Half-Way

My efforts at blogging over the winter were slightly lackluster. It's now July and after 8 months I'm about half-way through this project. However, since I intend on moving back to Toronto in the fall, I now have roughly a month and a half to do the remaining 16 museums. Actually the Stewart Museum is still temporarily closed so instead of 16 to go I have 15 to go. We'll see.

In part doing this project is helping to build an increasingly complete image of Montreal. Each museum adds a layer of information about this city. I've seen some really interesting exhibits, and found a few unique and exciting museums, but overall I wouldn't say that I'm particularly impressed. Although I've had contracts in my field, I haven't worked in a museum since last spring. I suppose I feel a bit out of touch and uncertain about what my future holds. That anxiety and the decision to pack up and move again in the hope of having better luck in another city may be fueling my lackluster opinions of our city's cultural institutions. Nonetheless, I believe that Montreal's museums could be telling their stories in much more intriguing ways. Financial constraints are a major factor at play, and it is obvious that the exhibits and the methodology that backs them, haven't been changed much in the last few decades. The museology and display tactics seem so so dated, which is a shame because our city has important histories and cultural stories to share.

In a sense our museums resonate issues that percolate in the socio-political landscape, both Montreal's and Quebec's more broadly. We get stuck in an ideology of protecting our minority status within Canada, of promoting a French cultural identity because no one else will do it. Fine, but at a certain point it limits this city and this province's ability to move forward. There has to be a way to embrace our unique heritage while still participating in the 21st century and accepting the diverse place that Montreal has become. This isn't necessarily revisionist history but rather a revisionist present, a more open-minded and inclusive museology.