Drawing in the Name of Freedom installation
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
“With great freedom comes great responsibility.”
Variously credited to heavy-hitting thinkers from Voltaire to Spiderman, the famous quote could just as easily be applied to education spaces within art museums. Often more flexible in their programming than main gallery spaces—which are programmed months and years in advance—nimble education spaces can respond to topical issues. Their looser, audience-pick-up-a-brush, everyone-pitch-in approach lends itself to starting and continuing conversations.
So when terrorists attacked the Parisian newspaper offices of Charlie Hebdo on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts had pencils out and a call to action by the weekend. Within the vibrant education space, Studios Art & Education Michel de la Chenelière, gallery workers installed a huge banner of compiled illustrations offering artistic responses to the attack. The selection showcases the committed work of local, national, and international comic and cartoon artists.
The installation and accompanying audience-generated pieces encourage reflection on the role of drawing and humour to express freedom of expression. The during of the installation is up in the air, so catch it (and get a free poster and pencil!) while you can.
Video of the installation
