The exhibitions not to be missed in Montreal

Comprising over 100 works and archival documents, Berthe Weill, Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde features paintings and sculptures by major figures of Modern art ranging from Pablo Picasso to Suzanne Valadon. It is the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to the career and artistic vision of Berthe Weill who opened her Paris gallery in 1901 in the bustling neighbourhood of Montmartre and played a seminal role in the development of Avant-garde movements in France in the first half of the 20th century. Runs to September 7.

The Bad Girls Only: Women and the Seven Deadly Sins exhibition showcases some 20 rare Dutch and Flemish prints and drawings from the Museum’s collection. Dating from the 15th to 17th centuries, works on paper by Albrecht Dürer, Hendrick Goltzius, Jacob Matham and Hieronymus Wierix invite visitors to explore treasures from the Museum’s collection and to question historical associations between women and sin and their impact in the present. Runs to August 10.

The immersive and interactive exhibition Knights at the Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology and History Complex in Old Montréal explores the lives of knights, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, from the battlefield to the royal court. Some 250 pieces on display – an impressive selection of European weaponry and armour from the prestigious collection of the Museo Stibbert in Italy – illustrate the historical and cultural richness of the world of knights. Runs to October 19.

The bilingual Titanic: An Immersive Voyage exhibition blends archives, immersive devices and virtual reality. In addition to some 300 artefacts from the iconic ocean liner on display, a brand new virtual-reality experience allows visitors to move about freely and explore the ship as it was on the day of its departure, as well as in its resting place today.

Life Chronicles in Montreal takes you on a breathtaking journey through Earth's history, from the origins of life 3.5 billion years ago to the rise of humans. Get up close to iconic creatures like the mighty Tyrannosaurus and explore the wonders of paleo-landscapes, all brought to life with stunning visuals and sounds grounded in meticulous scientific accuracy.

The PHI in Old Montréal brings back its celebrated VR Cinema as part of its summer programming with the Canadian premiere of Craig Quintero’s immersive trilogy Just for You. Featuring three award-winning works, this virtual reality experience blurs the line between dream and reality, offering a poetic meditation on memory, death and desire. Runs July 23 to September 7.

With cutting edge VR technology, the Universum on Saint-Denis Street presents the terrifying Hotel Dracula immersive experience where a haunted house comes to life in the vampire universe. For ages 10+. Approximately 30 minutes. Runs to August 31.

Known for their immersive audio experiences in complete darkness, the acclaimed UK-based studio DARKFIELD presents their SÉANCE and FLIGHT experiences inside specially-designed shipping containers in the Old Port of Montréal. These two experiences use binaural sound and theatrical staging to place audiences at the centre of the narrative. Each 20-minute experience unfolds in total darkness, blurring the line between reality and fiction and inviting participants to question what is real — and what isn’t. Both experiences are offered in French and English and are suitable for ages 13+. Runs to September 19 at 2 de la Commune Street West. 

The brand-new immersive and sensory exhibition The Fabulous FAB Expo blurs the lines between art, illusion and fantasy in a playful journey featuring everything from giant unicorns to mesmerizing underwater scenes in 21 interactive worlds. Fab Expo spans some 10,000 square feet over three floors in the former Grévin Museum in the Eaton Centre. Opens on June 18.

The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal – widely known as The MAC (or “Le MAC” in French) – presents the Skyscrapers by the Roots: Reflections on Late Modernism exhibition explores the long life of late modernism in the field of architecture by bringing together a series of works created over the last decade by Shannon Bool, Kapwani Kiwanga, Rachel Rose, and Jonathan Schouela, a new film installation by David Hartt, as well as works by Lynne Cohen and François Dallegret produced in the 1960s and 1970s. Runs to August 10.

The McCord Stewart Museum in the Golden Square Mile has selected Andrew Jackson for the third photographic commission in its Evolving Montréal series. The Montréal-based British-Canadian artist’s research-creation project Little Burgundy – Evolving Montréal explores the urban, social and cultural transformations of the neighbourhood known as the cradle of Montréal’s Black Anglophone community. Runs to September 28. Drawn primarily from the McCord Stewart Museum’s famed Photography collection, the Pounding the Pavement: Montréal Street Photography exhibition chronicles street photography in Montréal from the 19th century to the present day, featuring more than 400 photographs by 30 renowned photographers. Runs to October 26. 

The Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal presents the new exhibition Corpus Insolite: Jana Sterbak which invites visitors to experience the globally-acclaimed Montréal-based artist’s thought-provoking works in dialogue with the museum’s collections. In addition to the two works Sylvanus and Hot Crown, which have never before been shown in Montréal, Sterbak’s renowned Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic, first exhibited in 1987, will be remade for this exhibition. Runs to August 24.

Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal is a cutting-edge art centre located in the hip, urban Griffintown neighbourhood, and promotes contemporary art by exhibiting Canadian artists alongside international artists.