The Musée de la Civilisation is one of the largest and most extensive museum in Québec City.It houses several different exhibitions at once and also is part of a museum complex that includes 4 other museums around Vieux Québec. The main museum has a permanent exhibition on the history and modern times of Québec - including film clips, realia, documents and models. This is very informative when learning about the different epochs in Québec's evolution. We have a tendancy to concentrate on the history, the great battle, the loss of French to English, but it is important to remember that Québec has a modern history that is very noteworthy: the Quiet Revolution, October Crisis, Referendums, 1967 World Exposition and 1976 Winter Olympics in Montréal and of course who could forget the great Maurice "Rocket" Richard and the Montréal Canadiens, the first NHL Hockey team!
I was particularly interested in the temporary exhibition on Haiti. Haitian artists celebrate life, sexuality and death together through their culture of voudou, and their art is disarmingly frank as it seeks to tell the story of a people who have come so far, yet are still so challenged. I remember when I was in Haiti, the powerful culture of voudou and how beliefs and symbols transfer into daily life for the Haitians.
The big event at the museum this summer is the exhibition on the Masters of Olympus. Over 160 pieces from the Berlin State Museums’ vast Classical Antiquities collection, home to one of the world's most prestigious collections of Greco-Roman art, is on display for the first time in North America. I really enjoyed the explanations of which God represented the various parts of culture and human life. The exhibit was narrated by Homer and Hesiod, no less! This is not to miss!
I liked the Roman gods exhibit. I'm glad I could read it in both English and French, too!
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