Montreal has been on my Canadian to-go list forever. It was the combination of cosmopolitan city mixed with old European charm. And it was exactly that, living up to my expectations and more.
There was only one thing I wanted to do on my last day in Montreal. And that was to go see the Frida Kahlo, The Life of an Icon exhibition at Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal.
The exhibition had its North American premiere on June 10 and Montreal is the only Canadian stop where you can experience it. After Montreal, it’ll tour the US before heading to Latin America.
It is billed as an “immersive biography”, so don’t expect to see any of Frida Kahlo’s artwork. There aren’t any. Instead visitors will explore the key moments (her struggles, passions, and inspirations) in Kahlo’s life that shaped her into becoming one of the most influential artists in history of modern art.
So many murals. So little time.
After enduring the crowds and all the hubbub from the Mural Festival’s opening weekend festivities, I ventured out again to explore more of Montreal’s mural scene. This time, at a more relaxed pace. And since the murals I was seeing were a couple of years old, it didn’t come with a throng of people either.
In another case of fortuitous timing, my trip coincided with the Stranger Than Kindness: The Nick Cave Exhibition being presented at Galerie de la Maison du Festival.
The exhibit was originally created for The Black Diamond of The Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen, with Cave himself the co-curator and co-designer. And it made its North American debut in Montreal this past April.
After my experience at RECHARGER/Unwind, I headed out to Olympic Park to check out the Montreal Biodôme, not to be confused with Montreal Biosphere.
The Montreal Biodôme is one of four attractions located at Espace pour la vie, or the Space of Life, the largest natural science museum complex in Canada. The other three are the Montreal Insectarium, Montreal Botanical Garden, and the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium.
The Montreal Biodôme is not a zoo per se, but rather, five neat ecosystems under one roof, where you can learn about animal and plant species in a faithfully reproduced “natural” environment.
I loved Teamlab’s Borderless and Planets exhibits, so it is any surprise that I would check out OASIS Immersion’s RECHARGER/Unwind exhibit at the Palais de congrès de Montréal?
Talk about great timing! I was going to be in Montreal in time for the kick off to the annual Mural Festival. And you know how much I love murals.
Every time I travel to a new city, I try to go on a hunt for that cities’ murals, be it San Francisco, Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf, and London. Every year I get out to see Vancouver’s murals too.
But props must be given to Montreal for founding the original mural festival in 2013.
One of the first things I do when travelling to a new city is to check out the museums. Today I went to Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal or for the English speakers, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA).
The layout is pretty cool. The museum and its art collection is not just housed in one building, but spread out to five pavilions, which are all accessed via underground tunnels once you enter the main building.
I’m on a plane to Montreal! First time flying since our trip to Japan in 2019. Can you tell I’m happy?
So why did I choose Montreal as my first flight since the start of the pandemic?