Culture, design, photography: Canada’s McCord Stewart Museum highlights fashion shifts
In our photo essay from this award-winning museum in Montreal, we share highlights from ongoing exhibitions.
Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 785 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.
Located on Sherbrooke Avenue in the heart of Montreal, the McCord Stewart Museum has been showcasing the region’s culture and heritage for over a century. See our earlier photo essays on its art exhibitions here.
The museum boasts six large collections of 2.5 million images, objects, documents, and works of art, with themes ranging from decolonisation to fashion. It also organises community engagement activities for educators and professionals.
Two exhibitions are currently being showcased for four months, with the photographic works of the legendary Norman Parkinson as well as 17 Quebec photographers.
The exhibition titled Portraits and Fashion features prints by 17 photographers: Max Abadian, William Arcand, Richard Bernardin, Alex Black, Sacha Cohen, Cristina Gareau, Andréanne Gauthier, and Royal Gilbert.
“For some, Quebec’s photography schools and then its fashion and publishing microcosm have been a springboard to major capitals like New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles and Tokyo, and from there, their images have made their way into the most prestigious magazines,” curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot explains.
The lineup also includes Shayne Laverdière, Carl Lessard, Monic Richard, Norman Jean Roy, Étienne Saint-Denis, Nelson Simoneau, Oumayma Ben Tanfous, Xavier Tera, and Villedepluie.
The 17 photographers showcase a range of diverse themes, drawing on their own multiple backgrounds. The exuberance and talent of the photographers are reflected in the cinematic yet sensitive images, as shown in this photo essay.
Norman Parkinson is regarded as one of the pillars of 20th-century fashion photography, capturing iconic images of prominent artists and celebrities. The exhibition highlights his work with magazines like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Queen, and Town & Country.
The showcase also includes iconic photographs of Nelson Mandela, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and others. Several pieces from the McCord Stewart Museum’s dress, fashion and textiles collection are on display as well.
In keeping with its cultural heritage, two sections of the museum address issues around indigenous art. This includes the exhibition, Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience.
The works of artist MC Snow are also featured. A graduate of the University of Ottawa's fine arts department, Snow has been working and exhibiting in Canada and the United States since the 1990s. His sculptural works combine traditional materials and techniques in a contemporary manner.
In sum, McCord Stewart Museum's current exhibitions span a broad range of cultural narratives, from indigenous culture to modern fashion. The design and interactive digital features appeal to an inter-generational audience as well.
Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?
Exhibits by MC Snow
Indigenous art section
(All photographs were taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at the exhibition.)
Edited by Kanishk Singh