Artist-in-Residence

This Artist-in-Residence program was created in 2012 out of a desire to bring on a new meaning to the McCord Stewart Museum’s collections through the eyes of a contemporary artist. This is a way to rediscover the collections from other perspectives.

The Artist-in-Residence program invites artists to take a critical and conceptual look at the collections, reflecting on the connections between their artistic practice and the objects and stories they uncover during their research.

As part of this research-oriented creative activity, artists are encouraged to communicate their own interpretation of the collection and propose new ways of interpreting history in its many forms.

I am always fascinated by the way artists look at the Museum’s collections and how the objects become part of their creative process. While their gaze can be critical, it can also be awestruck. They are drawn to certain objects and, through their art, recontextualize them within contemporary realities in sometimes surprising, or even unsettling, ways.
Guislaine Lemay, Curator, Material Culture

As I viewed the objects in the collection, I was really struck by the energy that women had put into decorating everyday tools like combs and fish hooks. The piece I created for the exhibition is without a doubt the most challenging project I have ever done as an artist, to date. Beadwork demands considerable physical and mental strength. This research and creation process has heightened my respect for the work of Indigenous women and strengthened my love and admiration for my culture.
Niap, Artist in residence, 2022

Find out more about artists in residence

• Michaëlle Sergile – 2024
• Karen Tam – 2023
• Niap – 2022
• Meryl McMaster – 2021
• Hannah Claus – 2019
• Marisa Portolese – 2018
• Nadia Myre – 2016
• Frédéric Lavoie – 2014
• Kent Monkman – 2014
• Marie-Claude Bouthillier – 2012