- The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has unveiled its 2026 summer program.
- Several new exhibitions and immersive experiences will be offered to the public.
- The program will highlight contemporary art, heritage, and photography.
- A permanent work by an internationally renowned artist will be unveiled.
The summer promises to be particularly rich at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, which has just unveiled a program celebrating the visual arts, music, and even sports. Open daily from June 29 to September 6, the Museum will offer a series of exhibitions and immersive experiences inviting the public to discover art in a new light.
Starting June 9, visitors will be able to admire Arbres, a new permanent mural created by Swiss artist Nicolas Party. Installed in a rest area of the Liliane and David M. Stewart Pavilion, the work immerses the public in an enveloping and contemplative autumn landscape.
This creation marks a new chapter in the artist’s relationship with the MMFA, a few years after the success of his exhibition L’heure mauve, presented in 2022.
Starting June 9, the exhibition Off the Pedestal: Sculpture from the 1960s to the Present in the Collection will explore the evolution of contemporary sculpture over the past six decades.
Bringing together nearly twenty works from the Museum’s collections, the exhibition will highlight creations that push the traditional boundaries of the discipline. Whether suspended, installed on the floor, or integrated into their surroundings, the works invite visitors to an immersive experience where the relationship between art, space, and the viewer is constantly reinvented.
The exhibition will feature recent acquisitions as well as works by influential artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Betty Goodwin, and Roland Poulin.
When Sport Inspires Artists
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Montreal Olympic Games, the MMFA will also present On the Track! Sports Inspire Art from June 15 to October 12.
Spread across several pavilions, this selection of works drawn from the Museum’s collection will highlight the close ties between artistic creation and athletic practice. Visitors will discover depictions of athletes, movements, and performances that demonstrate the influence of sport on artists’ imaginations throughout the ages.
Hockey will feature prominently in this thematic exhibition, alongside works celebrating various sports disciplines.
Two major exhibitions still on view
Summer will also be an opportunity to discover or rediscover two major exhibitions previously presented at the Museum.
The Torlonia Collection: Masterpieces of Roman Sculpture, on view through July 19, brings together exceptional ancient sculptures from one of the world’s most important private collections of Roman marble.
Meanwhile, Richard Avedon: Immortal. Portraits of Time Passing, 1951–2004, on view through August 9, brings together nearly a hundred photographs by the famous American portraitist Richard Avedon. The exhibition offers a striking look at several prominent figures in 20th-century culture and society.
With this program combining visual arts, music, heritage, and sports, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts reaffirms its status as a must-visit cultural destination this summer.