Montréal, October 22, 2015 — This coming November 6 to 8, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) will be the scene of MuseomixMTL, an R&D laboratory in which participants will set out to enrich the museum experience through the use of new technologies. The Musée will be transformed into a truly inventive laboratory with creativity, art and technology as its prime focus. During this techno-creative weekend, more than a hundred professionals passionately interested in the Web, technologies, culture and museology will take over the MAC. Grouped in multidisciplinary teams, these creative talents (supported by mentors) will devise all kinds of prototypes—from Web and mobile apps to interactive installations—allowing visitors to experience the museum in a new and different way. This is the first time a museum of contemporary art is hosting the Museomix event, and MAC Director and Chief Curator John Zeppetelli says he is “delighted that in offering museomixers the Musée’s spaces and access to its permanent collection, it will be enabling them to develop inventive educational prototypes for reinterpreting the works and reinventing the museum experience.”

In the museomixers’ sights: two exhibitions at the MAC

Over the weekend, the MAC will offer the MuseomixMTL teams access to two exhibitions showcasing works from its extensive permanent collection. The first of these, titled New Discoveries and Other Obsessions, illustrates choices made by John Zeppetelli. The second exhibition, L’Œil et l’Esprit, features the selections of artist Geneviève Cadieux, who systematically went through the approximately 7,800 works in the museum’s holdings and came up with around one hundred well-chosen works that reflect her thinking with respect to art history and contemporary society.

A hive of techno activity at the MAC

For three days, ten teams of six people, selected for the complementarity of their respective expertise, will take up residence at the MAC. The museomixers come from the following communities:

  • Mediation, interaction and users: museography, UX design, game design, sound design, mediation.
  • Communication and media: writing and editing, journalism, community management, blogging, video documentary.
  • Making: CAD (2D/3D), DIY, mechanical engineering, industrial design, construction, carpentry, sewing, crafts.
  • Coding and development: electronics, mobile, desktop and Web development.
  • Contents: art history, research, curating, information sciences.
  • Design: graphic design, drawing/illustration, Web design.
  • Space and landscape design: stage design, architecture, urban design.

Remixing the MAC: issues and playgrounds

Ever conscious of enhancing its visitors’ experience through enriching, cutting-edge projects and programs, the MAC is opening its doors to the Museomix experience with the aim of getting to know other ways of interacting with its public. The event will also be a chance to reflect on essential questions related to its ongoing development and its future in the current digital environment.

Structuring this process of reflection will be the following themes or “playgrounds” presented to the participating teams:

Mediation of technology-based works: Technology as a central component of mediation is the very spirit of Museomix. But what happens in the case of a museum of contemporary art where more and more works have emerged out of new technologies?

The museum in the city: How can the museum be an active player in the urban cultural landscape beyond its walls? How does it fit into its neighbourhood, its city? Both MuseomixMTL and MuseomixQC will explore this playground.

(Re)showing the (un)showable: This playground takes place in two stages. First, showing the unshowable, such as the artwork selection process followed by the curators, the development of a gallery plan for optimal presentation of the works, and the process of restoring them in the laboratory. Many things are hidden from visitors’ eyes. What if we made the invisible visible? The next stage involves reshowing the showable: how can the MAC extend the life of its exhibitions, programs and contents?

Beyond the screen: From the museum selfie to a tablet providing further details on the works, the screen is often the preferred interface between visitor and content. Some people see it as an added value, others, a nuisance. One thing is certain: over the past decade, the screen has revolutionized the way we visit the museum, but what is there beyond the screen?

When the museum is closed: A museum that is closed—whether for renovations or to install an exhibition—nevertheless has a mission to present cultural offerings. How can technologies contribute to this mission?

An international event: Five countries are museomixing!

This year, Museomix is taking place simultaneously at eleven museums in five countries: in Canada, at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec; in France, at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris; La Manufacture, a museum dedicated to memory and textile design, Roubaix; Musée National du Sport, Nice; Musée de Bretagne, Rennes; and Musée d’art et d’archéologie, Guéret; in Belgium, at the Musée des beaux-arts, Ghent; and Musée Royal de Mariemont; in Switzerland, at the Musée de la communication, Berne; and in Mexico, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City.

Schedule and details

To observe the museomixers’ work at the MAC more closely, the public is invited to register in advance for guided tours, at www.museomixmtl.com. These tours are offered on Friday, November 6 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, November 7 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, November 8 from 10 a.m. to noon. Starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, the public is invited to see and test the prototypes that have been produced. The guided tours offered as part of Museomix are free of charge; museum admission is according to current pricing.


Acknowledgments

Techno Culture Club, a non-profit organization and managing coordinator of MuseomixMTL, is grateful to the Entente sur le développement culturel de la Ville de Montréal, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec and Collection Loto-Québec for their generous contribution to the event. The Museomix project received additional support from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Plan culturel numérique du Québec. Techno Culture Club also wishes to thank its principal partner, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.

Museomix in brief

A concept that originated in France, at the Musée des arts décoratifs in Paris in 2011, Museomix is the first international cultural marathon that mixes skills and insights. Museomix is three days of invention, design, fabrication and testing of innovative digital devices for museum mediation. Museomix is an international citizens’ movement that fosters the proliferation of ideas, experimentation and the emergence of new interdisciplinary collaboration.

Museomix in Québec

The first edition of Museomix on Québec soil took place at the Musée de la civilisation in Québec City in 2013. Last year, the collective met in Montréal to museomix the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. This year, the 2015 edition of MuseomixMTL will be held at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, while MuseomixQC will take place at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Québec City.

The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal is a provincially owned corporation funded by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec. It receives additional funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts. The museum gratefully acknowledges their support and that of its principal partner, Collection Loto-Québec. The MAC also thanks its media partners La Presse and Cogeco.

Source and Information

Anne Dongois
T. 514 826-2050
[email protected]