WARM-UP

In the bunker at Bradley Ertaskrian Gallery. Photo by Commissioner.

Lunch:
Before everyone in our group arrives–we’ll swell to 25+ people altogether–we begin our journey at Atwater Market, founded in 1933, with Satay Brothers’ Singaporean street food, local produce, and authentic Canadian goods.

Montreal black and white. Gallery by Roy Wallace.

Afternoon:
A walk to the nearby Bradley Ertaskrian revealed an old laundry factory-turned gallery, replete with a bunker ideal for screening digital works. On view was Sunrise, Sunset, a beautiful exhibition featuring 13 international artists who take landscape as their impetus but reach far beyond traditional representations–kind of what this trip did for us. It’s the journey, not the destination.

Take the scenic route along the Lachine Canal to Blouin Division at Arsenale. On view during our visit: Hurlement by Stanley Février. If you’re in Montréal, support this artist wherever he is. Stanley’s social practice consists of collecting works by artists of color demonstrably underrepresented in Canadian museums. With a “performance” that he’s named the Museum of Invisibles, this artist is doing the critical work of gathering data, supporting artists and acquiring seminal works of our time.

Dinner:
Café Parvis: delicious food that takes its time. If weather allows, sit outside on the terrace.

DAY ONE

In the studio with Oski. Photo by Roy Wallace.

Morning:
Before embarking on three days of artgoing, breakfast with local artist advocate, collector and culture bearer Shirtlette Wint at SoLIT Café helped us set the intentions for our trip. We begin with a studio visit with Olivier Vilaire, also known as Oski, at 3333 Crémazie. A curatorial statement from his seminal exhibit at Le Liveart explains: “[His] paintings are imbued with an energy of someone seeking liberation; there flows a poetic expression free from prejudice, free from the chains of time, free from physical constraints, free to listen and compose his astral song.”

Mariana Sánchez Hoyos, artist-in-residence at Fonderie Darling. Photo by Dominique Claire-Marie.

Lunch:
Dine at Mélisse in the Old Port, where the service is friendly and fast. It’s also just around the corner from our next stop.

Afternoon:
Fonderie Darling is an adaptive reuse steel mill for exhibitions and artists. Not only do they provide residencies for Montreal-based artists—without the expectation that artists produce work—they also offer a program for international visiting artists. During our time, we met with Guadalajara native Mariana Sánchez Hoyos, who through ceramics traces the materials sourced for construction and building cities to economies of extraction and capitalism.

In conversation with curators Rosie Gordon-Wallace and eunice bélidor for alcove. Photo by Darwin Doleyres.

Lunch, learn, and swing in the studio with Daily tous les jours.

Explore more of the Old Port before heading to the McCord-Stewart Museum, where Indigenous Voices of Today is on permanent view. A guided tour with a “mediator”—the French word for “docent,” but a more elegant and accurate descriptor—offers valuable insights on the 100-plus carefully selected objects from the museum’s Indigenous Cultures collection.

Relatedly, nearby and adjacent to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is La Guilde. Founded in 1906, the nonprofit preserves and promotes Inuit art, First Nations art, Métis art and Fine Crafts from Canada. Select works by both established and emerging artists are available at accessible prices.

Evening:
In a special collaboration with alcove, Commissioner co-presented a live podcast recording with curators eunice bélidor of Montreal and Rosie Gordon-Wallace of Miami, with a bilingual Q & A moderated by Diane Gistal. Learn more about alcove here, and relive the evening through the photography of Darwin Doleyres at WILLS.

DAY TWO

Morning:
Plan for a day of wonder and discovery. Age of Union is interested in addressing the most urgent climate issues of our time through the lens of artists and technologists. Creative director and composer Kelly Nunes walked us through a series of immersive installations that transfixed us with delight, bringing us closer to each other and to our inner selves. Listen to the podcast with Age of Union founder Dax Silva, and make an appointment well in advance of your visit.

Afternoon:
In 2021, the city of Montreal announced the largest private-public partnership to secure approximately 900 affordable artist lofts and studios in Mile End. Among the neighborhood’s creative spaces is 5425 Casgrain, today home to fashion designers, workshops, brands and, notably, Daily tous les jours. An award-winning art and design studio with projects in 40 cities around the world, the team at Daily engineers collective experiences for public spaces. Their mantra, “Strangers need strange moments together,” comes from the idea that more vibrant social interactions lead to more resilient cities. Check out Musical Swings, and more recent projects such as Musical Shadows in Dubai; Hello Trees in Houston, Texas; and I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, currently touring the U.S. and Europe.

At home with Lillian Mauer of Art Speaks. Photos by Dominique Claire-Marie.

Hopping from Mile End to the Golden Square Mile, we find ourselves in awe of the private collection of Lillian Mauer. For 12 years, Lillian’s eponymous gallery showcased Canadian and American artists working across mediums. More recently, she partnered with curator Mojeanne Behzadi to cofound Art Speaks. A platform for dynamic conversations through the lens of contemporary art, their program has featured luminaries Helen Molesworth, Theaster Gates, Woody De Othello, and Thelma Golden, to name a few. During our visit, Lillian noted how much courage it takes to follow your gut and support a not-yet-known artist. As we consider barriers of entry to the art world, so should we acknowledge the psychological leap of faith that comes with collecting. The best and most consistent advice: Buy what you like; support who and what speaks to your heart.

Evening:
Chef Paul Toussaint’s Kamúy, named after the Taino people’s word for sun, shines bright in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles with a VIP view of the jazz festival’s mainstage. On the night that we indulged in an endless tasting menu with Barbancourt libations, headliners BadBadNotGood brought the funk, the jazz, and the hip hop, too.

DAY THREE:

Morning:
Multidisciplinary artist Marie-Michelle Deschamps has more questions than answers—a guiding principle of her creative practice. Finding meaning and language in the spaces between subject and material, the artist represented by Bradley Ertaskrian gallery hosted an inspiring studio visit that—cue the oohs and ahhs—included an enamel-painting demonstration.

In the Garment District studio of Marie-Michelle Deschamps. Photo by Dominique Claire-Marie.

Visitors can also enjoy Marie-Michelle’s work in the public space in Griffintown. Dubbed Réciprocités, her monumental sculpture is informed by the city’s industrial past, and borrows from the herbarium The Lost Flora of Montreal by Andrew Fernando Holmes (1797-1860).

Walking tour of historic Little Burgundy. Gallery by Bohetic Wanders.

Afternoon:
Following homemade crêpes at the Carrington family home—loving shoutouts to Ashley, Bis and France Carrington—a walking tour of the nearby Black historic neighborhood of Little Burgundy by Rito Joseph was among the trip’s highlights. Named the Harlem of the North, parks and murals serve as anchors for stories about the vibrant, jazz-filled community of the past, heralding greats like Oscar Peterson, Daisy Peterson and Oliver Jones.

Evening:
A last supper at Lawrence prepared by owner and chef Marc Cohen is the cherry on top of a soul-filling experience in Montreal. When asked why call the restaurant Lawrence and not Marc, Chef explained that Lawrence is the main on which this eatery and its more casual complement, Larry’s, are located. What’s more, Saint Lawrence is the patron saint of cooks. Amen.

WHERE TO STAY:
Boutique hotel Le Germain in Downtown Montreal, or more affordable sister property Alt Hotel. Additional alternatives include the Sonder on Richmond in Griffintown.

MORE PLACES TO SEE & EAT
St-Viateur Bagels
The Phi Foundation for Contemporary Art
Canadian Centre for Architecture
Bota Bota Spa
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Big respect to Montreal-based collaborator Ingrid Enriquez-Donissaint. Photo by Dominique Claire-Marie.

SPECIAL THANKS
Photography by Dominique Claire-Marie, Bohetic Wanders and Roy Wallace. Special thanks to Montreal-based thought partner Ingrid Enriquez Donissaint; gallerist and friend Megan Bradley; Commissioner board member and crêpe-maker Ashley Carrington; and mentors and guides Shirlette Wint and Leisa Lee. This program came together because of the generosity, ideas and care of locals, friends and family weighing in and supporting this effort in a range of ways.

Overwhelming gratitude to Commissioner members and travelers who journeyed from wherever they could’ve been to meet up in Montreal. We have learned so much about openness and grace from you, and look forward to many more adventures together.

72 Hours in Montréal

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