About
Arsenal Contemporary Art is a private art center and cultural initiative founded by the patrons Pierre and Anne-Marie Trahan. Its mandate is to support the creation, production and dissemination of contemporary Canadian art through a variety of projects, including exhibitions showcasing Canadian artists alongside international artists that are organized in-house or by guest curators.
Opened in 2011 in Montreal, Arsenal Contemporary Art has since expanded to include locations in Toronto (2013) and New York (2017). Although some exhibitions travel from one city to another, the programming of each art center is tailored to the community, space and audience of its locality.
3 sites Arsenal
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Montreal
Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal is located in the heart of Griffintown, on the north bank of the Lachine Canal, in a former 19th-century shipyard. A testament to the neighborhood’s industrial past, the 80,000-square-foot building, renovated in 2012, hosts several exhibitions of Canadian and International artists each year.
As part of its mission to support artistic production, Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal also offers a residency program for Canadian and international artists. Designed to stimulate creation, these residencies provide artists with the means to widen the scope of their practice and experiment with new artistic forms and ideas.
Each year, artists from around the world are invited to participate in the program and to present their work in one of Arsenal Contemporary Art’s centers.
Toronto
Founded in 2013 out of a desire to include Canada’s largest city in its cultural initiative, Arsenal Contemporary Art Toronto is located in a renovated industrial building in The Junction neighborhood. Since then, many other cultural institutions have moved to the area, including the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in 2018.
It is one of the rare private spaces in Toronto that is large enough to host major contemporary art exhibitions. Some of these exhibitions are presented in the other art centers of Arsenal Contemporary Art.
A real cultural hub, Arsenal Contemporary Art Toronto, like the other centers in the network, regularly hosts cultural and philanthropic events. These events allow Arsenal Contemporary Art Toronto to develop new audiences by attracting visitors who might not otherwise attend contemporary art exhibitions.
New York
As part of its mission to promote contemporary Canadian art internationally, the New York chapter of Arsenal Contemporary Art offers artists the opportunity to exhibit their work in the city, often for the first time.
Arsenal Contemporary Art New York adopts a collaborative approach by partnering with internationally renowned curators and galleries. Thanks to these collaborations, Canadian artists can exhibit their works alongside those of international artists.
These projects have enabled Canadian artists to benefit from a larger platform, both in New York and beyond, through solo and group presentations.