Museums and galleries prepare for visitors
Visitors can expect a more private experience as Montreal cultural institutions reopen
I long for the experience of the gallery, and I think most people feel the same. There are great things that can be done online, make no mistake. But the immersive, physical, kinesthetic experience you get in an art gallery can’t be beaten. John Zeppetelli, director, Musée d’art contemporain
Mid-march of 2020 may linger in the popular memory as the last days of a lost epoch, but it was only 15 weeks ago that all museums in Quebec were cast into uncharted territory when the provincial government decreed all public buildings were to shut down.
Talking last week to the leaders of five of Montreal’s major museums about their experience of the past three months, some common themes emerged. One was an immediate concern that their staffs not only stay healthy but stay employed. Another was the acknowledgment that digital content, while integral to any museum’s relationship with its public, only goes so far: big website visitor numbers in the early stage of lockdown were followed quickly by sharp drop-offs.
There’s a general apprehension around the possibility of a second COVID -19 surge in the autumn; a regret that limitations placed on large-group visits will mean fewer children having the museum experience; a consensus that Zoom is here to stay, come what may; and an underlining of the need to continue a trend that has been gathering force in the museum world for a decade or more: the need to lead the conversation around ongoing social changes, a need whose urgency has been amplified by Black Lives Matter.
As reopening gathers steam, expect some fundamental changes. Museums, on average, will be able to admit no more than 75 people per hour because of social distancing. Get used to advance booking online, to lineups, and to Plexiglas, sanitary stations, extra directions from signage and staff. There’s upside, too: expect a tweaking of perspective that may well enable you to appreciate art in a whole new way.
MUSÉE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN
John Zeppetelli is no stranger to disruption. MAC’S director had been guiding the museum through a years-long transformational expansion project when the COVID -19 crisis hit.
“There was a lot of anxiety,” Zeppetelli said, referring to the transition into lockdown. “I drove a lot of people around here crazy for a long time.”
Soon enough, though, Zeppetelli and the MAC team got a grip, pivoting to the digital realm and shifting their online presence, in the director’s words, “from a promotional tool to much more of a content aggregate.”
Having physically reopened on Fête nationale with a free-admission welcome-back day, MAC now faces a changed routine as visitors begin arriving for a set of exhibitions highlighted by a web-based work by Montreal dancer-choreographer Marie Chouinard.
“The museum is essentially only half operational now,” said Zeppetelli, citing delays because of COVID -19 and prior construction issues. “But that still leaves visitors a quality two-hour experience.
“We have the great good fortune of being a government institution, but we still need to generate income,” he stressed. “The Cohen year (2017-18, when MAC mounted Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything) we made almost $2 million at the box office, and that’s money that is literally not available to us this year. Constraints are forcing us to think more long term, more strategically.”
For Zeppetelli, reopening brings a reminder of why he pursued a life in art in the first place.
“I long for the experience of the gallery, and I think most people feel the same,” he said. “There are great things that can be done online, make no mistake. But the immersive, physical, kinesthetic experience you get in an art gallery can’t be beaten.”
“Anyone who thinks that because we’ve been closed we’ve been relaxing ... well, we’ve worked harder than we ever have.”
Mccord Museum president and CEO Suzanne Sauvage makes it clear that crisis management involves more than the nuts-and-bolts logistics of funding and staffing.
“We’ve been reprogramming everything,” she said. “Exhibitions have had to be delayed, postponed, in some cases cancelled, and in some cases prolonged. This summer we were supposed to have our Christian Dior exhibition, which would have been a blockbuster. That’s happening this fall instead. The Chapleau exhibition (showcasing Quebec cartoonist Serge Chapleau, it opened on June 23) was supposed to open in April.
“Despite the fact that we’ll have fewer people in the museum, we’ll need more staff — people to explain the new process to visitors. And for the visitors, the irony is that they will probably
“The museum is essentially only half operational now,” says Musée d’art contemporain director John Zeppetelli, citing delays because of COVID-19 and prior construction issues. “But that still leaves visitors a quality two-hour experience.” have a more enjoyable visit than in a normal time, because it will be less crowded. It will be a kind of private visit, a very pleasant experience.”
In its efforts to draw visitors to its out-of-the-way location on Île Ste-hélène, Stewart Museum (dedicated to Quebec history and operated in conjunction with the Mccord) could always count on a certain amount of walk-by traffic from the other attractions on the island and nearby. This summer, of course, all those attractions are shut down: no Osheaga, no Piknic Élektronik, no Grand Prix, probably no La Ronde.
“We’ll be quite alone out there,” said Sauvage of the museum that reopened on June 25. “In a way it’s a great situation for visitors, because it’s a beautiful setting and you’ll be there with fewer people around.”
In common with her peers, Sauvage expresses a guarded optimism regarding the foreseeable future of museums.
“People like their habits,” she said. “They like the idea of getting back to normal, and having the chance to go to museums is part of that. If there’s a vaccine or a treatment, I really think it will happen very quickly. If not, well, on verra.”
CANADIAN CENTRE FOR ARCHITECTURE
For the CCA, physical reopening begins on July 1. Appropriately, the first stage involves the public debut of a new look for its public face: CCA founder Phyllis Lambert has directed a change for Parc Baile whereby the lawn is mowed in such a way as to encourage physical distancing while still providing a welcoming space.
“It’s a phased, measured approach we’re taking (to reopening),” said Giovanna Borasi, who took over as CCA director at the beginning of 2020. “We function as a museum but also as a research centre, so the first thing in restarting has been to improve (online) access to our collection of resources and public programming. Our bookstore is open online from July 1. It’s been a fruitful moment for experimentation, and I believe a lot of what we’ve been instituting will benefit us in the long run.”
Full-fledged physical reopening happens on Sept. 16; the featured exhibition is The Things Around Us: 51N4E and Rural Urban Framework.
As for the CCA’S long-established social remit, Borasi emphasized the need to do more work to reach more communities, and to attract more applications from more communities: “The entry point is the key to greater diversity.”
Asked if three months of involuntary lights-out have altered her view of the value and role of museums, Borasi didn’t hesitate.
“What has become evident is that institutions like ours are about much more than entertainment. The voice and the content of an institution are what’s truly important. Why are we occupying this space, and why should you listen to us?”
MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
“It’s like the world has turned upside down,” said MMFA director and chief curator Nathalie Bondil. “As a private museum, it’s been challenging going through this storm. We were obliged to reduce our expenses and at the same time to try to keep the whole team together, and to keep our relationships with donors, philanthropists, members and the public open.”
The MMFA had the unusual opportunity of a partial opening during lockdown: a remounting of its Mummies exhibition that effectively served as a dress rehearsal for the bigger reopening that takes place on July 4.
“Theory is one thing, reality is another,” Bondil said. “We have to adapt our tours for a different rhythm of pedestrian traffic. For Signac and the Indépendents (the huge Post-impressionist exhibition that was on the verge of opening when the lockdown occurred and finally gets its official launch on July 4), it will be easier. The spaces will be bigger, the works will be two-dimensional and not interactive.”
Challenges notwithstanding, Bondil anticipates good things in the weeks and months ahead.
“People are eager (to go back to museums), I sense that,” she said. “In times like this there is a need for peace, pleasure, delectation, nice moments.”
In the case of the Signac show, that need has led to a colourscheme rethink.
“Originally, when the exhibition was being mounted, there were some rooms painted black — very chic and elegant, but maybe a bit sad,” Bondil said. “When I came back (and saw those rooms), I decided that wasn’t the right mood for this moment. We want pink. We want joy.”
Given the possibility of short-notice changes, prospective visitors to the museums above, and to all others, are strongly encouraged to consult each museum’s website.