At the heart of this effort is the Toshakhana project, an exhibition and research initiative focused on objects from the Sikh imperial court. Through scholarship and public engagement, the project bridges borders, faiths, and narratives.

Cross-Border Collaboration

Led by scholars at LUMS with support from the Sikh Foundation, the Toshakhana project blends research with public storytelling. It’s not just about preserving artifacts, but sparking reflection on their place in Punjab’s rich, plural history.

A Resonant Exhibition

The exhibition in Lahore drew a warm response. Visitors connected with the craftsmanship and with the broader idea that Sikh heritage is part of a shared past, not a divided one.

Its success led to an invitation to showcase at ThinkFest, expanding its reach and impact.

Legacy in Action

Beyond the exhibit, the project lives on through films, catalogs, and ongoing research making Sikh material culture more accessible and relevant.

Why It Matters

At a time of divided narratives, Toshakhana offers a unifying vision: that history, when shared, can build dialogue and deepen understanding. The Sikh Foundation is proud to support this important work and its ongoing legacy.

Image Source: Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Toshakhāna: The Material Splendor of 19th Century Punjab (LUMS, 2025). Courtesy of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and The Sikh Foundation International.

When you speak with Datti Kaur, her words unfold slowly, like brushstrokes on wet paper. They circle an idea until it begins to glow, much like the soft pigments she layers on her paintings. Her art, rooted in Indian miniature traditions and Sikh thought, feels less like painting and more like music made visible.

“I think the happiest I’ve ever been in my life,” she says, “was when I was playing my musical instruments. Painting came later, but it feels like a continuation of that same rhythm.”

Born in Chennai to a Kashmiri Sikh family, Datti spent her childhood moving between cities and languages. She lived in Hong Kong and Singapore before moving to Vancouver for university. “Low-key in my heart, I’m South Indian actually,” she laughs. “I was the only Sikh person I knew growing up. My sister was five grades above me, and after that, no one. So I had to figure out what Sikhi meant to me. For me, it became about accepting people for who they are and where they come from.”

Her parents believed that learning music was essential. Tabla lessons began when she was six, followed by kirtan classes at the gurdwara. She remembers feeling restless until she discovered the esraj, a bowed instrument often used in Sikh devotional music. “My soul was so happy,” she says. She played it for twelve years, and when she later moved abroad, she could not take it with her. “It was either 30 kilos of clothes or the esraj,” she laughs. “I chose clothes. But after that, I realized how much I missed that sound. Painting filled the silence.”

What started as quiet sketches became a full artistic language that fuses melody, color, and devotion. Her creative process begins with hours of scrolling through reference images, sketching and redrawing until the composition feels second nature. “By the time I start painting, I’ve drawn it five times. The image is literally engraved into me. When I paint, it feels like entering a portal of your own mind and spiraling into it.”

Patience, she says, is her greatest teacher. “I once spent eight days painting tiny rain droplets. You have to find motivation in monotony. That’s what art has taught me, to find peace even when you’re tired or bored.”

Her work draws deeply from Sikh philosophy but moves away from literal depictions. “Everyone has divine energy in them. Every animal, every plant, every person. You are God, I am God,” she says. “If we go with that mindset, we approach everything with more compassion.” That belief shapes her style. She often replaces clothing and turbans with flowers, freeing her figures from boundaries of caste, region, or faith. “A turban can represent where you’re from,” she explains. “So now I just make it floral. It keeps the figures open.”

She speaks with passion about the loss of visual storytelling in Sikh sacred spaces. “Our gurdwaras today infuriate me,” she says. “They’re so sterile, so white, just marble everywhere. Once, you walked in and saw entire narratives in color. Illustration gives us the power to bring that back.”

Her collaboration with Lost Heritage Productions does exactly that. Titled Oneness and Diversity, the project reimagines the verses of seventeen Bhagats and Sufi saints whose writings appear in the Guru Granth Sahib. Each verse is being retranslated in gender-neutral, monistic English and recorded in its original raag. Datti is creating one painting for each saint, plus an eighteenth that unites them all. “When you translate the Guru Granth Sahib into English, it often becomes Abrahamic, the Lord above you, watching you,” she explains. “But Sikhi is monistic. God isn’t above us. God is within us. We’re trying to fix that through these new translations.” Her paintings for the series will focus on sound and spirit rather than human form. “No bodily depictions this time. Just nature, instruments, and the Divine as vibration.”

Her conversations often shift from philosophy to everyday life with the same clarity. She laughs about scolding street vendors who hand her plastic bags. “I was going to eat it right now,” she says. Environmental care, memory, and healing all flow naturally through her storytelling. Her family’s history in Kashmir and the upheaval of Partition continue to shape her themes. “My grandparents lost family in Partition. That trauma passes down generations. I want to make art that gives that pain a place to breathe.”

When she speaks to young artists, her tone turns gentle. “If you can’t pursue art as a career, that’s fine. Don’t lose joy in it. Give yourself two hours a month to do something creative. That’s the least you can do for yourself.” Then she adds, “People say, ‘I’m not good at art.’ No. You just haven’t been told enough times that your work is good enough. Every artist creates their own world.”

Listening to her, you feel as though Datti paints worlds that already exist, hidden within sound, story, and silence. “If God is within us,” she says, “then my God can be female or male, yours whatever you wish. The Divine is this realm and the cosmos. We are never separate from it.”

In a world where stories are the threads that connect us, there are tales so profound, that they transcend generations. Such is the journey of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Guru of Sikhism, whose travels continue to inspire and enlighten seekers of truth and spirituality.

Experience the profound insights of Guru Nanak’s travels for free on YouTube by watching “Allegory” the captivating 24-episode docuseries available in multiple languages.

Image Credit: https://thegurunanak.com/

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/

Available in English, Punjabi (Gurmukhi), Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi (Shahmukhi)

On May 4, 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a keynote address at the Sikh Foundation of Canada’s annual Gala held at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. The event celebrated Sikh heritage and recognized significant contributions by the Sikh community to Canadian society. A highlight of the evening was the announcement of a significant donation of artifacts by the Sikh Foundation of Canada. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) now hosts Canada’s first permanent space dedicated to Sikh art donated by the Kapany Collection.

Key Highlights:

• Investment Announcement: $6 million for a Sikh art gallery at the ROM.
• Sikh Art at the MMFA: Artifacts donated by the Sikh Foundation and Kapany Collection displayed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

• Tributes: Honoring pioneers like Private Buckham Singh.
• Community Assurance: Commitment to justice and safety.
• Inspiring Speeches: Insights from Liberal MPs and community leaders.
• Looking Forward: Trudeau’s pledge to continue supporting the Sikh community.

Prime Minister Trudeau announced a major initiative: a $6 million investment from the recent federal budget to create a dedicated space for Sikh art and culture at the Royal Ontario Museum. This new gallery will celebrate the rich history and cultural heritage of the Sikh community in Canada, highlighting their resilience, bravery, and dedication to equality. One of the highlights of Trudeau’s speech was his tribute to Private Buckham Singh, who came to Canada in 1907 and became the first Sikh Canadian to serve in the Canadian Army during World War I. Singh’s story is a powerful reminder of the contributions and sacrifices made by Sikh Canadians throughout history. Trudeau also addressed the recent arrests related to the 2023 murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, reassuring the audience that Canada’s commitment to justice and safety for all its citizens remains unwavering. “Let us remain calm, let us remain steadfast,” he urged, emphasizing the importance of adhering to democratic principles during trying times.

In addition to the Royal Ontario Museum’s new gallery, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) now hosts Canada’s first permanent space dedicated to Sikh art, located on the fourth floor of the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion. This collection, enriched by the generosity of Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany and Satinder Kaur Kapany of the Sikh Foundation International, features exquisite depictions of Sikh Gurus, Maharajas, ritual objects, and rare nanakshahi coins. The MMFA’s dedication to showcasing Sikh art underscores the importance of preserving and celebrating the cultural heritage of Sikh Canadians. Trudeau’s speech underscored this commitment, emphasizing that the story of Sikh Canadians is an integral part of Canada’s broader narrative, resonating deeply with all attendees.

Works by Sikh and non-Sikh artists find inspiration in legacies of persecution and protest, collective action, environmental advocacy, and the expansive global diaspora of 25 million contemporary adherents. The narratives foreground celebration and strength, running counter to media portrayals of a long-suffering minority. A focus on Sikh women throughout the exhibition spotlights the impact of artists, activists, and homemakers whose contemporary aspirations are expanding the visual lexicon of this relatively young religion—the fifth largest in the world.

I Will Meet You Yet Again reflects the Fowler’s 60th anniversary theme, “Creating in Community.” Los Angeles is home to a significant Sikh population, and more than half of 500,000 Sikhs in the U.S. live in California. The Hollywood Sikh Temple, founded in 1969, was the first of nine gurudwaras (places of worship) in the LA area. The Fowler’s 2023–24 program spotlights religious diversity in Southern California, and this exhibition runs concurrently with The House is Too Small: Yoruba Sacred Arts from Africa and Beyond. Curated by scholars, artists, and local religious practitioners, these exhibitions explore aesthetic dimensions of spirituality, center lived experiences of belief, and promote cultural understanding on a global scale.

The exhibition is divided into themes that have shaped Sikh collective identity and continue to reverberate today. A throughline of “home” is filtered through three key concepts—sangarsh (struggle), basera (home), and birha (longing)—that contectualize the Sikh community’s struggle to exist. While not always explicitly articulated, sangarsh, basera, and birha form the warp and weft of the exhibition.

1947 Partition of India

India’s independence from British colonial rule was accompanied by the division of the region into two nation states: India and Pakistan. Displaced Sikhs lost access to their gurudwaras, heritage sites, and ancestral lands in Pakistan, a trauma that endures in India and across the diaspora. The Partition turned millions into refugees and unleashed horrific violence on people of all faiths. Amrita Pritam by Kanwal Dhaliwal (b. 1960, Mehma Sarja, Panjab, India) depicts the pioneering poet amid a sea of corpses. A bold red line runs from top to the bottom of the canvas, which is filled with her powerful verses in Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi scripts.

1984

South Asians refer to the year alone when recalling the state-endorsed genocidal pogroms against Sikhs in India. The government launched “Operation Blue Star,” bombing sacred sites and brutally curtailing civil, political, and human rights. Arpana Caur’s (b. 1954, New Delhi, India), Wounds of 1984, gives poignant expression to the pain of violence unleashed on Sikhs in the aftermath of the assassination of the Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in October 1984. The perpetrators of crimes against the Sikh community not been held accountable by the law after 40 years, and families continue to fight for justice.

A small work of great impact, 1984 notebook, (2013) by Gauri Gill (b. 1970, New Delhi, India) is one of the few projects that documents anti-Sikh pogroms and the stories of those who survived. Gill took a long-term approach in her work (available to all online), interviewing the affected individuals between 2005 and 2019. Her goal has been to retell this watershed moment in Sikh history, and to encourage conversations about justice.

Sikh Heritage as Artistic Inspiration

Contemporary Sikh artists often incorporate historical, scriptural, and mythological narratives into their work. Artist and architect Keerat Kaur (b. 1991, London, Ontario, Canada) defines her practice as “a response to ancient narratives of Sikh literature and Punjabi folklore.” The ultra-fine detail in works such as Sky Dome 35: an Archi(tech)tural Fairytale (detail above) is influenced by South-Asian miniature paintings and Kaur’s rigorous architectural training. Her surrealist spaces are “inspired by the built environment of Punjab and the various styles that constitute it, including Persian and Mughal.”

Celebrating Sikh Women

In this section the struggles and achievements of women stand counter to male-centric histories and aim to uplift female legacies and construct new narratives that honor a shared past. Contemporary portraits chronicle the activism of poets, artists, and royals.

Two seven-foot tapestries by The Singh Twins (b. 1966, London, U.K.) depict avant-garde artist Amrita Sher-Gil (at right) and suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, each framed by scenes of political unrest and traditional Panjab decorative arts. The 2017 works are part of the series Slaves of Fashion devoted to upheavals caused by colonization and Indo-British trade.

Building Home Sikh women have and continue to play a major role in creating spaces of belonging by incorporating familiar tastes, sounds, and décor into homes, whether in South Asia or in the diaspora. While their everyday labor has not made history, the rich interiority of Sikh life evidenced by works in this section (and throughout the exhibition) gives weight and dimension to women’s contributions. The artists featured here tell intergenerational stories, build on personal experiences, and point to imagined futures. Birha (longing) and basera (home) are both centerstage in Past Lives by Rupy Kaloti (b. 1989, San Jose, California, U.S.A.)

Farmers Protest Artists of varied backgrounds have memorialized one of the largest protests in world history, known as Kisan Mazdoor Andolan (farmers’ and farmworkers’ campaign). Launched in opposition to disenfranchising farm bills passed in 2020, both women and men marched on the nation’s capital, eventually forcing the government to repeal the laws one year later.

The digital posters pictured here were created through a transnational collaboration between Himanshu Dua, a photographer living in India who witnessed the protesters’ camps around Delhi, and Nisha K. Sethi, an activist-artist from Oakland, California. In the artists’ words, the “artistic collaboration serves as a bridge between India and the global diaspora to help build solidarity and continue spreading awareness about what’s happening.

Sikh History in the U.S.A. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, Sikhs have been increasingly targeted in hate crimes. The Sikh community has navigated racial discrimination, violence, and hate speech against its members and places of worship by using legal recourse and advocacy, activism and building engagement through the arts.

The oversize diaphanous linen panels in Rupy C. Tut’s (b. 1985, Chandigarh, U.T., India) Decoding the Hate Helix (2019) depict the words “no, stop, out, you, us” in English and multiple South Asian scripts, including Gurmukhi, Devanagari, and Tamil. The calligraphy is intended to be provocative and violent. The brush strokes and paint splatters are meant to agitate the viewers and engage them in an exploration of their own feelings. As a brown female creator, Tut deploys visual aggression in this work to push back against patriarchal conditioning that prescribes a composed and submissive feminine ideal.

Credits

I Will Meet You Yet Again: Contemporary Sikh Art was organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA and curated by Sonia Dhami, president of Art & Tolerance, trustee of The Sikh Foundation, and managing editor of the Sikh Research Journal; and Syona Puliady, curator of textiles of the Eastern Hemisphere at the Fowler Museum. Major support is provided by the Lilly Endowment Inc. and The Sikh Foundation.

Additional generous funding comes from the Fay Bettye Green Fund to Commission New Work, Fowler Contemporary Council Fund, and the Five Rivers Foundation/Khanuja Family. Educational programming is made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc, as part of the Fowler initiative, Engaging Lived Religion.

About the Fowler

The Fowler Museum at UCLA explores global arts and cultures with an emphasis on Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Indigenous Americas—past and present. The Fowler enhances understanding of world cultures through dynamic exhibitions, publications, and public programs, informed by interdisciplinary approaches and the perspectives of the cultures represented. The work of international contemporary artists is presented within complex frameworks of politics, culture, and social action.

Visiting Information

308 Charles E Young Dr N | Los Angeles, CA 90095 | fowler.ucla.edu/visit Admission to the Fowler is free

Parking in UCLA Lot 4: Westwood Plaza at Sunset Blvd, $3/hr

Hours: Wednesday, 12–8 pm Thursday–Sunday, 12–5 pm

Opening celebration Saturday, January 27, 6–9 pm
RSVP

Join us for a performance at 6 pm, followed by a reception with light refreshments provided by Tulsi Eatery – Westwood and music from 7–9 pm.

Exhibition artist Keerat Kaur invites us on an immersive journey through poetry, song, and visuals highlighting the beauty of the mystic realm. She will present The Bouquet, a collection of Panjabi poetry from her own repertoire. She will then perform a collection of Panjabi, Hindi, and Neo-Jazz tunes from folk traditions, along with her own compositions. All of these pieces will be interwoven with vivid imagery projected behind her, inviting the audience into a multi-sensory experience.

PRESS RELEASE: I Will Meet You Yet Again: Contemporary Sikh Art

Participating Artists
Arpana Caur, Kanwal Dhaliwal, Gauri Gill, Bholla Javed, Rupy Kaloti, Harleen Kaur, Keerat Kaur, Manjot Kaur, Sunroop Kaur, Gurjote S. Sethi, Nisha K. Sethi, Avtar Singh, The Singh Twins, Parm Singh, Sarabjit Singh, Sukhpreet Singh, Sumeet Singh, Rupy C. Tut, and Saira Wasim.

Parking available in UCLA Lot 4, 198 Westwood Plaza, directly off Sunset Blvd; $3/hr or max $15/day. Rideshare drop-off at 305 Royce Dr.

Credits
I Will Meet You Yet Again: Contemporary Sikh Art is organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA and is curated by Sonia Dhami, president of Art & Tolerance, trustee of The Sikh Foundation, and managing editor of the Sikh Research Journal; and Syona Puliady, specialist in South Asian arts and assistant curator at the Fowler Museum.

Major support is provided by the Lilly Endowment Inc. and The Sikh Foundation. Additional generous funding comes from the Fay Bettye Green Fund to Commission New Work, Fowler Contemporary Council Fund, and the Five Rivers Foundation/Khanuja Family. Educational programming is made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc, as part of the Fowler initiative, Engaging Lived Religion.

Image: Saira Wasim (b. 1975, Lahore, Pakistan), On Road to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, 2023, gouache and gold on wasli paper; Courtesy of the artist and the Khanuja Collection

Keerat Kaur is a Canadian-born artist and architect with Sikh-Panjabi roots. Her work takes shape through the disciplines of painting, sculpture, writing, music, and architecture. Drawing inspiration from Sikh philosophies, she employs the art of metaphor and symbolism to revolutionize our relationship to nature and spirituality. Her recent work contributes to the advancement of language-learning and preservation. Keerat currently lives and works between Vancouver, BC and London, Ontario.

I Will Meet You Yet Again: Contemporary Sikh Art is on view January 28–May 26, 2024.

I hope you will visit it as it is now on display at the Sikh gallery in the museum. The underlying theme of the rotation is POWER OF THE SPECTACLE, which was there for all to experience during the recent coronation of King Charles in London. Monarchies down the ages have used the display of their wealth & position in society to create lasting impressions on the viewers.

The Sikh courts of 19th century Punjab left visitors enthralled with their pomp and pageantry. Maharaja’s, courtiers and their mounts decked themselves with magnificent clothes and spectacular jewelry. One notable exception was Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the Lahore Darbar, the largest and most powerful of the Sikh kingdoms. While he well understood the power that a display of wealth could hold, he himself dressed in simple muslin (fine cotton) clothes but insisted that his courtiers, army and even their mounts, be dressed in their finest, especially when receiving foreign dignitaries in court.

The Sikh kingdoms, south of the Satluj river of –Patiala, Nabha, Jind, and Faridkot, signed treaties with the British primarily to counter the growing power of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, their neighbor to the north. This arrangement enabled them to keep their courts and armies. The maharajas, with their ample resources and time, patronized artists and craftsmen who created opulent jewelry and fine portraits for them.An important record of the impressions left on visitors to the Sikh kingdoms, is available through the writings and drawings of visiting Europeans like Miss Emily Eden, W.G. Osborne and others.

Location: Satinder Kaur Kapany Gallery of Sikh Art, 3rd floor, Asian Art Museum San Francisco

Montreal, June 15, 2022 – The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is delighted to announce the opening of the first ever space dedicated to Sikh art in a Canadian museum. The permanent collection of Sikh art has been installed in a new gallery, in the Museum’s Stephan Crétier and Stéphany Maillery Wing for the Arts of One World, located on the 4th floor of the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion. Inaugurated in November 2019, this wing is aimed at creating a dialogue between works from ancestral cultures and those by contemporary artists from here and abroad, using an updated intercultural and transhistorical approach.

The Sikh artworks were generously gifted – along with financial contributions – by Narinder Singh Kapany (1926-2020) and Satinder Kaur Kapany (1954-2016) of the Sikh Foundation International (Palo Alto, California), as well as the Honourable Baljit Singh Chadha and Roshi Chadha, of Montreal. Their generous donation of this collection – the only one of its kind in Canada – has made it possible to showcase the culture of the Sikh community, which has become an integral part of the North American fabric.

Displayed in part in the Stephan Crétier and Stéphany Maillery Wing,the collection includes remarkable works on paper depicting the ten gurus, splendid illuminations representing some of the famous Maharajas of the Sikh Empire (1799-1849) as well as ritual objects and rare minted nanakshahi coins from this illustrious period of artistic effervescence. Poignant publications on the Sikhs during the period of the British Raj (1858-1947) further contextualize and provoke thought on the exoticism of that age. The collection also features several phulkarishawls, which highlight the importance of Punjabi textile tradition.

For over half a century, Narinder Singh Kapany – recognized as the father of fiber optics – devoted himself to collecting Sikh art and promoting it around the world. This newly acquired collection, one of the largest in North America, provides a dynamic platform for dialogue, understanding, respect and inclusion. It thus mirrors the core values and contributions of the Sikh people, who currently number approximately 27 million worldwide. Although the majority are concentrated in northwest India, on the border with Pakistan, large communities of Sikhs are also found in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, and smaller communities exist in various other countries throughout the world. Almost all of their members can trace their roots back to Punjab.

“We are privileged to have the opportunity, for the first time in the Museum’s long history, to acquire and showcase a collection of Sikh art of such magnitude. The generosity and foresight of Narinder Singh Kapany, Baljit Singh Chadha and Roshi Chadha have made it possible for the MMFA to take the necessary steps to expand its audience, nurture new perspectives and welcome new voices, so that we may represent the plurality of today’s society,” says Stéphane Aquin, Director of the MMFA.

“We certainly hope that this first significant installation in our Museum will encourage further contributions from the community at large, to enrich and complexify the dialogue, and showcase the multiplicity of exchange and contacts, from the past to the present,” adds Laura Vigo, Curator of Asian Art, MMFA.

“My brother Raj Kapany and I, along with our families and the Sikh Foundation International, are extremely thankful to all those who helped to make the permanent exhibition of Sikh art at the MMFA a reality. They have done an exquisite job of realizing this long-held vision of ours. We are deeply grateful to Stéphane Aquin, Director of the MMFA, Danielle Champagne, Director General of the MMFA’s Foundation, Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Chief Curator, Laura Vigo, Curator of Asian Art, and Baljit Singh Chadha and Roshi Chadha. Their tireless efforts have brought to fruition the dream of our dear parents. Narinder and Satinder Kapany believed that the promise of this art lies in its ability to foster an understanding of our Sikh history, of who we are, so that we can find unity in our common humanity. Through the artworks of the Collection, the public will learn about our people’s history and experiences – both the wonderful and the painful – and come to understand the spiritual and educational power of Sikh art through the wisdom of our parents,” says Kiki Kapany, daughter of Narinder Singh Kapany and Satinder Kaur Kapany.

“We are proud to bring this collection of Sikh art to the Museum and, by extension, the community in Montreal and beyond. Previously, we brought Indigenous art to India in the installation of a nine-foot inukshuk in front of the High Commission of Canada as well as in an exhibition of Inuit artworks from the National Gallery of Canada’s collection at the National Museum in New Delhi. The creation of the Sikh gallery at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is an equivalent gesture in the other direction. It will be the first permanent exhibit of Sikh art in a major Canadian museum,” say Baljit and Roshi Chadha, major patrons and initiators of this unique project.

To mark the inauguration of this new space at the MMFA, various activities and events touching on different aspects of Sikh culture – art, music and film – and the Sikh diasporic experience will be organized throughout the year at the Museum.

Acknowledgements

This project was made possible by the Sikh Art Collection, Narinder Singh Kapany and Satinder Kaur Kapany – Sikh Foundation International (U.S.A.), and the Honourable Baljit Singh Chadha and Roshi Chadha. The MMFA is grateful for their patronage.

About the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Founded in 1860, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is the oldest art museum in Canada and a leading museum in North America. Its collection showcases Quebec and Canadian heritage and international art from a critical and intercultural perspective, and comprises some 45,000 paintings, sculptures, graphic art works, photographs, multimedia installations and decorative art objects dating from antiquity to the present. The MMFA’s exhibitions span every discipline from archaeology to fine arts, to contemporary practices. Laid out over five interconnecting pavilions, the Museum complex includes over 80 exhibition galleries, the Bourgie concert hall, an auditorium and movie theatre, the Boutique and Bookstore, an in-house publishing department, a public sculpture garden and the Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy. A pioneering museum in the provision of art therapy, the MMFA works with the community, education, health and technology sectors to give all people exposure to art through inclusive and enriching experiences. mbam.qc.ca