Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal

The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MACM) is Canada's first museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art. Founded in 1964 by the Quebec government, it stands in Montreal, Quebec, at the Place des festivals in the Quartier des spectacles, forming part of the Place des Arts complex. As the only Canadian cultural institution dedicated to both contemporary performing and visual arts, the MACM holds a singular position in the nation's cultural landscape, with a collection numbering nearly 8,200 works.

The MACM was founded on 4 June 1964 by the ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec, established in 1961. Georges-Émile Lapalme, the ministry's first minister, appointed Guy Robert as the museum's first director. Its inaugural exhibition, held at temporary quarters in Place Ville-Marie from March 1964, was a retrospective of French artist Georges Rouault. In June 1965, the museum relocated to the Château Dufresne near the Jardin botanique de Montréal, where it presented some sixty exhibitions. From 1968 to 1992, it occupied the Cité du Havre Art Gallery, the former International Fine Arts Exhibition pavilion from Expo 67; its first exhibition there was a retrospective of Jean Dallaire. In 1983, the museum became an independent corporation managed by a board of directors. That same year, an international architectural competition drew over one hundred firms for the design of a permanent building; Jodoin Lamarre Pratte & Associés was selected in 1984. The new building opened on 28 May 1992 at Place des Arts, attracting nearly 20,000 visitors on 29-30 May 1992. In 1994, the Conseil des arts de Montréal awarded the museum its Grand Prix 1993 for its downtown installation and achievements. In June 2017, responding to criticism that the building was inward-looking and poorly integrated into the Quartier des spectacles, the MACM launched a competition to redesign and extend its premises. The proposal by Saucier+Perrotte Architectes / GLCRM & Associés Architectes was selected in April 2018. Since late 2021, the museum has occupied temporary quarters at Place Ville-Marie while its Place des Arts site undergoes renovation, with reopening scheduled for 2028.

The MACM's collection is the first and only societal collection in Canada devoted to contemporary art, comprising nearly 8,200 works by more than 1,500 artists, of whom approximately 1,200 are still living. The collection's development began with considerable early generosity from artists, collectors, associations, foundations, and galleries; in its first two years, about one hundred of roughly four hundred works were donated. The holdings focus on contemporary art from Quebec in particular and Canada in general, while also encompassing significant international artists. The collection spans painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, and works on paper, reflecting major trends in contemporary practice. It documents the transformation of printed imagery, the proliferation of photographic, filmic, and videographic media, the rise of performative art, and the development of installative, sonic, and media-based practices. The museum maintains four rooms for collection exhibitions and four additional rooms for temporary exhibitions.

The MACM holds the largest collection of works by Paul-Émile Borduas, a central figure in Quebec modernism. It also possesses a significant body of work by Montreal artist Betty Goodwin (1923-2008). Quebec artist Geneviève Cadieux created a signature site-specific work for the museum: La Voie lactée, a large-scale close-up photographic image of lips installed on the roof of the Place des Arts building.

The MACM's permanent home at Place des Arts, opened in 1992, encompasses 15,100 square metres (163,000 square feet) and was designed by Jodoin Lamarre Pratte & Associés following their victory in the 1983-1984 international architectural competition. The building integrates the museum into Canada's largest cultural complex, combining performing arts and visual arts facilities. Geneviève Cadieux's La Voie lactée remains installed on the building's roof. The current redevelopment project, begun in 2021, aims to add exhibition spaces and public areas to the structure, with the museum operating from temporary quarters at Place Ville-Marie until the project's completion in 2028.

The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal is located in downtown Montreal at the Place des festivals in the Quartier des spectacles, within the Place des Arts complex. Since late 2021, the museum has operated from a temporary location at Place Ville-Marie while its permanent building undergoes renovation and expansion. During this interim period, the museum continues to present exhibitions, video art projections, and educational and cultural mediation activities. The museum is owned by the Quebec government and managed as an independent corporation. Its website is http://www.macm.org/en/.