Montreal has been named a City of Design by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), and was the capital of the commercial world in Canada until the 1970s when it was overshadowed by Toronto. Nonetheless, the city remains an important centre for culture, design, film, commerce, tourism, and more.

Called "Canada's Cultural Capital" by one international magazine, most Canadian French language television, radio, theatre, and film come out of Montreal. It is home to the annual Just for Laughs comedy festival, and is the site of the famous Place des Arts, a complex made up of numerous concert and theatre venues in the downtown area.

ART GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS

• The Artothèque de Montréal is an "art library" of sorts, that provides art for rent by individuals, film crews, businesses, and other establishments. There are almost 4,000 works in the collection, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints, and photographs. The entire body is available for rent, and selection committees annually consider new works and retire others.

  The Art Library also features a showroom where exhibits are held, in addition to conferences, training workshops, and creative workshops. The facility focuses on Canadian and Quebecois art, and strives in increase public understanding and recognition of visual art. The non-profit organization is a member of the Society of Quebec Museums.

• One of the best known art galleries in Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des beaux-arts de Montreal) occupies four pavilions with 140,000 square feet of exhibition space in the Golden Square Mile neighbourhood. The oldest library in the country dedicated to the study of art makes its home within the facility. The museum was established in 1860.

  The permanent collection housed within the museum includes a number of Inuit artworks, as well as pieces by Tom Thompson, and James Wilson Morrice. Non-Canadian pieces are also in residence, such as Renaissance medallions, pieces inspired by Caravaggio, Dutch and Flemish Baroque paintings, works by Nicholas Poussin and Rembrandt, Courbet and Renoir.

• The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, the city's contemporary art museum, is located within the Place des Arts complex, and was established in 1964. Founded by the Quebec government, the facility was the first exclusively contemporary art gallery in the country. The space includes four rooms exhibiting the permanent collection of over 7,000 artworks by 1,500 artists (most of whom are still alive today). The collection focuses on Quebec and Canadian artists, but does feature international work as well.

  Four other rooms in the facility feature travelling and special temporary exhibits showcasing a wide range of media including photography, sculpture, painting, installation, video, and more.

• Located on the Concordia University campus, the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery "focuses on the presentation and critical investigation of Canadian and international art," primarily contemporary. The gallery was founded in 1966 and offers exhibits and events, as well as art publications. Each spring, the work of the university's graduate students is showcased in the annual Ignition exhibition.

  The gallery utilizes talent both within and outside of the city's sphere, in the case of artists and curators. Each exhibit is surrounded by panel discussions, lectures, and film screenings. Also within the gallery is a special collection of Canadian and Quebecois art.

• Canadian Guild of Crafts
• Gallery X, in Concordia University
• SBC Gallery of Contemporary Art.
• Darling Foundry visual art centre
• Yves LaRoche Gallerie d'Art
• Galerie NuEdge
• Beaux-Arts des Amériques
• Cosner Gallery
• Walter Klinkhoff Gallery
• Galerie Art Mûr
• Le Bourget
• Le Luxart

An evening view of the city

ARTISTIC INSTITUTIONS

• One of two primarily English post-secondary institutions in the city, Concordia University offers comprehensive arts education in a variety of concentrations. Interested students can focus their studies on art history, film studies, ceramics, design, fiber and materials practices, intermedia, painting and drawing, sculpture, theatre, computation arts, photography, or print media. Graduate courses include most of the programs listed above, as well as 3D graphics and game development and media studies.

  Concordia was founded in 1974 with the amalgamation of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University. The school offers more than 300 undergraduate programs, and 100 graduate programs. The Faculty of Fine Arts itself offers more than 75 programs, and is home to nine separate departments. The faculty prides itself on education of both new technologies and traditional media and has seen nearly 16,000 graduates pass through its doors.

• The International School of Fashion, Arts, and Design at LaSalle College offers post-secondary diplomas in a variety of fine art programs. Artistic students can study fashion design, costume design, fashion marketing, arts and design, and culture and media. The school also provides certificate-style programs in interior design, specialized clothing design, infographic design, and more.

  LaSalle College is the largest bilingual college on the continent, and offers more than 60 programs within five separate specialty schools. The college also has a campus in Vancouver, British Columbia.

• The Academy of Art and Design supplies students with an AEC diploma that prepares them for employment. The school offers programs in interior design, fashion design, computer graphics and design, advertising, and web design, all taught by industry professionals and completed over a period of just 17 months.

  The school boasts practical skill development and flexible start times that allows students from all walks of life to take part in their programs. They are a bilingual college, and offer all classes in English and French.

• Study art history at one of Canada's oldest post-secondary institutions, McGill University.

• The Visual Arts Centre offers adult, youth, and teen classes in creative drawing, abstract painting, digital photography, Chinese brush painting, watercolor painting, and more.

• Sign up for a full-time intensive in concept art and illustration at Syn Studio Art School, or take classes in drawing, painting, or digital art.

• At Arts Umbrella kids and teens can take summer courses in creative dance, mixed media and sculpture, architecture, claymation, and more.

• Learn about fashion drawing, collage techniques, drawing, painting, ceramics, and more at the Montreal Art Centre.

• The Atelier-Gallery offers classes in portraiture, painting, and drawing, as well as various workshops.

A statue of Jean Vauquelin in Vauquelin Square

NATIVE ARTISTS

There are plenty of artistic people originally from, or currently living in Montreal, Quebec!

• Audrey Capel Doray is a Montreal-born artist who works in paint, print, electronic media, film, and mural styles. She studied under Group of Seven artist Arthur Lismer, and her work has been featured at the National Gallery of Canada.

• A member of the Beaver Hall Group, Anne Savage (1896-1971) was a painter who helped found the Canadian Group of Painters in 1949.

• André Pijet is an editorial cartoonist whose drawings have been published around the world. He was first recognized in Quebec for a series of cartoons referencing the 1993 hockey playoff games, which were printed in the local daily paper.

• Known for figure paintings in bright colors, with a "brooding" quality, Prudence Heward (1896-1947) was another member of the Beaver Hall Group and a co-founder of the Canadian Group of Painters.

• Actors William Shatner, Sasha Roiz, Christopher Plummer, and Percy Rodriguez were born or grew up in Montreal.

ART AND CULTURAL EVENTS

Annual Events

• Offta is a live arts festival that promotes "contemporary creation," new art practices, and experimentation in the arts. The event showcases acts that blur the lines between performance art, theatre, dance, and visual art. The award-winning event began in 2007, and brings in hundreds of applications, more than one hundred acts, and artists from around the world.

• Begun in 2013, the Mural Festival showcases public art by approximately twenty local and international graffiti and traditional artists. Over the course of the 10-day festival, the artists create murals around the city which can then be viewed by passersby for the rest of the year. The event hosts installations and exhibitions as well, along with select film screenings and guided tours of the city's murals.

• Mode and Design is a fashion and design festival that features dozens of shows highlighting the work of hundreds of artists. The event draws more than half a million visitors, and showcases installations, workshops, "creative sessions," musical performances, and more. The festival takes place in August, and first started in 2000.

Other Events and Sights to See

• Check out the Salon des métiers d'art de Montréal, a long-running art and craft show, each December.
• Visit the Notre Dame Basilica built in 1830, and stand in awe of its beautiful architecture.
• Wander through four separate ecosystems in the Montreal Biodome, originally the home of the 1976 Olympic Games.
• Hit the ice at Bell Centre to catch a hockey game with the iconic Montreal Canadiens.
• Take the kids and check out the wonders of science at the Montreal Science Centre.
• Catch a show at one of the six performance halls in the largest cultural and artistic complex in the country: Place des Arts.
• For more great things to do and see in Montreal, visit Tourism Montreal.

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