The McClure Gallery of the VAC is an exhibition venue for professional artists, community based artists and young emerging artists. The gallery serves a strong educational function in the community, encouraging public appreciation of contemporary art through seminars, lectures and tours. Accompanying exhibition catalogues are published when funding is available.
While the gallery mostly serves the Montreal and Quebec visual arts community, it welcomes submissions from further afield. We also welcome proposals from guest curators.
Gallery information
Gallery Hours
Tuesday to Friday, from 12 to 6 pm
Saturday, from 12 to 5 pm
From July 13 to August 15, Alejandra Zamudio's exhibition Ovulation/Summer can be viewed from Victoria Avenue at all times. The gallery administration is on vacation from June 22 through August 15, 2024.
Address and contact
350, avenue Victoria
Montréal, Québec H3Z 2N4
514-488-9558 Ext. 226
galeriemcclure@visualartscentre.ca
Mandate
The McClure Gallery is a contemporary art venue, situated in the Visual Arts Centre (VAC). Together with the VAC’s School of Art and outreach program, the Gallery aims to increase awareness of and engagement with art as a form of knowledge, communication, research, and a tool for better understanding and connecting with our collective and individual experiences. Educational considerations are central to the Gallery’s exhibitions of emerging and established contemporary artists (often local), public programming, and publication program. These offerings are grounded in topics of concern to our community, composed of students, Montreal’s artistic milieu, and the general public.
History
The gallery has a long history in the community. In 1974, with the generous financial support of the National Galleries the Visual Arts Centre Gallery was established. Professor Christopher Gabriel Lacki, a member of the Centre’s Board of Directors and then curator of the Sir George Williams University Gallery was our first gallery Director and Curator. In 1991, the gallery was renamed the McClure Gallery in honour of Virginia McClure’s long time involvement with and support of the Visual Arts Centre.
Since 1998, the McClure Gallery has assumed a more prominent role at the Centre. While a portion of the ground floor already served as an exhibition space, in 1998 the gallery underwent significant renovations, nearly doubling its floor space. In 2002 it inaugurated its Curatorial Program designed to support unique and innovative projects with invited guest curators. Also in 2002, through grants from government art councils, we began to host touring exhibitions, publish exhibition catalogues and offer artists’ fees.
In 2004, the VAC introduced a Publication Programme whose main objective is to provide accompanying catalogues for gallery exhibitions. We work closely with artists, invited curators as well as other galleries or institutions to provide a lasting documentation of the exhibition along with critical texts. All books/catalogues are bilingual.
Supporters
The Centre gratefully acknowledges the support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM).