Working towards an active collecting

Timed with the milestone of its 40th anniversary in 2019, the MAC LAU has begun an important period of reassessment and collection transformation, joining forces with a new committee of experts dedicated to collection development.

 

The experts


Barbara Clausen : In 2015, over a special two-day event, she met with the MAC LAU team and Board of Directors to share a presentation on international models of museums founded near major metropolitan centres, focusing on institutions with a value system rooted in research. These panels helped shape the evolution of the museum’s central tenets and new mission. Clausen’s profound knowledge of curatorial practices and institutionalism are invaluable, as is an approach based solidly on the values espoused by artists, artistic practices and research. Barbara Clausen is an independent curator and professor of arts studies at UQAM.

Francine Couture : The works of Francine Couture on the conservation of contemporary art in artistic institutions will inform and guide the museum on its new approach, one that fuses showing its collection with considered reflection on its future.  Francine Couture is a sociologist of the arts and associate professor in the art history department of UQAM.

Richard Gagnier : His understanding of restoration and conservation, as well as his vast curatorial experience, will play a pivotal role in this transformative exercise. The museum’s goal throughout this process is to re-evaluate its collection policy within the framework of the dematerialization of certain practices. Richard Gagnier is the head of the conservation department at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

David Gour : Trained in cabinetmaking and design, David Gour has developed an expertise in design and management of design projects. His contributions to the committee include the restructuring of the exhibition spaces, as well as the design of custom furniture. David Gour is a designer and exhibition scenographer.

Éric Ladouceur : In addition to sitting on the Museum’s Board of Directors, Éric Ladouceur is an artist. This phase of self-reflection and redefinition would not be complete without the voice of someone so intrinsically knowledgeable and involved. Éric Ladouceur is also a visual arts teacher at the Cégep de Saint-Jérôme.

When all is said and done, there is one simple thread of similarity binding these committee members: each and every contributor, in their own unique way, offers fresh insight and thinking that’s outside the box.


Thumbnail image

Phillippe Caron Lefebvre
Sceau du Musée d'art contemporain des Laurentides
2012
50 cm diameter
Wood and screws
Donation from the artist
Photo: Lucien Lisabelle

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In July 2019, the MAC LAU posted information about its collection on "DONNÉES QUÉBEC Le carrefour collaboratif en données ouvertes québécoises" platform, the first museum, outside of state museums, to participate. We are very pleased to share this information and to collaborate in the advancement of research in the field of Quebec museology and statistics. An interesting resource to discover! (In French only)

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The main mission of the Musée d’art contemporain des Laurentides is to showcase, share and promote the works of visual artists. Towards this vision, the museum collects, preserves, exhibits and documents artworks with a particular emphasis on contemporary art. The MAC LAU acquires, on a regular basis, a growing collection of print and audiovisual works and media reflective of the visual arts practices of the Laurentians, allowing for the continued documentation, preservation, research, exhibition and interpretation of these works. The MAC LAU carefully evaluates all artworks donation submissions.

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