This is the new name of the former Montreal History Center, built in the Quartier des spectacles, between the Cléopâtre cabaret and the Central restaurants, on the corner of Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Sainte-Catherine Street. A space dedicated to the history of Montreal, but above all to the – diverse – stories of Montrealers.
Published yesterday at 2:39 p.m.
As soon as we enter the MEM – Center of Montreal Memories, the images of Montreal are presented in a decor that is both entertaining and friendly, inspired by the city’s nomenclature. “Public square”, “terrace”, “alley”, “Belvedere”…
From the illuminated signs of businesses that no longer exist (like Club 281 or La Boîte Noire), to traffic signs (with a little game called: Can we park here?) and the replica of a supermarket, mural works or even the exhibition of Mit den Colorful balls by the recently deceased landscape architect Claude Cormier, the visitor quickly finds himself on familiar terrain.
PHOTO SYLVAIN LÉGARÉ, PROVIDED BY THE MUSEUM
Some brands from the MEM – Center of Montreal Memories
All that’s missing are a few orange cones that have become the city’s emblem, an artifact that Mayor Valérie Plante prefers to leave outside for now, but who knows? Maybe the cone will make its debut at MEM soon…
Ms. Plante, who attended the official opening ceremony late Thursday afternoon, expressed to La Presse her great joy at being present in the new home of this museum dedicated to the history of Montrealers. She was particularly pleased that the MEM is now located in the heart of the Quartier des spectacles.
“There are several great museums in Montreal,” the mayor said. But the concept of the Center for Montreal Memories is very contemporary. »
I really like the idea of Montrealers talking about their daily lives, it’s a new way of doing museology and it has historical value. I think Montrealers and tourists will appreciate seeing the faces of Montrealers, hearing their voices and accents.
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal
Montrealers as witnesses
A citizens’ exhibition on Le Chaînon takes up part of the public space. A way to highlight the people who contributed to the sustainability of this women’s shelter founded 90 years ago. Video clips are made available to visitors. In particular, we can listen to the testimony of Lucie Morrissette, a woman who began volunteering for the organization at the age of 22.
Credentials. We will hear this word often during the visit organized for the media. And for a good reason. The MEM – Center for Montreal Memories, which will officially open to the public on October 6th, has more than 700 audio and video reports from Montrealers, many excerpts of which are available to us.
A temporary exhibition (paid) entitled “Detours, Urban Encounters” presents 18 Montrealers who take atypical paths and which we discover through short videos. The scenography is by Pierre-Étienne Locas, a well-known artist in the theater scene.
For example, we meet Maxime St-Denis, a fir tree seller from Centre-Sud, the dancer Lazylegz (Luca Patuelli), who lives with a muscle disease that affects his legs; the owner of the restaurant Les Îles en ville, Ginette Painchaud; Artist Kama La Mackerel, who creates spaces for trans or queer artists; or these two Italian sisters who grow fruit in their garden and work with the organization Les Fruits Forbiddens.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
A typical Montreal grocery store was recreated on site.
Ericka Alneus, head of culture and heritage in the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal, who was present at the inauguration, particularly appreciated this part of the MEM. “It is an exhibition that confronts us with other realities,” she told us. I think there’s something very moving about MEM that celebrates the little things that make us this French-speaking cultural metropolis. People will smile, they will laugh, they will find each other and that will allow people from elsewhere to discover us. »
Upcoming exhibition
The central element of the MEM, however, is a permanent exhibition simply titled Montreal, which attempts to answer two questions: “What is Montreal?” » and “Who is Montreal?” »
Unfortunately, this (paid) expo, which will feature many interactive stations with audio and video content, will not be ready on October 6th. The head of collections, exhibitions and programming, Catherine Charlebois, stated that the company Halo Création, with which the MEM worked, had declared bankruptcy. The museum is therefore looking for a new supplier to complete the work, but the exhibition will not be open to the public for a few months.
La Presse was still able to enter the room dedicated to this exhibition, which was divided into several sections.
In addition to the oral testimonies of Montrealers (in the future), visitors will enjoy the “At Home” section, with models of the different types of housing in the city, but also with those objects or products that we used to keep in our closets.
For example, the first boxes of Catelli pasta, jars of spicy Manba peanut butter, Jehane Benoît’s recipe book, Steinberg paper bags and even newspaper archives.
Another entertaining section: objects from our collective memory integrated into a “sound and light” show. In particular, you can see the logo of the Montreal Metro, a jersey of the Montreal Canadiens, a lunch box in the colors of Expo 67, a poster of the Belmont amusement park, Victor, the mascot of the Just for Laughs festival, a rainbow of flags, etc. In short , so many artifacts that are part of the MEM’s collection of around 10,000 objects.
A selection of photographs depicting emblematic places in the metropolis were taken by Montrealers. We will see huge photos of these places in a circular space around us. Finally, artist Raphaëlle de Groot created a massive sculptural work called “The Constellations of the Seahorse,” which was inspired by the workings of memory.