(Montreal) The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has no major infrastructure projects in the pipeline, but the institution wants to reorganize certain collections, in particular by giving more space to Inuit and by creating a new space for exploring Quebec and Canadian art.
The MMFA has set itself the objective of raising 100 million over five years to finance the various initiatives of its first annual strategic plan, presented on Tuesday.
“The big difference is that there is no infrastructure project at the heart of the campaign,” explains the general director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Foundation, Jo-Anne Duchesne, in an interview. There, we are really in a reappropriation of places. »
Philanthropic money is essential to the mission of the MMFA in a difficult context for the museum sector, argues the director of the foundation. Although ridership is increasing, it has still not returned to the pre-pandemic threshold. The organization is also not immune to the surge in inflation which is putting pressure on its costs.
“If we want to maintain the same quality, if we want to maintain the same scale of presentation of the programming, deployment of the collection and also the accessibility offer for educational or therapy projects, these sums are crucial. »
Of the donations raised, 64% will be used to support the collection and exhibition programming, another 21% to special projects and 15% to community and accessibility projects.
Among the projects that will redevelop its existing spaces, the MMFA will establish a new space for exploring Quebec and Canadian art. The museum hopes to open this space to new voices and thus “inspire a new look at art history,” said curator Marie-Dailey Desmarais during the press conference.
To establish this space, the collection of 900 works of Inuit art will be moved to occupy an area “twice as large,” added the curator. The objective is to give greater visibility to historical and contemporary Inuit art.
Visual artist Asinnajaq will participate in the redeployment of this collection. The MMFA promises that the collection will have a “bold” new narrative approach.
The institution also announced that it is renewing the mandate of Stéphane Aquin as general director for a period of three years.