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History
The first Montréal Museums Day took place on Sunday, May 24, 1987. Eleven museums took part in the event, which attracted some 10,000 participants. Free admission to the museums and free public transit contributed to increasing the accessibility of culture, and made it possible for a large number of Montrealers to discover their museums.
Montréal Museums Day was the first activity run jointly by Montréal museums. The Musée d'art contemporain, Stewart Museum, the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, the McCord Museum of Canadian History and the Canadian Centre for Architecture are the founding members of the Board of Montréal Museum Directors (BMMD), which was incorporated in 1992.
A number of arts personalities have lent their support to the promotion of Montréal Museums Day over the years: actor Normand Daneau, actress Sophie Faucher, cartoonists Aislin and Chapleau, television writing couple Sylvie Lussier and Pierre Poirier, television host France Beaudoin, singer Coral Egan, television host and author Francine Ruel and since 2006, television host Pénélope McQuade. Photos : BMMD Archives
Over the various editions of the event, the information and transit hub of free bus routes — also known as the carrefour — has been set up at the Centre Infotouriste at Dorchester Square, at the Société Radio-Canada building and, since 2004, at the Journal de Montréal building. Photos : BMMD Archives .
Listening, looking, experimenting, playing—a huge variety of special activities for the young and young-at-heart alike to enjoy.
Photos : BMMD Archives.
Posters, pamphlets, ad placements… all sorts of ways to encourage the public to visit the institutions on Montréal Museums Day.
Photos : BMMD Archives.