Free
About the series
The Preshow gives the public an in-depth preview of the Museum’s new exhibitions, as shared by those who brought them to life.
About the speakers
Born in Osaka in 1972, Chiharu Shiota lives and works in Berlin. Shiota’s inspiration often emerges from a personal experience or emotion that she expands into universal human concerns such as life, death and relationships. She has redefined the concept of memory and consciousness by collecting ordinary objects—shoes, keys, beds, chairs and dresses—and engulfing them in immense thread structures. By bringing them back to life and giving them a second purpose, the artist prompts a reflection about the objects’ past owners. These works are an expression of Shiota’s ongoing quest to uncover material links to people, even if they are not present. She explores this sensation of a “presence in the absence” with her installations, but also presents intangible emotions in her sculptures, drawings, performance videos, photographs and canvases. She was awarded the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize in Japan again in 2024, having previously received the prize as a new artist in 2008, and was appointed as an Officière de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic in 2026.
Mami Kataoka is Director of Mori Art Museum; Executive Advisor of the National Center for Art Research (NCAR), Japan; and Director of ICA Kyoto at Kyoto University of the Arts Graduate School. Kataoka joined the Mori Art Museum in 2003 and has held her position as Director since 2020. Her extensive curatorial leadership includes serving as Co-Artistic Director for the 9th Gwangju Biennale (2012), Artistic Director for the 21st Biennale of Sydney (2018) and Artistic Director of Aichi Triennale 2022. She has also been appointed Co-Curator for the 2027 Helsinki Biennial. From 2014 to 2022, she served on the Board of CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art), holding the position of President from 2020 to 2022. Additionally, she serves as Senior Director of the Mori Contemporary Art Foundation (MoriCAF), Representative Director of the Fukushima Tomioka Cultural Foundation, Councilor of the Odawara Art Foundation among other roles. She actively contributes to numerous arts and culture committees, serves as a juror for international art awards, and lectures extensively. Kataoka was awarded the 17th Western Art Promotion Foundation Award for Academic Achievement in 2022, and was appointed Chevalière de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Republic in 2026.
Stéphane Aquin has been The Rossy Foundation Director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) since November 2020. He holds a Master’s in Art History from Université de Montréal. During the 1990s, Aquin made his mark as an art critic in Quebec and Canada, following his collaboration on the opening of the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion in his first stint at the Museum. He rejoined the MMFA’s ranks in 1998 as Curator of Contemporary Art, a position he held for 16 years. In 2015, he was appointed Chief Curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, in Washington, D.C. As Director of the MMFA, he aims to further the great Montreal institution with a focus on an inclusive and innovative approach to art, upholding and respecting the artist’s vision, and fulfilling the Museum’s educational mission.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Location: Maxwell Cummings Auditorium, 1379-A Sherbrooke Street West
Please note that seat reservations are held until the beginning of the event. Once the activity has started, any unoccupied seats will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Exhibition
Presenting Sponsor
Merck Canada
Major Patron
Fondation Famille Gauthier
Major Partner
CIBC
In collaboration with
Tourisme Montréal
With support from
Hôtel Warwick Le Crystal – Montréal, Osler, The Jade Raymond Fund
Public Partners
Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Gouvernement du Québec
Official Sponsors
Air Canada, Air Canada Cargo, Denalt Paints
Media Partners
Bell, La Presse
Learning and community engagement
Major Patrons
Fondation de la Chenelière and Fondation Ariane Riou et Réal Plourde
Patron
The Molson Foundation
Public Partners
Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Gouvernement du Québec
