Kent Monkman – Welcome to the Studio

Interview with the artist Kent Monkman

Discover internationally renowned contemporary artist Kent Monkman and his latest artistic work, inspired by the McCord Museum collection.

This original installation, which focuses on the relationship between photography and painting, will plunge you into the world of photographer William Notman as well as that of painter Gustave Courbet, leader of the realist movement.

Welcome to the Studio, a work comprised of more than 30 portraits by Notman, was inspired by the celebrated Courbet work The Artist’s Studio – A real allegory summing up seven years of my artistic and moral life (1855), viewed by many as a manifesto of 19th century realism.

Visitors are invited to take part in an immersive experience by placing themselves in the middle of the work to view their own self-portrait, then by sharing this self-portrait on social media networks, using #WTTS.