the political and regional war conflicts and with the everyday hardship endured in many parts in the world, be they natural or men-made.

The bright and spacious premises of the exhibition hall allowed for a striking display of many excellent and striking photos which tell stories of many unsettling issues in the present world. At the same time the visitors can admire the photographic excellence of telling those stories.