Montreal, June 12, 2025 — The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) is presenting a vibrant program throughout the summer months. Immerse yourself in late modernism, the iconic architectural movement that shaped downtown Montreal in the 1960s. Through a variety of activities at the MAC at Place Ville Marie and beyond, the Museum invites visitors of all ages to rediscover the built environment in a new light.
June 21 and 24, 2025
FREE ADMISSION TO THE MUSEUM
Exceptionally, admission to the MAC at Place Ville Marie will be free for everyone on Saturday, June 21, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and Tuesday, June 24, for Quebec’s National Holiday.
Until August 10, 2025
SKYSCRAPERS BY THE ROOTS: REFLECTIONS ON LATE MODERNISM
Curated by François LeTourneux, curator at the MAC, the exhibition Skyscrapers by the Roots at Place Ville Marie explores the long history of late modernism in architecture and its influence on many urban elements in Montreal, including the world’s largest “underground city,” through works created over the last 10 years by Shannon Bool, Kapwani Kiwanga, Rachel Rose, and Jonathan Schouela, a new film installation by David Hartt, as well as works by Lynne Cohen and François Dallegret produced in the 1960s and 1970s. More information.
Until August 24, 2025
HORIZON MURAL
Extend your visit to the exhibition Skyscrapers by the Roots by discovering the mural Horizon, along the MAC corridor at Place Ville Marie. This work, which is an integral part of David Hartt’s film installation, transforms the space into a retrofuturistic visual narrative, moving from the private spaces of the bedroom and living room to the public spaces of the arcade, the street, and the urban skyline, in an imaginary city dotted with megastructures, some of which will remind you of Montreal.
July 4 and 5, and August 1 and 2, 2025
CREATIVE WORKSHOPS
En famille at the MAC: Metropolises
These workshops for the whole family invite young and old to explore the current exhibition before tapping into their creativity. Inspired by their discoveries, participants are invited to be bold and imagine, through drawing and the use of various recycled materials, cities with a retrofuturistic look. On the first Fridays and Saturdays in July and August, from 10 a.m. to noon or from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (ages 6 and up). Limited space. Registration required.
July 18 and 25, 2025
ARCHITECTURAL TOURS
As part of the exhibition Skyscrapers by the Roots, the MAC is organizing two architectural tours. Visit Place Ville Marie and its surroundings with France Vanlaethem, Professor Emerita at UQAM’s School of Design, on July 18, and the Château Champlain with Nicola Pezolet, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art History at Concordia University, on July 25. Admission to the exhibition before or after the architectural tour is included. Space is limited. Registration required.
July 31, 2025
DANCED VISIT
The MAC is teaming up with the Festival Quartiers Danses (FQD) to offer a danced visit of the exhibition Skyscrapers by the Roots. Guided by contemporary dance artist Constance Aubry, participants will discover the exhibit through sight, gesture, and movement, exploring the legacy of late modernism and its effects on our ways of inhabiting urban spaces, living together, and our relationship to the environment. Free. Spaces are limited. Registration required.
Also Not to Be Missed…
Until spring 2026
GRAPHIC WORLDS MURAL
Take the time during your visits to events and festivals at Place des Arts to discover Graphic Worlds, a mural curated by Mojeanne Behzadi, curator at the MAC. This free outdoor exhibition brings together works at the intersection of comics, illustrated stories, drawing, and contemporary art, by Shuvinai Ashoona and Padloo Samayualie, Daniel Barrow, Julie Doucet, Cynthia G. Renard, Shawn Kuruneru, Adrian Norvid, Bea Parsons, Rajni Perera, Walter Scott, and Connor Willumsen. More information here.
From September 11, 2025, to March 8, 2026
MOMENTA BIENNALE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN
The MAC will partner with MOMENTA Biennale d’art contemporain to host the central exhibition of the 19th edition of the Biennale, In Praise of the Missing Image, curated by Marie-Ann Yemsi. The Bienniale’s program will be presented in 11 venues across Montreal and will feature dialogue among 23 artists from abroad and Canada, including six who will be presented at the MAC: Iván Argote (Colombia), Omar Victor Diop (Senegal) + Lee Shulman (United Kingdom), Maureen Gruben (Inuvialuk), Joyce Joumaa (Lebanon and Canada), Niap (Inuk), and Sanaz Sohrabi (Iran). From one exhibition to the next, artists will explore hybridization, fluidity, and fugitivity to create emancipatory images that reveal marginalized or erased narratives.
September 13, 2025
BY THE MAC FOUNDATION – Le Bal du MAC
The Bal du MAC 2025, the MAC Foundation’s major fundraising event, will take place on September 13, 2025, at La Nesra. Under the theme Manifesto, the evening promises to be a celebration of audacity, irreverence, and creative freedom. More information here.
About the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC)
For more than 60 years, the MAC has brought together Quebec and international artists, their works, and diverse audiences, celebrating art as an essential component of life in Montreal and Quebec. With the Museum’s headquarters in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles undergoing a major architectural transformation, the MAC has temporarily relocated its activities to Place Ville Marie, another iconic landmark in the city. There, the museum connects with the public through temporary exhibitions highlighting exceptional artists and presenting a variety of practices. The MAC at Place Ville Marie also offers a wide range of educational services, creative workshops, and community outreach activities. www.macm.org/en
Photo credits: 1. François Dallegret with Joseph Baker and Pierre Gaboriau, Palais Métro, 1967
Collage, Collection François Dallegret, Courtesy of the artist. 2. Place Ville Marie, view of the esplanade, circa 1962. Photo: Joseph W. Molitor. Place Ville Marie archives; 3. Construction of Château Champlain, 1966. Photo: unknown to the MAC. Ville de Montréal archives (VM94-Ad063-006); 4. Julie Doucet, Suicide total. Paris : L’Association, 2023, excerpt from the print © Julie Doucet & L’Association.
Source and Information
-
For information or interview requests, contact:
Livia Belcea, MAC Public Relations Officer | 514-847-6210
[email protected]
