Concordia is front and centre on Montreal's new public art website
“In the last ten years we have commissioned some of the largest and most important public art works in the country,” says Clarence Epstein, senior director of Urban and Cultural Affairs at Concordia.
Concordia is one of a select group of major museums, universities, hospitals and corporations to partner with the City of Montreal in the creation of a brand new website dedicated to public art in Montreal.
The site, which launched today, October 8, lets users discover a rich collection of public artworks by providing information and anecdotes on over 1,000 pieces in Montreal. It includes a sophisticated search engine and information on a variety of thematic walking tours that aim to take art lovers to different points of discovery on the island.
Claude Labossière, project manager at the city's Public Art Bureau, says Concordia contributes essential works to the Greater Montreal public art collection.
“It has acquired a great diversity of pieces in terms of techniques used, materials selected and artists represented. These works act as markers that punctuate our experience of its two campuses and are beautiful demonstrations of how art can be part of our day-to-day lives.”
Clarence Epstein, senior director of Urban and Cultural Affairs, says Concordia stands apart from other Canadian universities when it comes to the management of institutionally significant dossiers connected to art and architecture.
“In the last 10 years we have commissioned some of the largest and most important public artworks in the country," he says. "One of our focuses was to incorporate art as a key platform for Concordia’s identification as a dynamic urban university in Canada’s cultural capital.”
In 2014, Concordia’s administration approved an art conservation budget that will see restoration and maintenance work carried out on its collection, which includes over 35 public art pieces.
Epstein notes that in many ways these works chronicle the university’s history within its changing physical context. Each piece speaks to a different period in its development, serving to underline the presence and importance of the two campuses within the city.
Learn more about Concordia’s Public Art Collection.