Despite five years of waiting and a budget that now exceeds 116 million, the new Museum of Contemporary Art of Montreal (MAC) will only increase the surface area of its exhibition halls by 28%, reveals The construction program obtained by La Presse under the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information.
The exhibition rooms of the current building have a total surface area of 2,485 m2. Once the transformation of the museum is completed, their surface area would increase to 3,191 m2, an increase of 28%, we learn in the document, which details the entire MAC real estate project – the equivalent of the Functional and Technical Program (PFT).
As for the permanent collection, it is impossible to know how many additional works will be integrated into these new spaces.
However, the management of the MAC has been insisting for years that it is seeking to “at least double the exhibition space”, we can read in the 130-page Program – partially redacted – obtained from the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI). , who manages the project.
To achieve this, the MAC adds into its calculations the halls and other circulation spaces of the future building, which it has called “exhibition areas”, an important nuance. Management estimates that a surface area of 1525 m2 of these public open areas could be used as exhibition spaces.
“One of the reasons for the transformation of the museum is to respond to the varied demands of today’s artistic approaches,” says Jennifer Dorner, deputy general director of the MAC, who is supervising the work. There are a lot of artists who work in performance, who create digital installations, there are several open forms of contemporary art, so we wanted to create spaces with more flexibility, beyond traditional rooms. »
Strangely, the MAC assesses in its Construction Program that no “exhibition area” exists in the current building. However, the hall which leads to the rooms, as well as the rotunda, have always served as a temporary exhibition space in the past. Even in a piecemeal way. We only have to think of the last Contemporary Art Triennale or the exhibitions of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Leslie Johnston and Janet Werner, to name just a few.
How come the MAC does not take this into account in its calculations? “Even if we exhibited works in these public spaces, the SQI does not consider them to be exhibition areas,” Jennifer Dorner tells us, “because they do not meet certain technical criteria. The new [open] exhibition areas will be designed to accommodate temporary exhibitions, there will be a hanging system, a lighting system, flexibility in arranging the space, so these areas will be very well defined. »
Since presenting its most recent transformation project – carried out by the architectural firms Saucier Perrotte and GLCRM – the MAC has combined the space of its rooms and its exhibition areas without distinction.
As recently as June 16, in an interview with the daily newspaper Le Devoir, the general director of the MAC, John Zeppetelli, stated: “I believe that we are mathematically doubling our exhibition space. All new spaces are museum quality. » An assertion repeated several times by the Minister of Culture and Communications, Mathieu Lacombe.
But as The Construction Program indicates, unlike open areas, exhibition halls are designed according to strict museum requirements: control of temperature, humidity and light, essentially. A necessary environment for exhibiting the majority of paintings, drawings, photographs and textiles from the permanent collection and works borrowed from other museums.
The MAC also deplores in its Construction Program the fact that only 1.5% of the 7,800 works in its permanent collection are currently on display.
The museum thus sets itself the objective of “enhancing the presentation of its collection”. But knowing that a good part of these works must be exhibited in museum conditions and that the gain in rooms is only 28%, how many additional works from the MAC permanent collection can be exhibited? Especially if one of the museum’s goals is to present “more than one temporary exhibition at a time” in its new building?
“It’s difficult to answer this question,” says Jennifer Dorner, “because the works in our permanent collection vary greatly in size. But we will be able to exhibit some of them in the exhibition areas. I’m thinking of sculptures or multimedia installations, among others. On the other hand, we do not have a quantified objective. That said, we will continue to make acquisitions, we have reached more than 8,000 works. »
Paradoxically, we learn that the space reserved “for storage, packaging, transit and restoration” of works from the permanent collection decreases in the new plans, going from 2616 m2 to 2038 m2. “Yes, but it will still be possible to continue our acquisition activities, we always find solutions,” simply responds Jennifer Dorner, who was hired by John Zeppetelli less than a year ago.
As for video or multimedia exhibitions, although more and more of them are presented by the MAC, the current room dedicated to this artistic form is replaced by a smaller space. According to the construction program of the new MAC, the total area of the multimedia room would decrease from 179 m2 to 140 m2.
“It’s true, but it doesn’t change the nature or function of space,” defends Jennifer Dorner. It is a space which is mainly used to project videos in addition to exhibitions, but the change allows us to integrate a toilet block with universal and gender-neutral toilets. Our video installations can also be presented elsewhere, in rooms or exhibition areas. »
Another objective of the MAC with its transformation project: “the increase and improvement of spaces dedicated to education”, one of the mandates of the state corporation. On this point, the MAC is making gains since the space devoted to educational activities and other workshops increases by more than 50%, going from 422 m2 to 638 m2.
What does MAC management plan to do with this new space? “We really want to emphasize community engagement, cultural mediation and school visits, so it’s really our educational mission that will be increased,” insists Jennifer Dorner. There are mediators currently and we have a plan to increase our numbers in the coming years, in particular to hire a mediator from the indigenous community. »
Finally, a multifunctional room that can accommodate 200 people is presented as a space that can be rented for corporate activities or Quartier des spectacles activities. This space could host conferences, screenings or traveling exhibitions, we read in the Program, a space enjoying “museum conditions”, it is specified.
The museum management also insists on the importance of completely reviewing the “opaque” facade of the museum, so as to “improve the visibility of the main entrance”. She deplores the fact that the museum has “cut itself off from the outside activity of the city center”. Hence the glass surfaces of the exterior cladding and the MAC’s desire to integrate the new building into the current urban landscape of the Quartier des spectacles. “We want to facilitate public access to the museum,” explains Jennifer Dorner.
The MAC’s objective of “generating more independent revenue” is clearly expressed in the Construction Program. Thus, certain key spaces will double in size: the museum boutique-bookstore and the MAC restaurant and bar, both of which will have direct access from the outside.
The Société québécoise des infrastructures, which manages the MAC transformation project, launched a new call for tenders last Friday. The work could thus begin in the spring of 2024. If the process is successful (unlike the 2022 call for tenders, which was interrupted midway), it would take 28 months before they are completed, according to the museum’s management. Full reopening would not take place before 2027.
2018: The MAC presents its most recent transformation plan carried out by the architectural firms Saucier Perrotte and GLCRM Architectes. The project is valued at 44 million. It will be increased to 57 million in 2019.
2021: The MAC moves to Place Ville Marie in the hope of seeing work begin the following year, but the call for tenders process has not yet started. The permanent collection is locked.
2022: The Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) makes a first call for tenders in the spring with an envelope of 85.3 million. The call for tenders, divided into 25 lots, was canceled in June, the cost being considered too high.
2023: Both levels of government, federal and provincial, extend an additional $56 million, bringing the total budget for the transformation project to $116.5 million.
