Festival Art Souterrain

Celebrating the radical art-making of Joyce Wieland (1930-1998), this large-scale exhibition offers an in-depth look at one of the most influential Canadian artists of her time.

This ambitious career retrospective – her first in nearly forty years– is also the most comprehensive, and positions Wieland as a critical international figure of 20th-century art and film.

Encompassing the full arc of her career that spanned four decades, Heart On brings together over one hundred works of drawing, painting, collage, film, textile and print. Spotlighting the concerns that informed Wieland’s creative output, namely her engagement with feminism, social justice and ecology, this exhibition explores her unique approach to art-making and the enduring relevance of her oeuvre to contemporary issues.

Born and raised in Toronto, Joyce Wieland was one of Canada’s most prominent and prolific artists of the 20th century. Beginning in late 1962, she spent a decade in New York City where she became an active member of the burgeoning experimental film scene. In 1966, her practice expanded to textile works and plastic assemblages, challenging the notion that art functions apart from politics and daily life. Wieland began making her signature quilts, collaborating with craftswomen from across Canada. She was the first living woman artist to have a retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada (in 1971) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (1987).

ulitsuak | marée montante | rising tide

Glenn Gear

From October 1, 2024, to March 30, 2025, a new work will light up the facade of the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion every night, from dusk to 11 p.m. In ulitsuak | marée montante | rising tide, artist Glenn Gear explores systems of symmetry and order, aiming to convey the power of water, which has the potential to erase, erode, sustain life and elicit many emotions.

The Indigiqueer multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker Glenn Gear is a graduate of Memorial University and Concordia University. Of Inuit and Newfoundland heritage, he is known for his work Kablunât (2016) and his series Kimutsik (2019-). Gear’s work has notably been presented at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq, Bonavista Biennale, Nuit Blanche Toronto and Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre. He was shortlisted for both the 2023 Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award and the 2021 Sobey Art Award.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ mission is to acquire, conserve, study, interpret and present significant works of art from around the world and from every era, benefiting the members of its community and all Museum visitors. The Museum’s collection showcases Québec and Canadian heritage, Indigenous art and international art comprising close to 47,000 works of art from antiquity to today. The MMFA’s exhibitions and cultural programming aims to inspire new ways of looking at art and the history of art. As a hub of art and a pioneer in the provision of art therapy, the Museum collaborates with partners in a variety of fields offering audiences an enriching experience while striving towards a more inclusive, accessible and just world.