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Arts Of One World

masks from The Arts of One World Collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
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In November 2019, the Museum unveiled the Stéphan Crétier and Stéphany Maillery wing for arts of the All-World.

Located on the 4th floor of the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion, the wing’s 10 fully refurbished galleries create a dialogue between works of ancient cultures and those by local and international contemporary artists from a renewed intercultural and transhistorical perspective. This ambitious reinstallation project was made possible thanks to the generous support of Stephan Crétier and Stéphany Maillery.

An exceptional tool for discovering and understanding cultural diversity in Canada and around the world, past and present, this new wing displays a rich selection from the Museum’s collection, including over 10,000 archaeological objects and works by artists from many different cultures. The Museum’s encyclopedic collection is one of the oldest and most prestigious in Canada.

The 1,025 m2 of the Stephan Crétier and Stéphany Maillery wing contain more than 1,500 objects and works by artists who hail from every continent. Located in the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion, the largest and most visited of the Museum’s five pavilions, the wing presents treasures from Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Oceania and the Americas dating from the 4th millennium B.C.E. to today. It invites visitors to take a fresh, 360-degree look at our early heritage and contemporary creations. The presentation design goes beyond the discourse of art history to highlight the exchanges that have occurred and continue to occur between cultures, while displaying present-day disciplines and social concerns.

Situated in the heart of a humanist and socially engaged museum, the wing promotes inclusive values that reflect Montreal, a metropolis made up of close to 120 cultural communities. It invites people of different cultures to come together to better understand one another at a time, in this 21st century, when togetherness has become an issue of vital importance.

Yinka Shonibare, C.B.E. (born in 1962), Pan, 2018
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Read more about this collection

Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion

Please note that the works shown on this page may not
necessarily be currently on view in the galleries.

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works in our online collection
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Credits and curatorial team

The Stephan Crétier and Stéphany Maillery wing is curated by Nathalie Bondil, former Director General and Chief Curator, MMFA, in collaboration with Iris Amizlev, Exhibition Concept Consultant – Arts of One World, Erell Hubert, Curator of Pre-Columbian Art, MMFA, and Laura Vigo, Curator of Asian Art, MMFA.

The MMFA also partnered with researchersDanielle Aimée Miles, MA Art History and, museology specialist; Valerie Behiery, Middle East contemporary art specialist, art historian and independent scholar; John M. Fossey, FRSC, classical archaeology specialist and emeritus Curator of Mediterranean Archaeology, MMFA; Céline Gillot, pre-Columbian art specialist and PhD; Rafah Jwejati, PhD, Middle East antique mosaics specialist; Perrine Poiron, Egyptologist and PhD candidate in Egyptology and History; Andilib Sajid, Islamic art specialist and curator; and Akiko Takesue, PhD, Japanese art specialist.

The exhibition was designed by Sandra Gagné, former Head of Exhibitions Production, MMFA.

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts logo
Stéphan Crétier et Stéphany Maillery
Gouvernement du Québec

The Arts of One World is presented by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, thanks to the outstanding support of Stephan Crétier and Stéphany Maillery.

The MMFA acknowledges the contribution of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications to the realization of this project as well as that of the Canada Council for the Arts (New Chapter program), the Government of Canada and the Conseil des arts de Montréal (Impressions artist residency). It also underscores the important collaboration of the Centre de conservation du Québec.

The MMFA thanks all of its donors who, from Frederick Cleveland Morgan onwards, have enriched the encyclopedic collection – notably including works of archaeology, world cultures and contemporary art, near and far – as well as the private and institutional lenders for their participation.

The Museum is sincerely grateful to Dr. Stephen Fichman for his support of the Asian art galleries and his enrichment of the Japanese art collection. It acknowledges the contribution of Narinder Singh and Satinder Kaur Kapany, the Sikh Foundation International (U.S.A.) and the Chadha Family Foundation. The MMFA further extends its thanks to the Clément-Frencia family, Oscar A. Pekau, Christian Thériault, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the Toshiba International Foundation and the International Friends of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for their support.

The Museum also thanks its media partners Bell, La Presse and the Montreal Gazette. In addition, the MMFA thanks all the volunteers on the acquisition committees and the Volunteer Guides for their abiding dedication, and acknowledges all its members and the many individuals, corporations and foundations – in particular the Fondation de la Chenelière, directed by Michel de la Chenelière, and Arte Musica, presided over by Pierre Bourgie – for their generosity. The Museum extends its thanks as well to the Institut du Tout-Monde.

Finally, we extend our gratitude to all those who, through their generous assistance, encouragement and support, made this project possible.

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