PAC 2017: First Parliament Dig Site

Canada’s First Parliament Archaeological Dig Site

Open to Public

July 18 - end of October 2017

Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal’s archaeology and history complex (PAC), is opening up one of the country’s most significant archaeological site, shedding some light on a major period in history when Montréal was the capital cof the United Province of Canada, commonly called the United Canada (1844-1849).

The archaeological digs and an outdoor exhibition is taking place at the heart of the remains of the Montréal parliament, which still lies beneath the ground in Old Montréal. From one single location, visitors will be able to assess the historical significance of this archaeological site, stroll through the largest Montreal’s archaeological, watch archaeologists at work, explore an outdoor exhibition, and take part in informative guided tours.

Located in what is today called Old Montréal, the Montréal parliament and its vestiges lie beneath a former municipal parking lot, on Place D’Youville West, between McGill and Saint-Pierre streets. This archaeological excavation, carried out by Pointe-à-Callière and archaeologists of the firm Ethnoscop, aims to document the site, check on the state of the remains, and plan a program for the site development.

Montréal, capital and birthplace of modern Canada
Many people don’t know that Montréal was once the country’s capital. At the time, Montreal played an essential role—economically, politically, and socially. The city was the United Canada’s metropolis, the country’s financial centre. It was also a commercial hub, thanks to its international port. Its citizens included both Anglophones and Francophones. After much debate, several parliamentarians asked that Montréal be made the capital, a choice left up to the Queen of England in the Act of Union. Once this was done, the members sat in the former St. Anne’s Market building, which was converted into the Parliament from 1844 to 1849.

Montréal went on to establish itself as the birthplace of modern Canada, and its Parliament was witness to a major chapter in Canadian history. During the 1840s, significant reforms were adopted: the French language was recognized as one of the country’s official languages, and the Assembly won full control over the budget. Changes in the administration also took place: for example, several ministries (Public Works, Education, Crown Land, Secretariat, etc.) were newly created to meet the needs of the population. In March 1848, the Reformist party, led by Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine and Robert Baldwin, won the election and, in its wake, was recognized by the Governor General as a “responsible government.” This local autonomy within the British Empire was an important step in Canadian Confederation. The Parliament of the United Province of Canada in Montréal was privileged to witness major transformations in the Canadian political system.

In 1849, a riot was sparked by the Royal sanction given to the act indemnifying victims of the 1837-1838 Rebellions. The parliament building was burned down in tragic circumstances, with Montréal losing its status as the capital. Parliament then sat alternately in Toronto and Quebec City before it was moved to Ottawa, in 1857. In 2012, the Government of Québec recognized the importance of the site, designating it a heritage site; in 1949, the Government of Canada designated it as a national historic event.

An outdoor exhibition

In addition to the archaeological dig, Pointe-à-Callière is presenting an outdoor exhibition entitled Montréal, Capital of Canada – A Parliament Beneath Your Feet. Visitors will get to stroll through the heart of the archaeological dig and the exhibition, watching archaeologists at work! Explanatory panels and a timeline will feature the key players present and political issues during that major period in Canadian history. There is also an explanation of the dig and a presentation of the development project for the site, an integral part of the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex, developed by Pointe-à-Callière.

Informative guided tours
PAC Museum’s guides lead free tours every 30 minutes, on Wednesday to Sunday, from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm, until September 24. Independent visits of the site can take place outside of these periods until the termination of the archaeological dig in the end of October.

The archaeological dig on the site of the Parliament of the United Province of Canada was made possible through the financial support of the City of Montreal (Ville de Montréal).

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For more information on the current exhibitions and programs, visit the PAC Museum's website.

Short video: 

Montréal, A capital, A Parliament (1844-1849)

MAC 2017: Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson
June 21- October 9, 2017

Montreal's Museum of Modern Art (MAC) is presenting an exhibition by an Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. It is the artist’s first solo exhibition in Canada. Applying scientific principles to the exploration of people's relationship to time and space, Eliasson builds devices that engage mechanisms of perception. His cross-disciplinary creations provide an immersive experience for exploring the body, movement, self-perception and the environment. These works envelop viewers in a fundamental and rarefied universe composed primarily of space, light and movement.

Olafur Eliasson's Multiple Shadow House installation allows the viewer to participate in the creation of multiple images that are projected onto the walls within a partially delineated house enclosure. Each spectator's movement conjures a specific shadow, a colourful self propagating and duplicating image. These images have kaleidoscopic qualities as they change and repeat themselves with each gesture or step made by a person. In the process of self-multiplication, they create intriguing, repetitious, colourful patterns made of people's shadows. The spectators in fact become a part of Olafur Eliasson's artistic concept and co-creators of his work. This work would not exist without an active spectator participation.

Two Olafur Eliasson's works at the exhibition have water as their principle component. Beauty is made with dispersed tiny water droplets that form a wall-like semi-transparent barrier which can at time appear as a waterfall. Although the piece does not require audience's participation, a number of visitors try to catch some droplets, or to touch the ephemeral wall created by them.

The second Olafur Eliasson's water work has strong sculptural quality.  At each flash of the light, the spectator sees a well defined sculptural form created by the upward ejected stream of water in a fountain like manner. Although one cannot see clearly what is happening between the bursts of light, the water ejections appear to be timed to the light. Each "flash" creates a complex and visually intriguing 3-D form in space, as a spectator anticipates with curiosity the next sculptural water shape to become visible with the next flash of the light.

Olafur Eliasson's exhibition at MAC is curated by Mark Lanctôt.

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For more information on this exhibition and the MAC museum, visit the museum's website.

Lawren Harris: Where the Universe Sings

Where the Universe Sings:
The Spiritual Journey of Lawren Harris

Canada / 2016 / 91 min. /  English

The film is partially based on a book by James King Inward Journey: The Life of Lawren Harris. 

This film is for those who love the Canadian painters from the Group of Seven, and also for those who know nothing about Canadian Art and would be astonished to discover the great artistic creations of Lawren Harris, the founder of the Group of Seven.

Having come form a prosperous, the end of the 19th century Toronto industrialist background, nevertheless, from his early age Lawren Harris was destined  to become an artist rather than a businessmen. Yet he ultimately become a heir to the Massey-Harris farm machinery fortune. He used his family funds not only to advance his elegant way of living, but also to support artistic aspirations of talented artists who later became known as a Group of Seven (a term coined by him) as well as their associates. Harris financed railway trips for the Group of Seven artists to the Algoma region to paint the Canadian north, and later to Lake Superior, Rockie mountains, and other regions. It was also largely thanks to Harris' idea, funds, and energy, that a Studio Building was raised in Toronto from a decapitated house, and became a home and working studio for several members of the Group of Seven painters, their predecessors, and their artistic descendants. This location had been of such a significance to the Canadian art that in 2005 the building was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act as a National Historic Site of Canada.

The film is not only a biographical narrative, it focuses on what art represented to Harris, his complex perception of life, meaning, and his understanding of art in terms of spirituality. It also presents his writings and poems, especially those passages that illuminate the workings of his creative impulse, his searchings, and his artistic journey. Harris was not satisfied to only create beautiful and colourful shapes on canvas that captured the Canadian northern wilderness, but actually to make with each of his paintings a spiritual statement, a revelation, a portrayal of a spiritual truth.

In 1969, Lawren Harris was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

I highly recommend this film. It will be playing in the cinemas sometimes in the near future, so watch for it in the upcoming cinema schedules.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director: Nancy Lang, Peter Raymont

Country of Origin: Canada

Executive Producer: Peter Raymont

Producer: Peter Raymont, Nancy Lang

Cinematographer: John Westheuser

Editor: Cathy Gulkin

Music: John Welsman

Production Company: White Pine Pictures

Produced with the generous permission of Stewart Sheppard, grandson of and executor for Lawren Harris.

Produced in association with TVO, documentary Channel, YES TV with the participation of the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the Rogers Group of Funds, the Bell Fund, the Canada Media Fund.

FILM TRAILER

On Vimeo

https://vimeo.com/192636801

On YouTube

Centre d’art Diane-Dufresne: Jean-Claude Poitras

Exposition Jean-Calude Poitras
Sur le Chemin du Roy, au fil des mes escales
On the Path of Roy, during my stopovers
Curators: Philippe Lupien et Anne-Marie Matteau

22 June-15 October, 2017

The opening of the exhibition at the splendid Centre d’art Diane-Dufresne at Pepentigni, an urbain community located just north-east of Montreal, was held yesterday, on the day of the summer solstice. This choice of the date must have been very significant both to Madame Diane-Dufresne, a French-Canadian singer in whose honour the Centre was named, as well as to the artist-designer Jean-Claude Poitras. It most likely represents the apex summary of his life-long creation. The opening was attended by both celebrities.

The exhibition makes visitors to discover the professional and artistic career of Jean-Claude Poitras, a famous designer who became the Quebec and Canadian, and also an international icon of fashion and design. His career celebrates a 50 years landmark, from Expo 67 till today. The incursion into his creative universe allows to understand the transformations that have influenced the world of fashion in Quebec and Canada as well as certain other aspects of the material culture that have marked the journey of this multidisciplinary creator. The exhibition also features his latest creations. 

Poitras repeatedly uses in his designs a specific orange colour, similar or even identical to that he saw during his travels in Buddhist monasteries. It is the colour of the Buddhist monks's robes. A visitor will see a variety of deigns with this colour at the exhibition.

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For more information about the exhibition, the days the exhibition is open and the cost of the tickets, visit the Centre d’art Diane-Dufresne website.

The top-most photo in this article is of Jean-Claude Poitras, and is courtesy of Centre d’art Diane-Dufresne.

All other photos © Nadia Slejskova.

MMFA 2017: Revolution

REVOLUTION at the MMFA
An immersive and musical exhibition of the late 1960s

June 17 – October 9, 2017

The title of this musical exhibition refers to the words of the Beatles’ song Revolution, composed by John Lennon in 1968 in response to several violent political protests that took place that year, including the May 68 protests in Paris. The exhibition explores the context for the transformations in Western society, driven by young people with a deep desire for change and freedom. From Flower Power to the Black Panthers, miniskirts to the first man on the moon, From Expo 67 to Woodstock, the exposition recreates the cultural, social, artistic and technological “explosion” that occurred between 1966 and 1970, the repercussions of which are still being felt today.

The exhibition REVOLUTION was initiated by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is presenting this exhibition as part of the official programming of Montreal’s 375th anniversary. It offers its own version and layout of the exhibition as it takes visitors on a trip through time, exploring the ideals of the late 1960s as expressed in music, film, fashion design, and also activism.

This exhibition brings together over 700 works and documents – clothing, designs, posters, album covers, publications, works of art, photos, archival documents, film clips and music – revealing the lifestyle, dreams and protest movements of an optimistic, militant and pacifist generation that sought to break away from the values of the past.

  

The show includes a number of works from the MMFA’s collection by artists like Gilles Boisvert, Pierre Ayot, Antoine Desilets, Clara Gutsche and Jacques Hurtubise as well as audiovisual material from 1960s Quebec that illustrate famous events of that era, such as the Bed-in by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in Montreal, L’Osstidcho, the Quiet Revolution and the October Crisis.

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For more information about the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts exhibitions and activities, visit the museum's website.

The exhibition is held at the MMFA's Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion – Level 2.

MMFA 2017: La Balade de la Paix

La Balade de la Paix 
An Open-Air Museum

June 5, 2017 - October 29, 2017

This outdoor installation represents a major component of the official program of events for Montréal’s 375th anniversary of Montréal, the 50th anniversary of Expo 67, and the 150th anniversary of Canada. It was designed and organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in cooperation with the McCord Museum, with assistance from Concordia and McGill universities. It will presented along a kilometre-long span of Sherbrooke Street for five months, from June 5th, 2017 to October 29th, 2017. It features 67 works bearing messages of peace in keeping with the universal values of humanism, tolerance, and openness that inspired Expo 67 which was held in Montreal in the summer of 1967. Many public institutions and private collections have made loans to this public urban project.

This artistic promenade stretches from the McCord Museum that focuses on the history of Montréal, to the MMFA’s newly opened Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace which is a 375th anniversary legacy project. The route is marked by 29 sculptures and installations from world-renowned Canadian and foreign artists like Magdalena Abakanowicz, César Baldaccini (better known as César), Romero Betsabée, Jonathan Borofsky, Fernando Botero, Luben Boykov, Alexander Calder, Claude Cormier, Wim Delvoye, Jim Dine, Sorel Etrog, Ivan Eyre, Joe Fafard, Barry Flanagan, Rose-Marie Goulet, Keith Haring, Zhang Huan, Charles Joseph, Yayoi Kusama, Ju Ming, Robert Murray, Dennis Oppenheim, Niki de Saint Phalle, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangolo Pistoletto, Richard Prince, Ugo Rondinone, Wang Shugang and Catherine Sylvain.

Some 40 large-format photographs by Montréal are also exhibited along the route, showcasing a generous view of our humanity, and stating the need to live together more harmoniously. Some works are by such photographers as Benoit Aquin, Darren Ell, Aydin Matlabi, Jean-François Lemire and Isabelle Hayeur.

All along the Walk, the flags of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and the world’s 200-odd countries are flying high over Sherbrooke Street. This flag installation, created by world-renowned Montréal designer Claude Cormier, takes its cues from Expo 67’s playful, futuristic style. Many visitors will be reminded of the sight of Place des Nations decked out in colourful flags that highlighted the Montréal's Universal Exposition.

The photographs are lining the Sherbrooke Street sidewalk, and the sculptures are placed in front of various buildings along the route as well as on the McGill University campus grounds.

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For more information about the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts exhibitions and activities, visit the museum's website.

Photo below: Press Conference in the morning of June 5, 2017. Natalie Bondil, Director and Chief Curator of the MMFA, is announcing the opening of La Balade de la Paix.