The MNBAQ's Gérard Morisset pavilion to undergo major updates

 The pavilion will close for renovation, as the redisplaying of collections enters its third phase.

QUÉBEC CITY, Sept. 20, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Only a few days remain for the public to visit the Time Flies. Vanitas Art in the MNBAQ Collection and Carl Trahan.Because There is Night exhibitions, both presented in the Gérard Morisset pavilion at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ). As of September 25^th, the Gérard Morisset pavilion will be closed to visitors while the building undergoes renovation and as the redisplaying of the MNBAQ's collections enters its third and final phase. This will provide momentum for the celebration of the Musée's 85^th anniversary in 2018, when visitors will be able to rediscover the magnificent building where the MNBAQ's museum complex first began. "In revisiting our collections from prior to 1960, our aim was to place emotion at the heart of the visitor's experience, by revealing the artists behind the works and placing emphasis on their stories," explains Line Ouellet, the MNBAQ's executive director and chief curator.

The firm Delort & Brochu Architectes has been mandated with updating the Gérard Morisset pavilion. This will allow for the architectural qualities of the building, which was inaugurated in 1933, to be highlighted, harmonizing it with the MNBAQ's three other pavilions: the Pierre Lassonde pavilion, which was inaugurated in 2016; the central pavilion, which underwent restoration to coincide with the opening of the Pierre Lassonde pavilion; and the Charles Baillairgé pavilion, which was updated in 2014.

Five completely revamped collection galleries

For the past several months, the MNBAQ's Collections Division team has been revisiting all of the content from the exhibitions that will soon be presented in this pavilion overlooking the Plains of Abraham ice rink. Five of the pavilion's seven galleries, which contain works from the museum's collection ranging from early art to modern art created prior to 1960, will be updated, providing a fresh look at over 350 years of artistic practice in Quebec.

After much careful consideration, this third phase of redisplaying the museum's collections will go beyond the conventional and chronological presentation of works. The approach developed by the Musée will shed light on the individuals behind our collective art history. In doing so, it is in line with both current evolutions in museology and new perspectives adopted by various societies with regards to heritage. Following the stories of the women and men who shaped present-day Quebec, these efforts to redisplay the collections will be centered around several of the pavilion's galleries, presenting the progression of artistic practices in Quebec: from the copyists to the automatists, and from the art market's earliest days to the proliferation of the great artistic movements.

This major renewal project will include over 800 works of art (paintings, sculptures, jewellery, furniture, photography and works of graphic art) that will be presented in five galleries, providing a new look at many unique works from the MNBAQ's collection, some of which are little known to the public. All of this will be staged in a contemporary and inspired setting. The MNBAQ's 85^th anniversary and the new Gérard Morisset pavilion are highly anticipated!

Time Flies. Vanitas Art in the MNBAQ Collection 
Carl Trahan.Because There is Night
Presented until September 24^th, 2017
Gérard Morisset pavilion, MNBAQ
Renovations begin September 25^th, 2017
Reopening in 2018

SOURCE Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec