{"id":14447,"date":"2025-08-28T13:40:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T17:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monastere.ca\/non-classifiee\/de-la-conception-a-la-realisation-dune-exposition-permanente\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T14:57:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T18:57:49","slug":"the-making-of-a-permanent-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monastere.ca\/en\/culture-2\/the-making-of-a-permanent-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"The making of a permanent exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Museum team at Le Monast\u00e8re des Augustines, supported by experts from diverse fields, is currently working on the making of a new permanent exhibition. This large-scale process, built on years of preparation, often remains invisible to visitors\u2014yet it deserves to be brought into the light.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The inauguration of the exhibition, scheduled for December 2025, will mark the culmination of months of research, consultations, and the careful selection of objects designed to offer visitors a memorable museum experience. The major stages of the making of a permanent exhibition, outlined here, reveal how such a project takes shape.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Why renew a permanent exhibition?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Despite what its name suggests, a \u201cpermanent\u201d exhibition is not necessarily eternal. While it does not have a fixed duration, it is generally designed to remain for an extended period, often more than 10 years.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cRenewing an exhibition is important to ensure the preventive conservation of artifacts and archives that have been on display for several years,\u201d explains Andr\u00e9anne Cantin, Museum Manager at Le Monast\u00e8re des Augustines. Objects exposed to light and temperature variations are then returned to storage, where controlled conditions prevent their deterioration.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s worth noting that only 2% of the objects from our collections and archives are on display in Augustinian Sisters: Caring for Body and Soul<\/em>. There are so many more that deserve to be discovered,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Renewing the permanent exhibition allows us to safeguard heritage objects while also offering visitors new perspectives on the history of the Augustinian Sisters.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The steps involved in the making of a permanent exhibition<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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1. Reviewing the previous exhibition<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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A detailed assessment of the current exhibition helps identify what works well and question what needs to be improved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cThe evaluation of Augustinian Sisters: Caring for Body and Soul<\/em> showed us that the way history is approached and exhibitions are designed has evolved significantly over the past decade, particularly in relation to women\u2019s history, religious communities, health, and colonialism. We felt it was important to align ourselves with contemporary research to provide a truthful and relevant reading of the Augustinian Sisters\u2019 history. The story of the Augustinian Sisters must not be frozen in the past. Their heritage continues to resonate in today\u2019s society, and that is what we want visitors to feel,\u201d Andr\u00e9anne emphasizes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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2. Defining a meaningful vision<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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In 2022, a process of reflection was launched to determine the main themes, including shedding light on lesser-known aspects of history, while also exploring how the exhibition could further extend the well-being experience offered at Le Monast\u00e8re. This vision guided the subsequent research and narrative design stages.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The first ideation meeting for the future permanent exhibition of Le Monast\u00e8re des Augustines took place in 2022. From left to right in the photo: Audrey Julien, Ariane Blanchet-Robitaille, Sophie Charbonneau, and Andr\u00e9anne Cantin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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3. Research and validation<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Once the vision was set, the research process began: consulting archives, studying the latest scholarship, and engaging in dialogue with experts such as historians, an art therapist, and museologists. The goal was to test ideas, refine the content, and ensure a rigorous yet sensitive interpretation of history.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cFor the making of the new permanent exhibition, we created two external committees: one scientific and one focused on the visitor experience,\u201d Andr\u00e9anne notes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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4. Designing the visitor experience<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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The story of an exhibition is structured through the sequence of rooms, the rhythm of the visit, the atmospheres, and the emotions the curators wish to evoke.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cWe wanted the new permanent exhibition to offer moments of introspection as well as times to resurface, with this balanced rhythm supported by scenographic spaces designed for these experiences,\u201d Andr\u00e9anne illustrates.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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5. Community consultation<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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To ensure relevance and inclusivity, consultations were carried out with:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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